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WillowRidge Breeding History
and Health issues
Fun Photos
First litter:
Both parents OFA good in both hips, CERF certified and both tested PRA-A meaning neither dog carried the gene for PRA.
Born May 12th 2001 - 10 puppies all brown 5 males, 5 females
From this litter coming up on 2 years old, we had two female pups diagnosed with non progressive juvenile cataracts and one male puppy diagnosed with dystichia (meaning some of his eyelashes were turned in toward his eye). Dystichia is not considered a problem for breeding so the dog still gets a good CERF status. The pups with cataracts have had no ill effects from it and it is unnoticeable in them.
No reports of hip dysplasia.
Sire: BISS Ch. Chesabar's Downeast Cruiser
Dam: Castle Rock Gypsy Traveler
Litter at 1 day of age:
Litter at 9 days of age:
Litter at 3 weeks of age:
Second Litter:
Accidental breeding - neither parents OFA or CERF tested at the time, but all grandparents were CERF'd and OFA ok)
Born May 23, 2002
12 puppies, all colors, 7 girls and 5 boys
No puppies reported with any eye or hip disorders at this time. One puppy returned for temperament conflict but we still own the dog and have been unable to elicit the same behavior as previous owners claim.
Sire: Castle Rock's Golden Guinness
Dam: Castle Rock's Lil Bit O' Honey
Litter at 2 days of age:
Litter at 7 weeks of age:
Third Litter:
Born December 12, 2002
11 puppies all brown, 6 males, 5 females
Lost three male puppies due to infected milk gland on mother giving poisonous milk at three days of age. One female puppy returned to us at 5 months of age with suspected mild hip dysplasia in left hip. Our vet confirmed mild laxity in the joint but hip dysplasia cannot be confirmed at this point. We are keeping this pup and refunded purchase price to buyers. Pup seems to be doing fine.
(Father prelim OFA good/fair, mother OFA good and CERF clear, and PRA-A, both parents negative for elbow dysplasia)
Sire: Castle Rock's Golden Guinness
Dam: Castle Rock's Reilly O'Hara
Litter at 2 days of age:
Litter at 3 weeks of age:
Fourth Litter:
Born March 13, 2003
12 puppies born, brown sedge and deadgrass, 6 males, 6 females.
1 male sedge puppy stillborn - could not be resuscitated. At the age of three weeks the smallest female in the litter died unexpectedly. Autopsy revealed no obvious cause of death and tox screens and virology report were negative.
At the age of 7 months, one female puppy was diagnosed with inverted vulva, the owner opted to have surgery to correct the cosmetic problem. This same puppy was also found to have a mild heart murmer. She is doing well so far today.
Father prelim OFA good/fair, mother OFA good and CERF clear, and PRA-A, both parents negative for elbow dysplasia.
Sire: Castle Rock's Golden Guinness
Dam: Castle Rock Gypsy Traveler
Litter at 3 weeks of age:
Litter at 7 weeks of age:
I know this was long, but I want to provide a full disclosure on what health issues are present in the breed and the incidence that we have seen them occur in our puppies. Also you can see that a variety of different screenings were done on these different matings and also see that in some cases, the more testing, did not equal fewer health problems. Even though we are no longer breeding Chessies, I hope that this page will be useful to anyone looking at adding a puppy of this breed to their family.
Last Updated: October 22, 2006
Castle Rock's Lil Bit O Honey and Josh (Litter 1)
Lil Bit's sister, Libby handles the broad jump! (Litter 1)
Mac (Litter 2)
Chelsea (Litter 4)
Jesse (Litter 2)
Georgia (Litter 3)
Pop (Litter 2)
Chelsea (Litter 4)
Mac (Litter 2)