SDF’s Listen to the Echo

THIS WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL ONE AND POSSIBLY THE ONLY!

Echo will be bred one time and then most likely retired. We do have two families who want a puppy off Echo after discussing all the results with them. Echo is a very special girl that has so much to offer. Yes we are disappointed with a few of her results. We weren’t really surprised with the spine as she is a tiny little bean. She stands a whopping 10.5’’ from the ground to her withers, and is 10.5’’ long. Any small dogs we have tested so far seem to have a harder time having a clean spines all around.

She is beautifully built, thick and solid at 20/21 pounds. We hope her hips come back fair at the least but we will see! Echo’s temperament is exactly what we love and want to continue to build off of. Her structure is beautiful (IMO) Her ears are perfect and that face is oh so smoochable! She breaths well, but can be better, so her stud will reflect this and all her flaws as well.

We will be choosing a boy with good to excellent hips. A spine with no more than 3 marks and no other remarks or issues noted in the line. The rest of their OFA’s will be good or better as well.

Echo's  OFA Results are added to her slideshow and her certificates can be found here ~ https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2579787

Hips - Borderline Elbows - Normal Trachea - Normal (2.1) Heart - Normal Patella - Normal

Spine also completed with six in the thoracic. One fusion and *spondylosis noted at 2.5 years old.

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Echo is our 3rd generation of SDF’s OFA hip, elbow, trachea, heart and patella tested dogs. Sire and Dam to Teyla ( our first girl tested in this particular line) also had their OFA heart and patella completed.

Her mama is the same mama as Fantasia’s, our beautiful tiny bean SDF’s Any. Now retired and living her best life. Sire is Artic Dreams Gizmo. No OFA’s but one amazing boy!

*Spondylosis is a disease that will affect most dogs as they age. I have removed dogs with this before as seeing it so early in life is concerning to me. That said, of the 4 dogs I do know of and have followed very closely, one has since passed at the age of 9 with zero spine issues at all. He was my boy so I know exactly the life he lived and it was not one wrapped in a bubble by any means! Two others are 8 and 9 years old now and again, no spinal issues at all. One is very active and isn’t slowing down, and the other one of those two is an active stud and doesn’t throw spondylosis to his pups I have seen or been told ( Not of the ones tested so far) Do I regret removing the male I did, absolutely. I wish every day I bred him just one or two times to produce him, but better. He is now gone and I will regret that choice till the day I see him again. He had SO much more to offer this breed and I let him slip away always trying for something better.

Not all spondylosis in dogs is the same or is affecting the dog the same as the next. I do suggest doing further research especially within the breed, and or calling Dr. Keller himself to explain the results he has given as he can really explain this one better than I can. Echo is a little different, being a small female has it’s own challenges, so we may only do one litter with lots of rest to make sure she stays safe and hope we can create another Echo, but just a little stronger!

I have also attached a letter from OFA in regards to this as well. You can find it in her slide show.

We will make sure to look at the pups spines at 8 weeks so we can make the best picks possible and hope to continue with this line in the future. If we don’t love what we see, this will unfortunately be the end of her line as she was born a singleton to boot…..

We get one chance to get it right! Sire has not been settled on yet but he will be strong and complement Echo’s weaknesses.