We believe that we
have an ethical responsibility to only produce Akitas through a carefully planned
breeding program. We, like all experienced, knowledgeable breeders, understand the
importance of significant and continuing study & mastery of the sciences
required to breed healthy, well-tempered Akitas. These include, but are not limited to
genetics, behavior and husbandry.
We do not make
"paper" breedings (a common practice of only matching "names" on
pedigrees rather than evaluating living dogs). Instead, we use deep knowledge and
experience gained through more than 25 years of breed involvement to breed "better"
Akitas. Breedings are made limitedly (usually only one litter each year--often less) and
only after careful planning. Potential parents are honestly evaluated, physically &
temperamentally, based in our personal knowledge of many generations of their
ancestors. Potential parents are selected solely on these traits, not on their
show win records.
Our goals are to
select parents and puppies for excellence in temperament, conformation and structure.
We are followers of early dog-breeding scion Lloyd Brackett, whose
"formula" for breeding success was "Physical compensation is the
foundation rock upon which all enduring worth is built." This principle of
"Assortive Mating" guides every selection we make as breeders. (For
discussion on various methods of mate selection, see "Links")
We hold ourselves
accountable for producing healthy Akitas and therefore we screen all breeding
animals for inheritable physical and temperamental problems. We screen for hip
dysplasia, eye defects, and thyroid function by use of experienced, licensed,
board-certified veterinarians. We certify, where appropriate, these finding by
nationally-recognized registries including the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals
(OFA), the Canine Eye Registry Foundation (CERF) and Michigan State
University (thyroid screening). We are Contributing Members of the AKC Canine Health Foundation.
Please see "Genetic
Diseases Known to Occur in Akitas" accessible from the home / contents
page.
We believe that
stable, reliable, non-aggressive temperament is so important in Akitas that we
have, for decades, rigidly excluded Akita bloodlines we believed to be derived
from temperamentally unstable dogs from our breeding program. Our Akitas are naturally
protective, but sane, calm and loving family companions. We have consciously worked
to breed out of our stock excessive dog to dog aggression. It also observes that
"Akitas are aggressive toward other dogs." "Aggressive" and
overly reactive are not the same. The standard calls for a dignifed carriage and
temperament. We prefer Akitas that can, within reason, get along with other Akitas
and other dogs.
We do not
believe in "production" breeding. Usually, females used in our breeding
program are bred only twice in their lives; none is bred two consecutive seasons. We
usually have only one litter a year (sometimes longer). Some years we do not
make any breedings. Our stud dogs are not available at public stud but only by
limited, private agreement. We do not aspire to have our Akitas achieve
"top producing" status.
We believe in
maintaining our Akitas at the highest level of physical and emotional
well-being. Puppies are raised "underfoot" and are kept with their litter
mates until at least 12 weeks of age to insure correct social stability as
adults. We also allow good mothers to be good mothers longer than many
breeders. We believe this, too, results in happier, emotionally healthier, more
socially adaptable adult Akitas.
It is this committment to a high level of care and concern we give to our
puppies and to our adults that precludes us from planning any more than
one or, rarely, two litters each year.
We feel
responsibilities, as longtime breeders and fanciers, to serve as an informed resource for
questions about the Akita breed, its care, its genetics, its health and behavior. We
assure prompt response and a courteous manner.
We realize that everyone was once "just a
newcomer" to Akitas. There are no "stupid" questions--only varying
degrees of knowledge. If we don't know the answers to questions, we know how to find them
through the extensive network of medical, behavioral, genetic, and other experts we've
cultivated over many years.
We do not see
ourselves in "competition" with other breeders. We believe those
interested in Akitas are capable of distinguishing the knowledgeable from the unknowing.
Though well-known within the breed, we advertise very limitedly due to the
infrequency of available puppies and due to many word-of-mouth referrals from our breeder
colleagues and owners of our pets. We freely encourage those seeking an Akita to talk
to other breeders.
We willingly
subscribe to (and exceed) the requirements of the Akita Club of America's Code
of Ethics. We guarantee all puppies (including pet
puppies) by a comprehensive written
contract. This is to protect the Akitas as well as
the owners. We always stand ready to reclaim any Akitas we have produced,
should any ever be in need. We identify, by microchip, all puppies prior to placing them
in new homes.
