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Originally Posted by toobad

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Don't think I'd ever breed a dog whos sire dropped dead of a heart problem either. Not that I own one

Obviously a reference to Shane's sire Maik. I think (and still do) that he was a very great dog. One of the best. Originally I heard he died from a one-in-a-million brain aneurism, then later I heard that a proper necropsy wasn't done, but I think on paper it says he died of of cardio myopathy when he was between 5 and 6 years old. Maik had TWO of the expensive echo cardio tests done at about 2 years old (one in germany before he was bought, and another in the US when he came here to make sure), and they both came out clean. These are supposed to be a great and accurate test. I've kept tabs on quite a few offspring, and have not seen any heart issues. Sometimes dogs die, and IN MY OPINION I've heard that mistakes were made by the vets to really determine the cause, but it was a special concern of mine when I heard he died early. I'm pretty damn thorough in my research, and I haven't seen any issues in any offspring. If Shane's dam was still young enough, I would have GLADLY gotten another pup from the same parents next year...there is still frozen semen being used from Maik for litters from quite a few knowledgable breeders. He really was a great all-around dog, and yes I am strongly considering studding out Shane in the future sometime. His heart is OFA clear (cardiologist), along with everything else. He finished his AD (12 mile run) like it was a walk in the park, and he was the only dog out of 6 (the others were shepherds) that still had plenty of energy left at the end. Shane has been PROVEN to be one of the best, consistently winning work AND show rotts in the US (with great health clearances). AND he passed his BST, not like some that were judged unbreedable for life by an ADRK judge. Not that I own one. USRC rules would not permit a USRC member to breed to Karl.