Our Philosophy
Below is what we are all about, and the guidelines we try to adhere to in our breeding.
​We will always breed with the aim of producing sound, healthy and happy puppies
Our ethics and quality of care are of the utmost importance to us
Our Philosophy
Our General Philosophy
Puppy Culture
Our puppies are raised in our home following Puppy Culture protocols (including ENS/SMS where applicable), amongst general household sounds, socialised and prepared as much as we can for all that a new family has to offer.
Family
We want our puppies to go to homes where they will be integrated as a core part of the family. To us, dogs are family members and should be included in every day life. Our weekends and mornings are often dedicated to training sessions, we put a heavy amount of time and money into their nutrition and making their lives as fun as they can be.
Pregnancy
​​We would not like to breed any of our girls more than three times except on very rare occasions (such as an import, or harder to obtain lines, where the girl copes well with each pregnancy), with the majority only having one to two (especially those in co-ownership), so that they get to enjoy the majority of their lives nursing/pregnant free and doing what they love with their family, whether this be with us or homes in partnership.
We also will not breed our females before a minimum of 18 months at mating date, preferably closer to 2 to 3 years. This is to ensure that the dog is both physically and mentally mature for puppies.
Health Testing
Health testing is performed on all breeding dogs here at Tundrai. Our breeding dogs at home and produced by us will undergo a hip and elbow X-ray, ACES eye testing, DNA profiling and disease panel, and if possible an echocardiogram performed. We do not breed carriers to carriers of PRA-prcd or Pompes.
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All of our puppies are seen by an ACES eye specialist for litter screening, have an Orivet DNA profile (including parentage conformation) and a full breed Embark DNA Panel performed on them prior leaving us, along with having a veterinary check, vaccination and worming protocol performed.
Paperwork
Our puppies will come registered with ANKC, either on the limited register if a pet, or mains register if in a partnership agreement with us, a show home or to a registered breeder. Their pedigrees will be provided, along with a change of microchip ownership form, eye screen data, Orivet full breed DNA profile and parentage confirmation, worming sheet, vaccination certificate, vet check certificate, copies of parent health information and testing, and 6 weeks free insurance with PetPlan. These files will be sent out with their puppy packs.
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Puppies will go out on contracts and will not be sent to their new homes without a signed contract stipulating what is expected by both parties. In the case of limited register dogs, this will include a desexing clause.
We require spay/neuter at or before 24 months for all limited register puppies.
We are not a Business
We do not often make ‘profits’ from our breedings and whatever money we do ‘make’, goes back into further breeding plans, bringing in new lines in the form of frozen semen or imports, into raising litters and/or improving our breeding facilities and providing additional health testing for our breeding stock, especially as we do not have many dogs at home ourselves and often pay or part-pay for dogs in breeding arrangements to have health testing performed before they are utilised in our breeding program. We invest a countless amount of our own money and time into our program with no return. Breeding is a passion, not a business for us.
Selection
We select our lines based on health, disease risk aversity, temperament, drive/workability, type, structure, breed diversity and COI, amongst many other considerations.
Forever
Tundrai dogs will always have a home here with us, and in any instance where an owner can no longer care for their dog, it is our policy to have them returned to us.
Our Ethics and Breeding Guidelines
These largely are based on FLCV and Lappalaiskoirat Ry's breeding guidelines.
They may be modified or added to over time as more studies and information comes to light.
We shall not purposefully breed:
GENERAL
- A female or male before the age of 18 months, with a preference of 2-3 years before their first litter.
- A dog with a particularly high risk of getting sick
- A dog with a testicular defect
- A combination whose eight-generation inbreeding percentage exceeds 6.25% in the Breed Archive
HEALTH
Eyes
- A combination where either the male of female have the following change(s); retinal degeneration (PRA), cataract (posterior polar, cortical, nuclear, congenital or total (= cortical and nuclear when checked on the eye examination form) cataract), PPM, iris lens, PPM, iris-cornea, PPM, iris lamina, distichiasis/ectopic cilia, severe, RD, total, PHTVL/PHPV, disease grade 2-6, CEA, coloboma, glaucoma, increased intraocular pressure, ICAA Ventricular angle abnormality, severe. The offspring of a dog with a structural defect must be checked for health with a gonioscopy before being used for breeding, keratitis, optic nerve coloboma, papilla hypoplasia/micropapilla, corneal dystrophy (endothelium)
- A combination where there are cataract carriers (posterior polar, cortical, nuclear, congenital or total cataract) in the pedigree of both the male and the female in the first or second generation from the future litter
- A combination where there are carriers of a PRA type other than prcd-PRA in the pedigrees of both the male and the female in the first or second generation from the future litter
- A combination of a male and female that have similar / the same following change(s); PPM, iris-iris, PHTVL/PHPV, disease grade 1 , RD, multifocal, RD, geographic, other minor cataract (punctate, tip of suture line, suture line, nuclear ring, nuclear fiberglass/pulverulent), ICAA Ventricular angle deviation, moderate or mild. The mating partner must be gonioscopy-examined and healthy, entropion/trichiasis, dermoid, distichiasis/ectopic cilia, mild, iris hypoplasia, vitreous degeneration, ectropion/macroblepharon, or corneal dystrophy (epithelial or stromal)
- An untested for prcd-PRA dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
- A prcd-PRA carrier (B or b) dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
- A prcd-PRA affected dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
Hips and Elbows
- A dog that hasn't had official hip testing performed. The ANKC endorses CHEDS. Any Finnish Lapphund, resident or imported (including frozen semen), who has undertaken hip and elbow evaluations under a different recognized scheme (e.g. Pennhip, OFA, BVA, FCC), those results are considered equivalent to CHEDS
- A dog with equivalent to international D and E hips (total score of 36 to 50, and 51 to 106)
- A dog with equivalent to international C hips (total score of 26 to 35) to a dog with equivalent to international B hips or worse (total score of 11 or above)
- A dog with 1:1 elbows to a dog with higher than 0:0 elbows, or untested elbows.
- A dog with a score of 2 or above in either elbow
- A dog with arthritis in their hips and/or elbows
*Note, Frozen semen imported from a Finnish Lapphund from an overseas country, where elbow scoring is not undertaken as a normal part of that country’s breeding program, the use of that semen will be exempt from elbow scoring recommendations
Spine
- A symptomatic dog without a spinal image.
- A symptomatic dog with LTV1-LTV4 (Intermediate lumbar sacral vertebra) spinal report.
- A dog with a SP1-SP4 (Spondylosis) spinal report.
- A dog with a VA2-VA4 (Vertebral deformities of the spine) spinal report.
Autoimmune
- A dog suffering from hypothyroidism
- A dog suffering from Addison's disease
- A dog suffering from Cushing's disease
- A dog suffering from AIHA
- A dog suffering from diagnosed allergies
- A dog suffering from another diagnosed autoimmune disease that affects their quality of life
Heart
- A dog with an audible murmur that has not been cleared for disease by echocardiogram
- A dog with heart failure and symptoms
- A dog diagnosed with a heart disease by echocardiogram
Epilepsy
- A dog suffering from epilepsy
Pompes
- An untested for Pompes (GSD-II) dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
- A Pompes (GSD-II) carrier (B or b) dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
- A Pompes (GSD-II) affected dog with an untested, carrier or affected dog.
Structural
- A dog with a kinked tail
- A dog with an underbite, overbite or malocclusion
- The combination of two dogs affected by an umbilical hernia
- A dog with an inguinal hernia
- A dog with cryptorchidism or other testicular defect
- A dog diagnosed for patellar luxation where they have received a degree of 1 or worse in one or both knees
- A dog who has been operated on for patellar luxation
General
- A dog with a known hereditable disease that affects its quality of life
- A dog that died before the age of five from a systemic disease (such as cancer) or other unexplainable cause (i.e. not an accident or purely environmentally caused)​
- A dog in poor body condition (obese, emaciated, malnourished etc).
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Further to this, we will:
WELFARE
- Provide appropriate time to raise and look after our litters
- Keep our cleaning standards to an utmost high, including sanitation and reducing risk of disease
- Adequately take care of the dam of the litter
- Adequately take care of, socialise and raise puppies within a litter
- Thoroughly vet each party of the breeding combination before proceeding with a mating
- Seek veterinary assistance whenever required, no matter how small the concern
- Provide adequate veterinary care to all dogs and puppies in our care
- Ensure that all of our dogs live enriched lives, as family members within our home
- Aim to ensure all limit register dogs bred by us are de-sexed by 24 months old (unless otherwise agreed) to promote responsible pet ownership
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ETHICS
- We will not force dogs in partnership to return to us for breeding - this choice remains that of the primary owner
- We will aim to do the best by anybody that purchases a puppy by us - including providing support, advice, and physical / financial support where we deem applicable
- We have what we believe to be a fair contract, protecting and supporting both us and our puppy buyers, keeping things clear and guiding both our program and puppy ownership
- We will not neglect or abuse our dogs
- We will take back any dogs bred by us, no questions asked, where the owner can no longer or no longer wishes to care for the dog
- We will promote ethical breeding to our mentorees
- We will promote responsible pet ownership to our owners
- Our 'At home' dogs remain with us for life, except for in instances where it would be in their very best interest to be homed elsewhere (where it would drastically improve their quality of life). We retain all of our retired dogs and don't ever plan to rehome them once their showing and breeding career is complete
- We will aim to, where possible, title every 'at home' dog in conformation, if not another discipline