Glenevan's First Litter: Rolyart's Still the One x Holly House Glenevan's Isle

Our first litter was born December 28, 2001. There were seven puppies in the litter, two male and five females. There were no double dew claws, and one puppy was born without rear dew claws. Five puppies were open-marked and two had saddles.

The last puppy, a female, was stillborn but appeared normal externally. Post-mortem by our GP veterinarian showed a ruptured spleen with the abdominal cavity full of blood. Half of the spleen was intact and appeared normal. Our GP veterinarian speculated that a cyst in the spleen burst during birth. No other abnormalities were noted.

Health Info at 8 Weeks

One puppy was slightly undershot (reverse scissors). Two puppies had umbilical hernias. All six puppies were ACVO-certified to have normal eyes.

Update at 12 Months

We have heard from all of the puppy buyers in the past month. We kept one puppy ourselves, a bitch. We placed one dog and one bitch puppy in show homes. We placed one dog puppy and two bitch puppies in non-show homes. Those two bitch puppies were spayed at 6 months. We have seen one of the non-show bitches several times. The other puppies live several hours a way, but we get updates via e-mail. Four of the puppies (including ours) are in homes with children.

All puppies are reported to be outgoing with people of all ages and with other dogs. The two umbilical hernias were surgically repaired and have caused no problems. No health or temperament problems are reported. Our bitch puppy has 3 points towards her championship and was Best in Sweepstakes at the American Spaniel Club 2003 show (entry of 25) 6-18 month old Welsh Springers. The show male was Winners dog at the American Spaniel Club 2003 show and has two 5-point majors towards his championship. The other show bitch has no points yet, but has shown good attitude in the ring. She appears to be maturing slowly, and hopefully her luck will change. From photos, all of the puppies seem to be physically attractive, although their styles range from lightly built and almost racy to quite heavily boned. The bitches have a tendency to mat a little in the groin and armpit areas.

Update at 2 Years

The following health results are available (as of June 16, 2004).

• Hips: 100 % Normal (5/6 OFA good, 1/6 OFA excellent).
• Elbows: 100 % Normal (6/6 OFA normal).
• Thyroid: 5/6 Normal, 1/6 untested (4/6 OFA certified).

The owners of one of the bitches have twice tried to complete the thyroid test, but there has been some mixup either on the part of their vet or the laboratory. We have told them that no further effort is required on their part, as she has no symptoms of hypothyroidism. The sample from one of the dogs was sent to a laboratory that is not OFA-approved. A complete thyroid profile showed normal results, but the results cannot be OFA-certified. The reverse-scissors bite has self-corrected.

One bitch has discoid lupus. This is not systemic lupus; her joints and organs are not affected. Her only symptom is a loss of the dark pigment on her nose, eye rims, and lips. While this would affect her success in a show ring, it does not compromise her overall quality of life or her suitability as a family companion. The diagnosis was made by analysis of a skin sample from her nose by a veterinary dermatologist. This is the only case of discoid lupus in Welsh Springers known to us. If you know of others, please contact us. We are aware that the condition exists in other breeds.

The bitch we kept completed her AKC Championship in June 2004 and has two legs towards her Companion Dog title. She was highest-scoring WSS in trial at the WSSCA National Specialty in 2004. The dog in the show home has finished his AKC championship (with three 5-point majors) and his CKC (Canadian) championship (with a group placement). One bitch in a non-show home has earned her CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certificate. We continue to get good reports from the owners about temperaments.

Casey (Glenevan Paradigm Game Flusher) was tragically killed by a falling tree on May 27, 2004. His family is devastated. Say a prayer for them, and for everyone trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one.

The bitch we kept has incomplete myelination of the optic nerves and has been spayed. Her vision is not apparently affected, but we were not comfortable with what she might pass on. We do not know whether the abnormality is congenital or hereditary; it is not progressive. She has a deep pit in the center of the myelin on each optic nerve. The ophthalmologists cannot agree on what to call it (coloboma makes the most sense to us), but agree that it is abnormal. This was not observed in the 8-week eye exam because myelination of the optic nerves is not complete in dogs until 16 weeks. Two other puppies from this litter have had ACVO exams as adults: one is normal and one is normal except for unilateral iris-to-iris persistent pupillary membrane.

Email us at val@glenevanwss.com