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Since the purchase
of our first Old English Sheepdog, Shaggeybark has strived to not only have correct conformation, but, also, the healthiest
(both physically and mentally) OES' possible. The two do go hand in hand. An OES has to anatomically correct
to be healthy. The other aspects of good or not so good health are environmentally and genetically driven.
We have been feeding a raw food diet since 1999. This means, we are into our fourth generation
of raw-fed OES'. We have found that our OES' are less susceptible to most problems affecting this wonderul breed.
Our OES' are living long and having fewer health issues. We are having larger litters and more viable pups.
We do wean to kibble for pet homes. Also, we follow the AVMA and Dr. Jean Dodds vaccination protocol found at WWW.itsfortheanimals.com/DODDS-CHG-VACC-PROTOCOLS.HTM on limiting our vaccination. In doing all of this, we are still fighting an uphill
battle against all of the health issues that can attack all canines. Most of our OES' have an average of a 12 year
old life span with anything over 10 years considered a gift. Good reading on this subject is the
The Barf Diet, Grow Your Dog with Bones, Grow Your Pup With Bones,
all by Ian Billingjurst, and Ultimate Diet by Kemythy Schultz.
For conformation, we follow the OES breed standards that were first put foward by those who developed
this breed in 1888. This standard has been revised four times in 1905,1927,1953,and 1990. OESCA is working on
a fifth revision. All of these hold valuable information on what an OES should look like. Anatomical correctness is
at the core of our breeding program. Good reading on the OES breed itself are books by John Mandeville, Ann Davis, Ann
Arch, Jean Gould, Christina Smith, and Marilyn Mayfield.
With this in mind in 1991, we finished our first home
bred champion, CH Shaggeybark Dawns Early Lite ROM(3 champions produced). Also in 1991, we purchased one of the most
correct OES bitches of her day. Her name ws CH Whisperwood's Won To Watch ROM or Andrea. With even a limited
show career, Andrea had a BISS and many BOSS at regional OES Specialties, a BOS at the OES National Specialty in 1993, multiple
BOB's and Group placements. More important to us was how she performed in the whelping box. There she had
the Best Mom Ever Award. We bred her four times to four of the best bred and anatomically correct dogs of
the 1990's They were:
Ch To-Jo's Pepp'ermint
Stick ROM (48 Champions 5th all time top producing
dog breed)
Ch To-Jo's Top Choice ROM
( 8 Champions Produced)
Ch Whisperwood's Warrant ROM
(5 Champions produced)
Ch Chenard Plus Que Parfait
(3 Champions produced)
Andrea
produced 22 OES puppies and of these we were fortunate enough to finish 17 of them. This made Andrea the Third all time
top producing females in the OES breed.
The top producing males bred to our girls and behind many of our litter
are:
Ch To-Jo's Nice'NEasy ROM
(80 Champions 1st all time top producing dog in breed)
Ch Aphrodite Snow SniflickROM
(56 Champions 3rd all time producing dog in breed)
Ch
Sniflick Warwyck DarwinROM (37
Champions 9th all time producing dog in breed)
Ch To-Jo's Sum Beam Over Misty MtnROM
(34 Champion 11th all time top producer)
Ch To-Jo's Ppardner
at LimeylaneROM (27 Champions 20th all time top producing dog)
Ch Bahlamb's Bugle BoyROM
(23 Champions25th all time top producing dog in breed)
Ch
Tolkein Witch KingROM
(10 Champions Produced)
Ch Limeylane CliffhagerROM ( 8 Champions produced)
Our top
producing girls are/were:
Ch Shaggeybark's Kan't Deny This WonROM
(9 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's NicolodiamROM
(8 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Just In TimeROM (5 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Above All ElseROM
(5 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Schoene WonROM
(5 Champions produced Top Producer 2007)
Ch Shaggeybark's
No Rhyme or ReasonROM (4 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's FantasiaROM
(4 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Very Rare CatchROM
(3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Dawn's Early LiteROM (3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Wycked WonROM (3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Over 'N OutROM (3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Xinging XenaROM (3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Glad To GrinROM (3 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Dixie DarlinROM (3 Champions produced)
To summarize, we
have 14 females that have qualified for their Register of Merit. This means they have produced 3 Champions or more.
For a male to qualify, they must produce 5 Champions or more. We have 3 males who have qualified:
Ch Shaggeybark's Copper CoinROM (7 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Greatest Hit ROM (6 Champions produced)
Ch Shaggeybark's Sir Charles ROM
(5 Champions produced)
Ch To-Jo's Top ChoiceROM (8 Champions produced)
Shaggeybark finished
all of Topper's puppies before he left us for Japan. As you can see from our breeding history,we have have a broad
spectrum of OES' used. This Keeps our genetic pool with a lot of variety insuring the best health possible.
This tremendous teamwork has Shaggeybark producing 104 AKC Champions as of April
2010. This makes us 3rd all time OES Champions producing kennel since record keeping began in 1952. We have been
top producing kennel in 1998(10 Champions produced), and 2009(7 Champions produced).
The whelping box
is much more important to us than our show ring accomplishments. How our OES pups are born and socialized is
paramount at all of our locations. Our pups are born in our bedrooms and live with us in our homes from that
time forward. By the time they 10 weeks old, they can leave us for their very own family.
Virginia has 9
acres. New Jersey has a 2 acre location. This is plenty of space for our OES' to have frolicking fun with
the two families involved at Shaggeybark. We are always here to help and support all of our OES placements. They
are always welcome back for a temporary visit or for the rest of their lives. Remember being owned
by and OES involves dealing with hair, hair, and more hair mixed with fun, work, patience, and love which makes one's
life wonderully complete. Not everyone is cut out to be owned by one of these wonderful little people in fur coats.
But, if you are to be posessed by an OES, you are the luckiest person in the world.
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