Never heard of a coolie in Aus. either having or having produced any HD problems, and none are certified
I would like to point out that one of the problems with this type of thinking and one that currently all C/Koolie breeders seem to be guilty of. Yes, I have never up until recently heard about any dogs with HD in any C/Koolie. But, that's not saying much when people aren't getting them checked. A dog can work with bad hips, a dog can live their entire lives with bad hips and never show outward signs and it's very easy if a dog comes up lame years down the road for the breeder to say nothing.
People only started getting their dogs tested from that litter the HD showed up in (Which again I would like to reiterate is NOT from Avalon Coolies and is not any dog Shawn has produced but rather from a breeder she has dog(s) from) a dog under two years old and he had to have his hip replaced. Since then three from that litter I believe including him have come up displastic. But they only know that because the owners went to get them checked out of fear.
I hate that it took a dog having his hip replaced to make this come into focus. You can't say no dog in Oz has HD when no dogs are being tested. Honestly, I think these dogs behind the scenes, rough and tumble working ranch dog breeding style has fit well for them and probably has made for some very healthy dogs, hips and all. But we don't know that for sure.
I think it's great that you don't breed merle to merle Shawn. Absolutely wonderful! I'm also over the moon more and more breeders are embracing that philosophy. I think that's why I hold you to a higher (double) standard, though that's probably not right of me.
I haven't read the whole thread since my last post so maybe this was covered but I do wonder if other Koolie or Coolie (pick one name people!) breeders on other lists get the same treatment. I wonder if the breeder who produced Traveler and the gang has been grilled and relatively cornered. I mean, have his buyers said these things to him? It seems he produces a lot of puppies for no one to be concerned yet, have any of them shown up with joint issues or is it just avalons? Have we taken in account that working a dog too hard as a pup, feeding it the wrong food, and injuring the pup can allow for callus' on the joints which will read as less than stellar?
I also wanted to address this. I wish Richie health tested, I wish it so much. And if he came on here (which, honestly is just kinda a funny thought. 70 year old Rancher man on a dog forum with a bunch of women) I do think he would deserve exactly the same questions that Shawn is getting, if not more because he does have even more controversial breeding practices.
With Koolies you have to make sacrifices when looking for a breeder, I put trust and the right dog ahead of a lot of things and I don't regret it. But, that doesn't mean I don't have my eyes fully open. And no, I haven't grilled him because I just don't find it worth it. He's been breeding the same way for decades and I'm not going to tell him that he's doing it wrong.
Shawn, I'm also sorry you feel like you are under fire here, though I can see why you feel like that. But, you need to understand these questions were being asked privately and publicly before you came along. I've gotten questioned many times about the lack of health testing in Koolies along with my willingness to buy from a breeder who doesn't health test. So when a breeder such as yourself comes along that doesn't health test her dogs people are curious as to the reasoning behind it.
But, again I'm sorry you feel blindsided because I know from experience it never feels good when that happens.