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Jacob
Jacob sadly had to be put to sleep on the 8th of August 2007. Jacob was a son of Lem Miller's "Joshua's Ol' Southern White" aka Josh. He was a very friendly dog who just wanted to get involved in everything and he always loved the company of people. Jacob had two generations of good hip-scores behind him on both his parents' sides. His British Veterinary Association hip-score of 10 (5+5) is equivalent to an OFA Good score under the American hip-scoring system. He weighed in at around 35 kilos (just under 80 pounds). Before he reached three years of age, Jacob started to develop a lameness in his right back leg which was diagnosed as a partial cruciate ligament rupture. He was referred for surgery at a very well-respected specialist orthopaedic veterinary hospital, where the veterinary surgeon performed a "Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy" operation (TPLO). This is a very major surgical procedure with a prolonged period of confinement and restricted activity afterwards. Jacob recovered well, although the restrictions were hard on him as he was normally such an active dog. He recovered well, although bouts of vigorous activity would still often leave him limping afterwards. A couple of years after his operation, it became apparent that he was limping more noticeably after activity. Then suddenly his knee seemed to give way while we were playing about, causing him to stumble. He quickly got to his feet again, but was unable to weight bear on that leg. A visit to the vet revealed that there was little more they could do for him apart from prescribe steroids and pain killers. That would not have been a satisfactory life for a powerful and active dog like Jacob and it would only have been of short-term benefit at best, so I straight away made the awful decision to put him to sleep. Cruciate ligament ruptures are disturbingly common in this breed. This issue is a largely ignored health timebomb and most vets are surprising ill-informed on the subject. So is it hereditary? Some vets will tell you no, but when I asked the orthopaedic specialist who treated Jacob he said that as partial or complete cruciate ligament rupture is significantly more common in certain breeds than it is in others, this shows a very clear genetic link specific to those breeds. His opinion is that a dog that suffers from this disabling structural defect should not be bred from and that it should be regarded as being every bit as serious a defect as hip-dysplasia. So please be warned. I should make it completely clear that I have absolutely no reason to suspect Jacob's father Josh as being in anyway unsound in this department as he has been very active in many fields throughout his life without displaying any cruciate issues. I attach absolutely no blame to him.
To give a little insight into Jacob's background, in 2002 I imported a number of straws of frozen Josh semen from Joshua Kennels in Florida, USA. Jacob was born in 2003 using some of that imported frozen semen. Jacob's mother Dellow's Amber ("Barbie") was the bitch I first used my Josh semen on, she is a Hines bitch owned by my friend Sheri and this litter was jointly bred by Sheri and myself. Jacob was my male pick of the litter. This was the first of the only two litters of Joshua puppies to be bred in the United Kingdom so far (the second litter was out of my old Prudence bitch). I still have enough frozen Josh semen in storage for one more breeding by the way, but at this time I have no immediate plans on when or if I may use it.
Above: Joshua's Ol' Southern White aka "Josh", father of Jacob Jacob's father Josh is a tightly put-together bulldog from Sand Valley/"Old Southern" lines. He has been awarded an OFA Excellent hip-score and is out of an OFA Good dam by an OFA Excellent sire. Josh is the holder of a UCDA CDIII title as are both of his parents too. Josh has an enviable reputation for siring offspring with very sound hips in the United States. Josh is descended from the old-time bulldogs of the American south, often colloquially know as "Southern Whites". These bloodlines are not thought to be descended from contemporary bloodlines of Scott or Johnson bulldogs but to come from older lines of the types that were used by Mr Scott and Mr Johnson when they established their foundation stock. According to some old-time bulldog folk, these so-called Southern Whites have a reputation for stability and intelligence: I can tell you from meeting Josh that he certainly fits in with that description.
Why did I choose to use Josh as a stud? Firstly, to me he represents a good all-round package of what I am looking for in a bulldog. There is so much more to Josh than just being a catchdog and I wasn't looking for a dog that tightly focused because wild boar hunting is not on the menu in England. However, like both his parents, Josh does have a UCDA CDIII title so he has been tested and proven to have the aptitude to do that kind of bulldog work. Secondly: Josh has great hips, like both of his parents. Thirdly: he has performed well in obedience and protection work, earning himself Shutzhund titles in the process. Fourth: he is a handsome well-balanced dog who has done well in the show ring (he is an NKC National Champion) and he looks like how I like an American Bulldog to look. With his background, I hoped Josh would make a good outcross to carefully chosen UK Hines bloodstock. I'm proud to have had the privilege of owning a son of Josh and I thank Lem Miller for giving me this great opportunity.
Along with his British Veterinary Association hip-score of 10, Jacob had also been blood-tested and certified FREE of the inherited genetic disease Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (NCL).
(Please click on the thumbnail images above)
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