Heidi Details

Pet name - Heidi
She was given this name because she was always trying to hide (HIDEY), behind or underneath something when I first bought her. The reason for this was discovered after the hip and eye problems were diagnosed (see below), after she was put onto painkilling medication for this her behaviour altered.

Breed - Tricolour"Rough Collie"

D.o.B - 14th May 2001

Registered Name - "Lynaire Black Orchid"

Sire - “Lynaire Solid Gold”
Dam - “Lynaire Hooked On Jazz”

Purchased - Saturday 8th September 2001 from Mr B Makepeace, who owns and runs “Lynaire Kennels” at:
43 Fenton Road,
Lee Moor Stanley,
Wakefield,
West Yorkshire,
WF3 4ER

***I would strongly recommend that you do not purchase a dog from this kennel***

All of the following details can be verified.
Within 24/36 hours of purchase, I thought there was something wrong with her as she seemed to me to be limping from the rear. (Please remember I am a dog OWNER and NOT a BREEDER) When I took her to the vet on the Monday my vet said that maybe she might have had a knock whilst being transported home.

9 days later (on the 19th September 2001 - 11 days after purchase) I took her back to the vet and he then arranged to do an x-ray and after viewing them, made an appointment with the "RDV" in (Royal Dick Veterinary Hospital) in Edinburgh.

The appointment with the RDV diagnosed the following. (The following details were diagnosed on the 4th October 2001)

She has severe bilateral hip displasia “HD” (Hip Displacement in both hips - The left hip being the most severe) + “DJD” (Degenerative Joint Disease - the bones rot as they form and grow - This is my way of describing DJD)

"CEA" (Collie Eye Anomaly) was diagnosed at a later appointment with the RDV
(I have checked out the symptoms that she suffers from and they are the same as PRA)

She is small boned, (whether this is due to the bone diseases or not I do not know) and at this time nothing can be done for her surgically. Hopefully by the time she is 18 months old this might change, although, at the moment, it does not look as though she will grow to the minimum size required to carry out surgery.

Update October 2005 - She has not grown enough for surgery and seems to be coping all right without it though she grunts with pain at times. She has a lot of difficulty going up and down stairs.
Her eyesight is a different matter though. This has gotten worse.

In bright light, subdued light or where there are a lot of shadows she becomes extremely nervous and has to be coaxed (encouraged) to pass objects like parked cars or bushes at the side of the road. If there happens to be a small hole directly in front of her, she at times does not seem to see it and stumbles into it. If there are a couple of items (people or such like) standing and one is wearing dark clothing and the other light she will walk into one of them. At a distance her sight seems to be OK (she sees movement etc at a distance) but it is as though she is losing her peripheral vision. Her hearing has become extremely acute and this causes other problems. The sound of laying a cup onto the table can make her bark and certain noises (loud - high pitched - and some types of music for example) also frighten her. The sound of the wind in the trees also frightens her and gets her upset. I am not looking forward to the winter when there is snow and ice on the ground. Last year I had, at times, to lift her past small mounds of snow, and at night, when the street lights were shining on the frost and ice she was petrified because the glare / glitter from it as it was something she could no define by sound or smell. I am expecting it to be a lot worse this year.

Due to these problems I will NEVER be able to breed from her, and she will have to be spayed to safeguard her against getting "caught" by a dog, and also to ensure that the diseases finish with her. (She was spayed / dressed, in November 2002)

I do not know if Mr Makepeace ever notified the owners of the rest of the litter (as far as I could find out there were another 3 pups in the litter) about the diseases in this litter, as they, like Heidi, should not be bred from. It is my opinion that he has / had a moral obligation to do so. The parents should also have been taken off line and not bred from again as well. (This is my opinion and that of other breeders I have since spoken to)
I do not know if Mr Makepeace is / was still breeding from these dogs or has taken them "off line"

When I bought her I made one of the biggest mistakes you can make when purchasing a dog.
(Please see separate page on tips for buying a pup or dog - even from a well recommended breeder)

The breeder (Mr Makepeace) contacted me by e-mail, after I had advertised on the net for a "Rough Collie" - "Tricolour Bitch".

After receiving his e-mail I checked up on him. I was told by two different sources that he was a breeder of long standing and was well known, he was also a judge at dog shows. I took this to mean he was reliable. I contacted him by E-mail and then telephoned a couple of days later and expressed interest, I told him that I would be wanting to take a couple of litters from her, and at that time I asked about the known diseases in "Rough Collies". Mainly, two of the three diseases she was finally diagnosed with (HD & DJD).

He went into great detail about each of those diseases, but in retrospect I realise he never actually answered my questions. "Are these diseases present, or have they been present in your breeding lineage?" he evaded giving me an answer by going into the details of these diseases. When I said that I would like to see the pup he suggested that he meet me part way to his kennels. (A distance of about 200 miles from my home. I stupidly agreed to this. BUT! as the pup had not had any injections I could only view her lying in the back of his car, and not moving about on the ground.

If you are contemplating buying any dog, DO NOT make this mistake.
View the pup in its home environment. Watch it running about and interacting with other dogs.

If you would like to see more details about "Rough Collies" in general follow this link (or the one in the side bar).

This leads me to question his ability as a judge, when he "cannot see" when one of his own pups had movement problems. I do know that I would never recommend either his kennels or his breeding lineage to anyone.

I say again "I would strongly recommend that you do not purchase a dog from this breeder or any kennel he is associated with"

Even with all of the above problems I would not part with her. She has a lovely nature (as do Rough Collies in general) and is a loving and faithful pet. In her own environment she is full of mischief