I think there may be a good NI breeder!! General Chat

Whilst out the other day I met a lady with a NI.
I asked her was her dog an NI she replied "yes" and was pleased someone actually knew what her dog was.
Must add he was stunning so as I do asked loads of questions about who bred him what they like kennels ect.
She said the breeder was wonderful and made her meet the pups 1st and made her meet some large NIs so she knew what she was getting in to. That did kinda impress me and said she received full support from this breeder.
I asked what was it like were puppies were kept and said was wonderful really clean and stuff and she was so impressed.
We then spoke about NIS and she told me after reading kcjacks threads on Dogsey she got him tested for addisons as she was so worried and she phoned her breeder who was now testing her dogs.
I then admitted I was kcjack was so funny seeing reaction on poor womans face she looked panic stricken in case she had said anything, but to be fair she seemed very honest and nice and said nothing nasty.
So was nice to hear about 1 nice breeder to be honest as its a 1st for me and the breeder was Kate Hearne of Stormlake Inuits.
She took my e-mail and gonna meet for a walk, although she may run for the hills.

I've met Kate and she's a lovely woman and has produced some lush dogs, I've also met her gorgeous boy storm and he's just awesome

Cant imagine what she thought had been walking dogs all day and picking up poop, had a wild 6 month old staffy who was going for a Tardak jab and was picking up 4 breeders that were in for ops. My son was wild as was fed up of doing rescue stuff, and I looked like a stressed out pile of poop LOL

I can only speak from experience and Kate I can say is a truely good breeder and does all for her dogs, being gsd's & NI's.

There definatley is a good breeder out there Kate really cares about her dogs. Im so glad we got our ni from Kate (Stormlake). Check out Kates website for Storms test results. Yes there is a good breeder out there.

Just a question??

If the breed is prone to Addison's, why did the breeder not test her dogs before she bred them.. why did it take a new owner to the bred to inform her about it!!

Just curious as it would seem to me that it should be the other way round.

An this is not paticually aimed at NI... I would ask the same question .. about any breed.

For instance if I told a new Boxer owner about heart problems, then they informed their breeder , and the breeder said "thank you " for the information , I will now test mine.

I dont class that as a good breeder.:?


For me a good breeder is one who knows of all health issues that may crop up in their breed and if they can test their breeding stock before breeding to ensure such problems dont appear in their lines!!

Actualy storm was health tested first
please do not judge me without knowing me thankyou

I too know Kate & she is a lovely person & excellent breeder.

Re' the Addisons....it is extremely rare & quite complex in it's causes. The blood tests would only be of 100% accurate if symptoms were displaying as 2 of the 3 types of Addisons are the result of A.I disease.
My friends GSD was recently diagnosed (after a total collapse) & 2 weeks later is livelier than ever.
If the screening was available & reliable there would be no disease in humans , yet alone animals. You can have a clear screen today & yet get a positive one tomorrow.

Can I just say here, regarding Addisons. I enquired about having mine tested and I was told that unless Addisons was present at the time, it wouldn't show up. As mine do not have Addisons there was no point in doing the test, otherwise it would have been done.

Thankyou lorraine

Beacuse a lot of talk about Addison's is hear say and most vets have said not to bother testing as it will only show if the dog has it not if its a carrier. My vet is included in this when asked about it, she said unless she was showing signs of Addison's then there is no point in testing as it will not prove if she COULD get it in the future just that she does have it now. In the same vein she said they could test for lots of diseases she isn't showing any signs of and it would be great for the practice but prove nothing.

I disagree
some health tests are worth their weight in gold and prove whether dogs are affected or not....I prefer peace of mind but each to their own.

At long last decent breeders are being recognised and people are finally acknowledging that there are decent NID breeders. As I have said before there are good and bad breeders in every breed.

Kate, I am glad you are getting the positive recognition you deserve xxxxxx

I agree but my vet was making a point about not every dog needs to be tested for everything under the sun. Ela is going to be hip and elbow scored and prob eye tested as well. She just said there wouldn't be much point in Addisons.

As others on here have said - there is no point in testing for Addisons as it only shows whether that dog has it when the test was done - and if it had it you would know because it would be showing symptoms.

However, its worth owners bearing in mind that this disease is in the breed - as vets very often don't test for it unless it is known to be in the breed. If caught early it is manageable and needn't be a killer.

There is also some disagreement amongst the specialists as to whether or not it is genetic - some think it isn't. However, from the reports I have received there does seem to be a pattern that suggests a genetic link.

I too know Kate and she has always been a good breeder and takes health very seriously. She is also fully aware of the health problems within the breed.

I know exactly what is involved in testing for Addisons... my boy was tested a couple of yrs ago.

And I agree unless there is probable cause there is no point in testing for it.

That's my point... so why was the breeder not aware of this?

Then why did she need a novice owner to inform her about it

My point being , not particular about Addison's , but the fact it took a new owner how informed the breeder that it IS a problem in the breed.

Or that is the way the original postcame across...:?

Simple point really .... as surely any breeder of any breed should be up to scratch on all poosbile health issues that might arise.


As someoen who has been through the process of diagnosis of the diseases... I was just curious as to why

1) the OP felt it important to inform the owner and Breeder

2) The breeder being grateful and agreeing to have hers tested.

When as you say .. unless symptoms or showing, there is no point in testing for it.

One would expect ... the answer from the breeder to be more informative on the possibility of the disease

Sorry , yoU feel I am jugding you.. I am not.

I was simply responding to the bit in the post where it stated

Which implied , the breeder did not know about the possibility of the disease.


We can only comment on what we read , and from the above it sounded like this (if you are the breeder) was news to you too!

I can see where you are coming from, however what if this new problem in the breed first came to light in a dog that was not owned by a breeder. We are assuming that the owner informs their breeder of the problem and that the breeder then informs the breed club (who in turn inform their membership). Some breeders are ahead of the game and test routinely, even undetaking tests that are not recommended by the breed club but others may wait until they have to test for it. I actually know several owners who have more knowledge than a lot of 'breeders'.

I don't know the breeder in question so I can't comment on their ethics and practices however I will say that it was nice to see them taking an active interest in seminars and attending one on conformation and movement

Hi Greyhawk
The breeder in question is the health co-ordinator at the NIS so would be well aware, there seems to be some confusion with how posts have been worded.

I have a feeling that some of this thread has given the wrong slant regarding that particular breeder.

No one has done more to make breeders aware of health issues in the breed than I have and I know, from talking to Kate in the past, that she is very concerned about health issues and has had the misfortune of experiencing problems herself. She is a responsible breeder and, as I said, she takes health very seriously.