The Tamaskan Dog Controversy

Several months ago, a few of us who had left the UK Tamaskan Group embarked on a project to recover the official names and history of our dogs.  After being associated with this group for close to two years, it became clear that the information we needed to promote the breed and ensure healthy and sound puppies was neither readily available nor forthcoming from the founders.  The results of this research are presented in the website www.the-no-wolf-tamaskan-tale.com .

Rather than dispute our claims and provide evidence to the contrary, the UK Tamaskan Dog group has resorted to character assassination, libel, and attempts to continue to keep this information secret.    If the information were untrue, it seems as if it would be very simply to set the record straight. 

This has never been about deterring the purchase of a UK Tamaskan Dog, or casting TDR registered breeders in a bad light.  This is only about truth and honesty.   It is interesting that the  Tamaskan Dog Register (TDR) will not provide the documentation to dispute the facts and support their claims, or be honest with the public on what one is purchasing when you buy one of their dogs.

My goal in participating in this project was to make our findings public  so that people who are interested in purchasing a UK Tamaskan Dog know the truth behind their lines.   Until now, even registered breeders did not know what they were purchasing or the true pedigrees behind their lines.  However, the hours of research were well worth it to me, as I now have a better understanding of the background of my dogs and, after having restored the registered names and kennels,  can better track down the health history of this breed. 

I have accomplished what I set out to do.  In good conscience, I could not move forward until those who were likewise duped knew the truth. Several times, the TDR group has attempted to hide this information from the public  by filing false accusations with the website host.   If the website is down "again"  one cannot help but wonder why are they so afraid; how bad is the information they are trying to hide; and if what we found is not true, then why are they not defending themselves with the truth rather than resorting to bully tactics?  It would be very simple to prove us wrong.  And yet, they don't.  When presented with an alternative Oskari we objectively looked at the facts as they presented them, and they just didn't make any sense.  All of the research is provided on a public  forum.   The same public forum they are determined to close down. 

As for the history of my dogs.  While I do know that neither Mikko nor Inna have wolf in their lines.  Mikko is a high content Czechoslovakian Wolfdog and Inna is lower content Czech Wolfdog, the balance of both dogs likely being purebred Siberian Husky.   To date, I have found nothing immediate as far as health history on Inna's side.  I do know that her  Great Grandmother  has produced female puppies with reproductive problems, epilepsy, and a condition called monorchidism.   A monorchid puppy is a male  that has only one descended testicle.  My male Mikko is afflicted with this condition.  While his breeder  continues to dispute the claim (now with her 4th version of the story)  she knowingly sent to me  (a new Tamaskan breeder) a monorchid puppy.   I will also add that this is not the first time, nor the last, that she sold monorchid males to potential breeders.  Unfortunately,  unscrupulous breeders are everywhere, and when you import a dog, you really are at the mercy of the honesty and ethical morals of the breeder.  When Mikko first arrived, his breeder insisted that his condition was due to the plane ride to the US, then asked me to use homeopathic meds to try to correct the issue.  Then, when her own daughter told me the truth (that her mother knew of Mikko’s condition before sending him overseas), she insisted  to everyone that I (a total stranger living in the US) forced her to send him to me too early.  And now, more recently, she claims that she told me about his condition before she sent him and I wanted him anyway.  Email records and copies of correspondence all speak otherwise. 

Mikko represents a unique line in the breed.  When I realized that his condition was permanent, and I had been duped by the breeder, I asked for recourse through the Tamaskan Dog Register.  As the Secretary is the daughter of the breeder, and the Chairperson is the breeder herself, I received none.  (Again, this is not new, we have had several people report to us that puppies which were ill or found to have genetic disorders were never replaced, nor compensation of an kind received,  from this breeder.)  The TDR did however vote to allow Mikko to be used for stud.  And  then after having voted to allow him for use, both the Chairman and the Secretary proceeded on a campaign to malign both me and Mikko.  They grossly misrepresented  the conditions under which he was to be bred, ignored his potential contribution to the breed, and in a self-serving manner placed themselves above the TDR which approved his use.

In the course of my research on monorchidism,  I found that Cornell University is doing a study on monorchidism.   I contacted them about Mikko.  Mikko, any dam to which he is bred, and all offspring will be enrolled in the study.  The goal of the study is to identify a genetic marker(s) for  monorchidism, thus being able to test for this condition prior to breeding a carrier.  Mikko will only be used for limited breeding, and any monorchid males he produces will be removed from the gene pool.  In addition, now that we have a better health history, we can track monorchid carriers (this is a recessive, autosomal trait) to better ensure that two carriers are not bred together.  It is unfortunate, that despite having “founded” the breed, neither the Chairperson nor the Secretary (who is also the Breed Historian and keeper of the "worldwide" Tamaskan Health Database)  has provided the UK Tamaskan Dog breeders with this information.  When I last reviewed the information, notably missing were the most recent monorchids produced by the Chairperson herself who, by the way,  continues to breed known carriers producing more monorchids males  and additional carriers.   If we could figure it out in a few years, surely they could have done so by now, if they had wanted to.  Their penchant to withhold information and not make use of what they know, puts UK Tamaskan Dog breeders in the position of only being able to make more puppies, not to prevent health problems, let alone eliminate them.  

For those of you interested in a puppy from my kennel, I can assure you that I have done extensive testing on Mikko to ensure that he is otherwise an excellent specimen of the breed.   Had I determined that he had other health issues, or issues of structure or temperament, I would have never considered him for stud.  In his own way, Mikko will contribute to the advancement of the Aatu Tamaskan.