DanBar Ranch
in loving memory of Dan and Barbara Jessup
Wee Jeckle (and sister Wee Heckle) were Wee Mary's parting gift to me before she passed (she died due an accident). They are the future of DanBar Ranch cairn terriers is in their very capable paws. They are examples of what I am trying to produce here. Perfect size, perfect coat, perfect temperament.
As you can see in the image below, Wee Jeckle has the perfect true "hard coat" as indicated by the hard coat on legs and lack of fringe on ears. He does not need to be plucked or stripped to have a correct coat.
Jeckle will be taking over the stud duties from Wee Mikey. He is strongly bred Mikey, with a line back to Wee Bonnie. His sire is an AKC champion.
Jeckle is a kind, sweet cairn, not hyper, not dog-aggressive, loves to hunt predators. Great with kids, though he rarely sees them and was not raised with them.
I believe honesty and tackling tough issues head on is the ONLY way to breed dogs. When I bred Wee Mary to Ch. Teddy Bear McGreen I did not know that Teddy's OFA hip rating was "Fair". I myself don't choose to breed dogs with "Fair" or lower ratings so you can imagine my horror when Jeckle's OFA preliminary hip rating came back as "Fair" as well. I am coming to realize that poor hip structure is NOT that rare in cairns (I was given an AKC Ch. female whose hips came back as "Fair" and I returned her to the breeder) in great part because I am one of only a handful of cairn breeders who do OFA hip xrays. The cairn fancy would rather turn a blind eye and pretend the problem doesn't exist by simply ignoring it.
Years ago, I started a breeding program on an extraordinary male pit bull (Dirk, SchH 3, IPO 3, French Ring Brevet) who was given a hip rating of "Excellent" by the OFA. Over a year later, after he had been bred to 4 bitches, including one of his daughters (who was OFA "Excellents"!), the OFA called me up to tell me there had been a mistake and that his results were switched with another dog's and that he was, in fact, dysplastic in one hip. By that time, however, I was well underway in an inbreeding program using him as the stud, and by careful selection, culling and xraying, I ended up producing a line of game American pit bulls with excellent hips.
The fact that Jeckle's hips rated a "Fair" is a great disappointment to me, but something I will NOT HIDE FROM YOU. I hope you will trust me enough as an ethical breeder to know that I will be working diligently to use him with great caution ONLY with bitches of "Good" or "Excellent" hip structure and to replace him as soon as feasible with a stud of "Good" or "Excellent" rating. Jeckle is my pride and joy; he is everything I want in a cairn terrier, and every dog has faults. Obviously, this is a horrible blow but just a minor setback that I plan on tackling head-on. If you have ANY questions on this subject please don't hesitate to contact me.
OFA Hips: Prelim at 20 months Fair
OFA Elbows: Prelim at 20 months Normal
OFA Eyes: NORMAL (10/22)
OFA Dentition:
OFA Patellas: NORMAL (10/22)
OFA Heart: NORMAL (10/22)
DNA Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency: CLEAR
DNA Hemophilia B (Cairn Terrier Type): CLEAR
DNA Globoid Cell Leukodystrophy: CLEAR
DNA Craniomandibular Osteopathy (CMO): CLEAR
CLICK HERE for Jeckle's OFA and DNA Health Page
CLICK HERE for Jeckle's Pedigree Page
(Upper right picture): The "Jeckle and Hyde" of cairn terriers. Here a 6 month old Wee Jeckle is shown looking at a trapped and aggressive feral cat (He has never seen a pet cat so to him it's a wild pest predator). And yet cairns are the jolliest of animals with people and friend-animals. But they are old-school predator hunters.
(Left Picture): Jeckle at 6 months showing his natural un-plucked coat.
"The DanBar Type"...
Every serious breeder is breeding toward their dream of producing a "type" of dog which will make their heart go pitty-pat!
In my case I put emphasis on correct size and shape paired with a bold, friendly terrier attitude. My personal goal is to produce CORRECT, workman like cairn coats - something quite rare today.
TOP UPPER RIGHT: This is Jeckle's mom, "Wee Mary, a double bred Wee Mikey bitch. I considered her the best cairn I had bred till Wee Jeckle came along. I lost her to a tragic accident much too young.
BOTTOM LOWER RIGHT: This is AKC Champion Teddy Bear McGreen, owned by Norma Rice of Marma's Cairn Terriers (Albany, Oregon). Teddy is Jeckle's sire. He earned his championship in just 5 weeks! Thank you, Norma for allowing me use Teddy.