Estrella Polar Pyrenean Mastiffs

01/04/2025

Pyrenean Mastiff Public Service Announcement!

Embark has added a new test called Copper Toxicosis or also known as Copper Storage Disease. The reason we want to address this test is because we are seeing markers on dogs who have been tested since it was released in the Summer of 2024.

However, at this time we are in a data gathering stage to better identify how widespread the markers are in the breed. Based on preliminary data gathering we suspect the markers are a false positive in the Pyrenean Mastiff and that this disease does not apply to the Pyrenean Mastiff.

Of 28 known dogs tested since the Summer of 2024, only 28.57% (8) of dogs do not have any markers for the condition. 57.14% (16) of dogs have 1 marker and 14.29% (4) of dogs have 2 markers. This indicates that the marker being identified is fairly widespread in the population based on initial data gathering and has not been linked to any specific country considering the dogs are diverse from each other.

At this time it is almost impossible to avoid breeding a carrier/at risk to carrier/at risk. The reason we suspect that this disease marker does not apply to the Pyrenean Mastiff is due to the fact that there are no known cases of the disease in the breed and considering how widespread markers are we would have expected many cases of it by now.

The Pyrenean Mastiff Pedigree Database does have a field added for data gathering so if your dogs have been tested against this marker you can update the pedigree database to help us continue to get a better understanding of the marker in the breed population.

At this time we do not feel it is mandatory to retest breeding dogs for this marker just that moving forward we continue to gather data for population data.

If at any point a dog is diagnosed with this condition, please notify us! This can only be confirmed via liver biopsy.

Sincerely,
PMAA Board of Directors

Picture for attention because who doesn't love seeing puppies.

12/29/2024

Home pending ❤️

We are super bummed to announce this but I am looking to place Archer aka Murtoi's Apollo our Italian import. Born 01/27/2024, he is currently 11 months old and a big, sweet and beautiful boy. I had high hopes for him in and out of the show ring. He is silly, goofy and such a love but definitely not aware of his size yet!

I was concerned with his rear movement and did preliminary xrays and he has subluxation in the hip sockets with the left being worse and showing initial remodeling of the socket indicating he will likely go moderate once 2 years old. He overall moves, runs and plays fine currently but will likely encounter arthritis as he matures. He is already huge for his age so monitoring will be important. Because of his hips I cannot use him in my breeding program like I hoped so I am looking for a pet home.

We will be extremely selective on his new home. He will go on a mandatory neuter contract since he is still to young to neuter. I am looking for a PET home, he will not be placed for breeding.

Please contact us if you would like to know more.

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Rölli aka Estrella Polar's Llum showing his love for the Christmas tree this season 🤣 ❤️

12/11/2024

More health testing completed and in the books! We have 2 more girls we will be getting tested in the next month and we expect great results as well based on their preliminary xrays ❤️

Estrella Polar's Gallant God of War aka Aries (Zaijas Adan Lovely-Lyra x Bud Spencer)

https://pyreneanmastiff.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/Estrella-Polar-s-Gallant-God-of-War/pedigree/10630/i

https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2591972

Hips: Good
Elbows: Normal
Patellas: Normal
Basic Cardiac: Normal
Eyes: Normal
Dm Clear

Estrella Polar's Esperanza Etoile aka Elke (Lexidian Leevi x Karankawa)

https://pyreneanmastiff.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/Estrella-Polar-s-Esperanza-Etoile/pedigree/10292/i

https://ofa.org/advanced-search/?appnum=2592182

Hips: Good
Elbows: Normal
Patellas: Normal
Basic Cardiac: Normal
Eyes: Normal
Dm Carrier

11/27/2024

11/23/2024

Happy 1st birthday to the Estrella Polar "J" Litter!! Vega's Beacon in the Dark x Dumah de Monte Sano ❤️

11/22/2024

It is so important that when a breeder says they have done health testing that you are able to verify the results given. A transparent breeder who has no issues sharing health information is important when looking to add a new puppy.

11/20/2024

We are greatful to be part of continued education and sharing when it comes to the Pyrenean Mastiff ❤️

Check out Showsight - Where Champions Are Celebrated Magazine's November edition! Page 283 there is an article featuring the Pyrenean Mastiff

11/19/2024

We have already been doing Hips, Elbows, Hearts, Genetic testing, Eyes and Patellas. To get in compliance we just need to submit our DM testing results to OFA and update some heart testing so it is done after 2 years of age (OFA allows it after 1 year of age so we have some hearts tested between the ages of 1 and 2).

Health has always been super important to us so in the next few months we will be working to gain CHIC certification on our dogs now that PMAA has set up the breed's CHIC requirements.

Alright! Let's talk health. We are going to start with a quick overview of Health Testing Requirements for Breeding Dogs. Throughout the next week or 2 we will break down each of these requirements/recommendations and why per PMAA.

We had 12 members gather for discussions on updating the PMAA health testing requirements based on data being gathered worldwide. Of the 12 members, 7 participated in a meeting and vote on items that should be updated. The PMAA Board of Directors is working on documenting the updates and will be voting on the updated Code of Ethics wording.

Mandatory Health testing:
• OFA Hips – a hip radiograph to rule out conditions which can occur in any giant breed that is performed at 2 years of age or older.
• OFA Elbows – an elbow radiograph to rule out conditions which can occur in any giant breed that is performed at 2 years of age or older.
• OFA Heart – auscultation by a General Practitioner or by a Board-Certified Veterinary Cardiologist to rule out conditions which can affect the heart at 2 years of age or older. (Abnormal auscultation should be followed up by an Echocardiogram)
• Genetic testing and submission to OFA to rule out Degenerative Myleopathy which can affect the spinal cord.

Recommended/Optional Health Testing:
• Broad panel genetic testing to identify any genetic conditions that may not be well known or understood in the breed for data gathering such as Copper Toxicosis. Dogs who are carriers or at risk/affected must only be bred to dogs who are clear to avoid producing potentially at risk/affected dogs.
• OFA Spine radiographs performed at 2 years of age or older are optional to better understand potential conditions affecting the spine in the breed.
• OFA Companion Animal Eye Registry is optional to gather information related to eye conditions that may be affecting the breed.

Puppy picture for attention because who doesn't love puppies.

11/16/2024

Temperament testing for M litter yesterday now that they are 7 weeks old ❤️

11/06/2024

Embark has recently added some new disease testing during the Summer! One of these new disease test items is Copper Toxicosis. Some Pyrenean Mastiffs tested recently are showing as having the markers for Copper Toxicosis. We don't know if this disease is a false positive or relevant to our breed at this time so we are monitoring it. Any of our breeding dogs or upcoming breeding prospects who did not have this specific test on their kit will be getting tested for it so we can see who may or may not be carriers/at risk. It is important to us to know that we limit potential risk to puppies in case this does actually apply in the breed.

Reminder Carrier does not mean affected/at risk for either Degenerative Myleopathy or Copper Toxicosis. Both are diseases that are inherited in an incomplete penetrant, autosomal recessive pattern in some breeds of dog. This means that two copies of the alleles increase the risk of the condition showing, but not all dogs with two copies of the allele will develop the disease. Being Carriers means they are at no additional risk level of developing them.

Puppy picture for attention ❤️

09/27/2024

Estrella Polar's Lola knows she is cute and no one can tell her otherwise 🤣

09/26/2024

Today we welcomed our "M" litter between Karankawa and Galileo do Guindeiro

09/17/2024

We apologize for the delay we have been busy getting things done and had down time for a major surgery ❤️ Pandora has her xray for puppy count this Friday.

Estrella Polar's Lola and Llum are growing and 8 weeks old ❤️ Llum is hanging out till he is 15 weeks old before heading off to his family ❤️

08/19/2024

Nyx aka Estrella Polar's Harmonía da Noite (Karankawa x Ander de Estrella Polar) and Jovanni aka Estrella Polar's Jovanni (Vega's Beacon in the Dark x Dumah de Monte Sano) went and showed in Longview at a UKC show ❤️

Nyx took home 2 Group 2's and a Group 3 and Jovanni took home a Group 4 ❤️ Nyx finished in AKC earlier this year but we are working to knock out her UKC Champion and Jovanni just went out to dabble for the first time in the show ring this weekend at 8.5 months old to prepare as a future show dog.

07/24/2024

We have updated our website to show our upcoming breeding plans that will close out 2024!

Our upcoming breeding plans!Our "M" litter plan:Due End of SeptemberPandora/KarankawaOwned by: Karina Whittington & Amanda PrattHips Good A/AElbows Normal 0/0Patellas NormalBasic Heart NormalEyes NormalEmbark DM Carrierhttps://pyreneanmastiff.pedigreedatabaseonline.com/en/Karankawa/pedigree/5223/iGa...

07/19/2024

We welcomed the Estrella Polar L litter today of 1 boy and 1 girl between Vega's Beacon in the Dark and Bandito los Hafanos ❤️

*puppies are reserved*

07/09/2024

We have officially become the first Pyrenean Mastiff breeder to achieve the AKC Breeder of Merit ❤️

What this means:
- Have a history of at least 5 years involvement with AKC events.

- Have earned AKC Conformation, Performance or Companion event titles on a minimum of 4 dogs from AKC litters they bred or co-bred.

- Be a member of an AKC club.

-Certify that applicable health screens are performed on your breeding stock as recommended by the Parent Club.

- Demonstrate that 100% of the puppies produced are individually AKC registered.