AVALON - OUR PHILOSOPHY

At Avalon, we love our dogs. We breed, whelp, raise, train, and place our mastiffs based on our simple philosphy:

There are plenty of dogs in the world.

We don't need MORE dogs....we need BETTER dogs.

Breeding is both an art and a science, and we only breed when we feel that we can make a contribution to the world of mastiffs by producing the best possible dogs.

We believe in testing our mastiffs for genetic problems before we breed. However, we also know that some problems, such as hip dysplasia, cannot be eliminated simply by testing. For this reason, we guarantee the dogs that we produce in writing. Click on this link to VIEW OUR GUARANTEE.

Not everyone tests their dogs. We do, and we try to breed to dogs that are tested. However, we do not believe that we have the right to impose our beliefs on others, although we strongly encourage others to test their dogs.

We also recommend that those who obtain dogs from us test them.

We breed the pedigree, not just the phenotype (appearance) of the dog. This ensures that over generations, we can both set genes for desirable type and eliminate genes that manifest disease and problems in our line.

Knowledge of pedigrees and the problems that are produced on the lines that we breed, and breeding for correct conformation based on the AKC Standard for the mastiff, is a major consideration in the dogs that we select for our breeding program.

That said, and based on extensive knowledge of our pedigrees and the pedigrees of any dog we bring into our breeding program, we are not willing to limit our breeding program ONLY to tested dogs. To do so is a disservice to the goal we strive for, of producing better dogs that are also correct conformationally. For this reason, we also believe in fully disclosing any problems that we know to exist in the dogs in our pedigrees.

There are dogs of the mastiff breed that demonstrate exceptional quality in their type, movement, soundness, and offspring, although they may not be tested by their owners. We may use these dogs on occasion when to do so will, in our opinion, better our breed and our breeding program.

We subscribe to the codes of ethics of all clubs to which we belong, including the Mastiff Club of America, the Old English Mastiff Club, Southern States Mastiff Fanciers, North and East Mastiff Fanciers, and the Three Rivers Mastiff Club. When any difference occurs in the codes for these clubs, the most stringent provision prevails.

Our friend, deedee Andersson, wrote the following "Bill of Rights" for Storm Mastiffs. We subscribe to this "Bill of Rights" and reproduce it here because we also believe it to the letter, with her kind permission.

STORM MASTIFFS BILL OF RIGHTS Adopted by Avalon Mastiffs and reprinted with permission
BUYER'S RIGHTS	BREEDER'S RIGHTS
The right to receive a healthy, happy animal.	Tolerance from the Buyer. All animals have faults; there is no such thing as a perfect dog.
Mentoring, caring, and support through out the life of the animal.	We want a commitment from the Buyer that the animal will not be discarded because of minor failings.
Promise from the Breeder that this animal can always come home to them - no matter the circumstances.	Promise from the Buyer this animal will be returned home to the Breeder if for any reason the Buyer can no longer care for the animal.
That the written contract will be honored by the Breeder.	That the written contract will be honored by the Buyer.
That the Breeder will always consider the animal's well-being as a top priority.	That the Buyer will always consider the animal's well-being as a top priority.

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