Shadowtaw Ridge™ – Legacy in Motion

Shadowtaw Ridge™ – Health & Integrity

At Shadowtaw Ridge™, our commitment is simple: healthy dogs, honest breeding, and full transparency. Every Australian Shepherd in our program meets the highest standards of health testing and care before producing a litter.

🧬 Our Health Standards

  • OFA Certified: All breeding dogs complete Orthopedic Foundation for Animals evaluations.

    • Hips (at 24 months): Official certification recognized at age 2.

    • Eyes: Cleared prior to breeding.

  • DNA Tested: Comprehensive breed-specific panels ensure our dogs are free from hereditary conditions.

  • AKC DNA Verified: Each breeding dog is profiled with the American Kennel Club to confirm bloodline authenticity.

  • CHIC Registered: Dogs with completed hips, elbows, eyes, and genetic testing are entered into the Canine Health Information Center.

📸 What you see is real.
This isn’t AI. This isn’t staged. Just me and my Aussies on an Alaskan morning—loyalty, legacy, and life captured in a single frame.

When Tests Don’t Go as Planned

The CryoPack Protocol isn’t just about celebrating clear results — it’s about facing the hard truths with honesty. Not every dog passes every test, and when that happens, we make the ethical choice.

One of our Aussies, Little Britches, went through her OFA testing and we were thrilled when her hips came back excellent. But further evaluation revealed problems with her knees. To be absolutely certain, we did two additional rounds of testing — x-rays and veterinary evaluations — to verify the results. Sadly, the outcome was the same.

After those confirmations, we made the difficult but right decision: we had her fixed. Little Britches will never be bred, but she remains a cherished member of our pack — proof that at Shadowtaw Ridge™, we put ethics and the well-being of our dogs above everything else.

👉 [Read the full Little Britches story in our Journal]

Auntie Little Britches — The Heart of the Pack

Not every dog’s role is to lead or to breed. Some are here to love, guide, and teach — and that’s where Auntie Little Britches shines.

She may not be in the breeding program, but she carries one of the most important jobs at Shadowtaw Ridge™: nurturer of the next generation. Britches comforts the young ones, keeps the rowdy pups in check, and shows them the kind of patience only an Aunt can give.

Her presence reminds us that the pack is more than pedigrees and certifications — it’s about family. Every pup who grows up under her watch carries a piece of her gentle spirit forward.

In the Shadowtaw pack, every dog has a place. For Little Britches, that place is Auntie — and her legacy is love.

“Her legacy isn’t breeding — it’s love.”