Kazuki "Zuki"

About Zuki

Zuki is a shy boy who loves all the attention he can get from my daughter!  He will settle for attention from the rest of us, but he definitely is bonded to her!  He will run outside and play a little, but is always eager to get back inside if my daughter is inside.  Likewise, if she is outdoors taking care of her chickens or doing anything else, he sits on the back of the couch gazing longingly out the window at her!  Typical of the Maltese breed, he loves to cuddle and is happiest if he is snuggled up with someone!

Notes About Zuki's Genetic Test Results

If you look at Zuki's breed certificate, you will see that Embark could only confirm that Zuki is 93.1% Maltese.  When I discussed this with an Embark vet, they explained that Zuki may well be 100% Maltese, but that he contained some genes that are unknown.  This means he may have a few genes from other breeds or they may be Maltese genes, but until the genetics research has identified those genes, we cannot know for sure.  Zuki's parents were AKC papered, so I suspect he is purebred or very close to it.

You may have noticed that Zuki's COI is pretty high at 35%. So you may wonder why we would use him for breeding.  As he carries no serious genetic health problems and because he is not related to the females that we breed him to, their eCOI (estimated COI for their offspring litters) is between 3.1% and 6.1%, which is excellent.  This improves the health of our puppies by diversifying the genetic pool.

You also might have seen that Zuki carries one recessive gene for Bald Thigh Syndrome.  Again, you may wonder why we would breed a dog who carries this gene.  First of all, this gene is related to a cosmetic issue and not any serious health problems.  Secondly, it required two genes for this cosmetic problem to develop in a dog.  Since none of our other dogs carry this gene, and since our puppies are sold as pets only, none of Zuki's offspring should ever develop Bald Thigh Syndrome.  This means it is a non-issue!