We are happy to announce that Nova and her partner successfully tied. We will know whether our litter will be arriving or not by the end of February.
The breeding culture here in the US is different than my experiences in Japan, so here's a few things I wanted to address for our future clients:
Yes, they will be health tested before any one puppy are rehomed. Being a prior military family means we did not have time and logistics on our side to initiate this process. Nova and her sire are undergoing genetic testing via Embark and will be happy to provide those results for those interested.
OFA certification: Hip and elbow dysplasia is a common ailment within the breed. We are aware of this, and Nova will get her OFA certification completed 4 weeks after whelping, if she whelps. This is something we took careful attention to in Japan as Nova was a puppy. She does not present any physical signs, and we know her parents do not have it. We are confident she will have great results, and understand testing is very important to our ethical values as well as to our future families. We may be taking an unconventional route here, but we have confidence in our methods.
Registration: I just wanted to remind those interested I will not be registering this litter with any kennel club. For the time being, we are keeping Nova registered with the Japan Kennel Club. The sire is registered with the AKC. We are also happy to provide proof of this.
Again, if anyone has any questions at all, please reach out.