|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
10-11-2010, 08:32 AM | #1 |
Love my Boys Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: w/ my boys
Posts: 5,056
| Amy Dawson-Smith...... After much thought I decided to do a *review* concerning the breeder I purchased one of my boys from. I just wanted to provide some info that may be of importance when considering a breeder. I think it’s important that you get as much info as possible on your potential breeder, not only concerning the quality and health of their pups, but also to some extent, on some of the ways a breeder produces pups that may have an impact on the health of the pup. I’ll just let the potential purchaser decide for themselves if this would impact their decision as to whether or not it’s important enough when making their choice concerning a breeder. Five years ago I purchased my Jack from Amy. I recently notified this breeder that my Jack was diagnosed with kidney disease. I just wanted to bring it to her attention in case there was a problem within her lines. Isn’t that what a responsible breeder would want to know? I wasn’t too surprised when I heard absolutely nothing back from her. I couldn’t help but do a lot of reflecting over the last 5 years after Jack’s diagnosis. I recently pulled out Jack’s file and started reading his contract that I had received when I purchased him. I’d hadn’t looked at it since the day I brought him home. I was stunned when I saw the list of exclusions that were listed as *not covered* by the breeder. It included, “trachea problems, legg perthes, liver shunt, hernias and luxating patellas”. …….Five years ago I had no idea what these health problems where or how common they could be in this breed. Jack was my first yorkie and Amy was the very first breeder I had ever seen or been to. The place was clean and the dogs looked well taken care of and the breeder seemed nice. What more do I need to know?..... It was also in her contract that if the pup was to be returned it was up to the breeder, not the purchaser, as to what you where to receive, either: a)money towards treatment, not to exceed the purchase price of the pup, b) a replacement pup or c) ½ your money back and return the pup. I would think the purchaser should have some say as what they would want if a situation like this should occur. This contract had everything in the breeders favor. Would you want to deal with a breeder like this should a problem arise? Amy had a blog on her site that I had read several times. It’s down now but she claimed she was going to put it back up, for some reason she hasn’t done so yet. The following is some of the info I found in her blog that was particularly distressing to me……According to her blog Amy breeds her dogs from the age of 2 until they are at least 7 years old (that is when she had my Jack’s mom spayed). Actually it could be younger than two years old according to her posting, “I WAIT until they are close to two years of age (in most cases).” I understand the waiting until they are two years old, but to continually breed until they are seven years old seems excessive to me. The females are bred on every heat with no skipped heats. In Jan. 2010 alone she had 8 litters that had to be tended to. From about Aug. until Feb of this year I counted 17 females that either delivered or where pregnant, all needing attention, and that was just the ones that were posted about in her blog. In that same time period there are a couple of repeats. Would you consider that excessive? Amy claims that since a Dr. Robert Van Hutchison (a canine reproduction researcher) says it’s healthier for the dams uterus to be in a pregnant state rather than skipping heats, so it’s perfectly alright for her to breed this way. She claims the uterus is prone to disease if heats are skipped. This is her response to me when I asked her if she is breeding her females on every heat: “He (Dr. H.) has informed me that giving the dogs a break is to their detriment. If you skip a cycle then they have a high chance of getting a diseased uterus and then having to have a hydrometry.” …… I can’t even imagine the amount of dogs that would be in shelters if all breeders followed this advice. I guess all those other breeders out there who are skipping heats are doing it all wrong. I know some breeders can and will breed this way but I say just because you can does that mean you should? Is this really something that should be encouraged and embraced for all breeders to do? She just had Phoebe spayed. This particular female is my Jack’s mom. She is about 7+ years old. Is this age also proper? Amy seems to think the dams actually enjoy being pregnant. In her blog she would make frequent statements as to how all her females just “ love having babies and being pregnant mommies”…. This is Amy Talking about having Phoebe spayed,…..” [QUOTE REMOVED] I feel her main focus and purpose is all about selling and producing pups. Last week I saw that Amy had a small female pup listed on her site that was priced at $5,900. There was also one there for $4,900………wow, really,for a pet?? Those tinies seem to be quite profitable.........I remember when I purchased Jack, Amy charged me $200 more for him than his litter mates because he was the runt of the litter. At the time I thought this was just *normal*, and that all breeders did this. I now know this is a practice done by unethical breeders to cash in on the smaller ones. By the way, Jack is a normal sized yorkie, he’s not a *tiny*. Continued.......
__________________ B.J.mom to : Jake J.J. Jack & Joey, momma misses you..... The joy found in the companionship of a pet is a blessing not given to everyone. The two most powerful words when we’re in struggle: me too.. Last edited by admin; 02-03-2011 at 04:44 PM. |
Welcome Guest! | |
10-11-2010, 08:35 AM | #2 |
Love my Boys Donating Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: w/ my boys
Posts: 5,056
| In another one of her blog entries she was excited about the prospect of having an *open house* several times a year to bring in more customers: [QUOTE REMOVED] I found this distasteful to say the least. There were many, many entries of her complaining how exhausted, tired and worn out she is. She says it’s because she is just caring for a litter like any good breeder would do. I say, maybe if you gave your dogs a break from breeding and shut down the assembly line maybe you could get some much needed rest. There was an entry in Jan. of this year where she was breeding a female and having to run and deliver a litter at the same time. Must not miss any opportunities for a breeding…….This was part of that days entry, she had a friend helping her, …… [QUOTE REMOVED] This is also an entry from Jan of this year…..”…… [QUOTE REMOVED] Speaking of her computer, this is a *very* important part of her *business*. She had a posting telling just how important it was and how she couldn’t be without it. This is her talking about the prospect of the computer breaking down……. [QUOTE REMOVED] Another entry: [QUOTE REMOVED] Is this really how it is for most breeders? I thought a breeder wasn’t supposed to breed for the main purpose of making a living off the backs of her dogs in order to pay her household bills?? I have no doubt that Amy loves her dogs. But having said that, I believe that she is breeding for the wrong reasons, I believe she has lost sight of what’s in the best interest of the dogs and it’s now about what is in her best interest, sales. On this forum it’s always said to research your breeder, but there is only so much info you can get from looking at a breeders web site. Some of the info has to come from prior clients experiences. If we don’t provide the info then other new clients may be lacking in some important info that may have made the difference as to who they wanted to acquire their pup from. I’m sure there are 100’s of satisfied customers who have bought from Amy, I unfortunately was not one of them. Just recently was able to put all the pieces together regarding this breeder, had I known then what I know now…… Jack has other issues other than his kidney disease; sometimes I can’t help but wonder if the overbreeding didn’t contribute in some way to his issues. Take from it what you will, personally I find this kind of breeding sad, to say the least…. AKC Yorkie Puppies (Teacup Yorkie Puppies for Sale) Yorkshire Terrier Puppies Breeder: Amy Dawson Smith , Ohio
__________________ B.J.mom to : Jake J.J. Jack & Joey, momma misses you..... The joy found in the companionship of a pet is a blessing not given to everyone. The two most powerful words when we’re in struggle: me too.. Last edited by admin; 02-03-2011 at 04:56 PM. |
10-11-2010, 08:53 AM | #3 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tennessee
Posts: 460
| wow wow, I don't know what to say. she doesn't care what her dogs are producing health wisw does she? As a breeder I would want to know if something came up 5 years down the road. Thanks for the review. Now others can be warned of her. |
Bookmarks |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart