[bjh]

I would appreciate input from some of you experienced show breeders on how to best raise your show prospects. At what age do you start letting them associate with your older dogs. Say if you have a litter of say 5 puppies, after they are weaned, do you let all of them stay together in one group or do you split them up when they get a little older. At what age would you split them up? It seems that if they establish a pecking order then maybe the one that looks the best conformation wise might end up being more intimidated and shy if they have bigger litter mates picking on them. I know that attitude is important in a show dog. Is attitude something that has to come natural or can it be taught? I know some show breeders keep each show dog in a separate exercise pen or crate but to me it seems sad to do that. I have also been told that when Yorkies are puppies you should just let them be puppies. At what age do you recommend starting leash training? I have heard several handlers say that we should not spoil our show dogs and we should treat them like dogs and not like children. Any input would be greatly appreciated.