[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by katelin

WOW! YT and this thread in particular is like life in the fast lane. Slow Down!

I am probably what you would call a "hobby breeder". I am retired and this is my hobby along with raising my grandchildren. I love all of the breeding part of Yorkies and the raising of puppies. But you probably couldn't get me into a ring to show.

I just want to remind everyone that a breeder has to start somewhere. Most of us don't get the breedable show dogs in the beginning. The show dogs are sold on limited registration. Rather we try to find a really good dog to start our line. We try to be responsible about health and conformation and temperament. But we aren't perfect -- and neither are you!

Most people just want a lovable, healthy, fun Yorkie. And I, as a person who loves Yorkies and tries really hard to do her best, can give that to them. So stop putting us down, and INCLUDE us so that we can do better also.

BAT testing or not BAT testing -- you all know that LS could happen to anyone. You can "know" your line, you can test BAT, but still LS can show up unexpectedly -- 8 or 10 years down the line!

You want honesty? We have raised puppies for four years, owned 16 dogs at various times, and then out of the blue we had a puppy with LS. She was the biggest in the litter, she was as healthy as any we had ever raised, and at 14 months she got sick. After much testing, it was finally determined to be LS. We offered to take the puppy back, but who can part with it after over a year in the family. We refunded the money paid for the puppy, but that is a small amount compared to the cost of testing and potential surgery. She is doing well now on a strict diet and meds. But for how long?? Those are the questions that plague her forever owner as well as me.

And yes, I had discussed LS and other potential health concerns for Yorkies with the buyer -- but we had never had any of those problems! It is devastating to all of us.

Now for the worst of it. We just had a litter, but no serious concerns about them. However, the female that threw the LS pup had already been bred when we got the diagnosis. So here we are. As I said before its devastating.

So now we will have to disclose to every potential buyer of ANY of our puppies that we have had an LS puppy. And it will forever taint our reputation as breeders with some, if not most, people.

We are heartbroken. And we don't need to hear any of that snide, snobby, talk that is all too familiar in dog circles. Research! Know Your Line! Only Breed Show Dogs! I thought we did as much right as we could possibly do. I'm heartbroken.

I'm sorry about the puppy I've said this many times but even the best breeders will sometimes get a puppy with a health problem. Its what they do after that shows me whether they are ethical or not. Do they lie about it and keep breeding or do they admit it, figure out where the problem came from, and eliminate the problematic lines?