I'm not a breeder, but I am a yorkie owner. I have considered breeding, but as I started doing my research, I began to find that there is so much more involved than I realized. I have decided to leave the breeding to the experts, but I am still very interested in it. In my opinion, breeding should never be done for monetary gain. In reality, you don't make any money breeding when you consider all the cost and time that goes into it. I think breeding should only be done in a way to constantly strive to improve the breed. Only the very best dogs which have had the proper health screening should be bred. When I considered breeding, I wanted to breed only show quality dogs but didn't want to show, and I realized that showing is actually an important part of the breeding process. How else can you prove your lines?
I have seen a lot of people say they want to breed their dog so that the dog has the "experience" of being a mom. I think that's a ridiculous reason. I also don't like to see people breeding yorkies that are not within the standard. If breeding was left to the people who are trying to produce only the very best, just think how the breed would improve.
I think anyone new to breeding should try to get a mentor, someone who is experienced. That's the way I would go because experience is so valuable. I would never want to put a dog in danger by trying to breed myself, without the help of a mentor. I think I would find someone who would be willing to let me sit in on a birth to watch before I ever attempted it myself. I also don't like when people intentionally breed for "tinies" or when they breed a female that is too small. I don't like seeing people advertising "designer" dogs with high price tags.
To me, breeding is a huge responsibility, so I don't think it should ever be taken lightly, especially when breeding the smaller breeds like yorkies. Just being a yorkie owner, without breeding, takes up the majority of my time. I enjoy everything about my boys, and I put a lot of time and effort into them because I want them to be around for a very long time. Breeding is a full time job, IMO. It's more than just finding two dogs that might make cute puppies. There's so much research, learning and studying lines, etc. There's a lot more involved than people realize. And, there are so many things that can go wrong with these little dogs.
Another good way to learn is to go to shows and start talking to people there. They can give you lots of good advice, and you will see for yourself the quality of the dogs they are producing.
