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Originally Posted by mrs merch Have you seen her pics? How could this precious creature harm the breed? Some people actually buy their puppies for the joy of owning them. I'm in that category. |
Yorkies, like any purebred dog, have certain conditions inherent to the breed like liver shunts, luxating patellas, and Legg-Perthes. Did you know that Yorkies are 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined? That the ratio of Legg-Perthes disease is the highest in Yorkies?
Reputable breeders carefully screen their breeding dogs and do health testing to make sure their lines are free of genetic conditions they could pass on to their offspring. Since you do not know your girl's background, there is no way you could know whether or not she carries genes for liver shunts, Legg-Perthes or any other genetic.
My Lady is the product of careless breeding and is diabetic and epileptic. Her medical expenses run $5,000 a year now. Both conditions are genetic. She became epileptic at age four and diabetic at age six. Thank heavens she was spayed or she could have passed these genes onto her puppies years before she ever came down with the disease herself.
There is a ton of information on this forum about the responsibility of breeding, inherent problems in Yorkies, health testing, etc. to help you make an informed decision whether or not to breed your Yorkie.