Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladymom  Breeding purebred dogs correctly should produce a predictable result...the most important thing is to start with parents who are excellent examples of the breed.
Backyard breeders just put two dogs together randomly. Many don't even know what the Yorkie standard is. They are breeding dogs from other backyard breeders so they are starting with dogs that are pretty far off the standard. |
This is not necessarily true.
First of all, starting with parents that are excellent examples of the breed does not guarantee equally excellent pups. The sire of a champion, for example, is a better choice, genetically speaking, because you already know the sire throws championship offspring. There is no guarantee that the champion will throw good pups until he is tested (i.e., sired a few litters).
Secondly, genetics is not something that comes with guarantees. Even in carefully bred lines, there are things called "throwbacks." Plus, if the pup gets a recessive gene from each parent, it can be dominant in the pup. So you can get a big Yorkie from small parents if each parent has a big ancestor. Genetics is a bit too complex to go into here, but it is NOT predictable. At best you have probabilities and educated guesses.
Certainly some BYB know nothing about their breed standards, but it's grossly unfair to say that about all of them. I don't breed Yorkies, for example, but I know the breed standard. I don't know if I will breed Puddin' or not...it will depend on how closely she conforms to breed standard when she is old enough to be bred. If she's a good example of the breed and I can find a stud of equal quality, then I might. But if she doesn't measure up, she'll be spayed.
It is good to be cautious, but be careful of generalizations. I, for example, will probably end up being categorized as a BYB because I won't be showing Puddin'---her tail isn't docked and I won't get it done---but I would use the very same criteria for breeding her as she were a show dog. Those of us who choose to breed but not to show are not all ignorant and greedy.