More important than learning about inbreeding, line breeding, outbreeding and such.... is to make sure you start with a male and female that meet the Yorkshire Standard! Go through the standard step by step and compare your prospective breeders. Have someone experience with AKC shows evaluate your yorkies. Have your vet evaluate too (although they seem to think any healthy two dogs can mate -- but at least they will check the female for any birthing problems).
They need to be more than just cute yorkeis. You are trying to better the breed, so you do not want to breed dogs that are not up to the standard. They may have a slight fault, finding a perfect yorkie is hard to do. But you need to compensate for that with the other mate, as Chantal was saying. For instance, if you have a male that is perfect except for larger sized ears (like mine), you look for a female that has tiny well-set ears. That worked well for me and two litters of pups seem to be growing into adulthood with nicely sized ears! They need to be free (tested) from disease and genetic problems. Their health history to include several generations back, should be thoroughly checked for the same. Make sure puppies are not being born with hereditary problems.
I would not even think about inbreeding and linebreeding without the mentorship of a breeder that has years of experience, and is thoroughly educated on yorkshire genetics. Too easy to make a misstep that will cause birth defects. Maybe not even with the first generation, but maybe the next. When you sell your puppies, you want to make sure you are not selling any surprises to their owners. Stick with unrelated dogs.
Post pics of your prospective breeders in the breeder talk forum. There are highly experienced and gifted breeders that will be more than happy to evaluate them. Try to get a good frontal and full body side shot. This would just be a preliminary assessment as to fully decide if they are breeding material, you would want to show them inaction to see how they mov and how their perosnalities shine.
So much to think about! It is commendable that you are researching this now. How long have you been breeding Yorkies? |