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bjh · 11-02-2009, 10:29 AM

I got my first yorkie from some friends nearly 13 years ago. Dixie, our first yorkie, was 7 months old when we got her. Our friends had yorkies and we wanted a small dog that could travel with us when we went to trade shows. At the time we were selling antiques and collectibles at trade shows like Canton Trade Days and Winnie Trade Days. I have always been around dogs my whole life and had had several different breeds over the year. I always enjoyed breeding and raising an occasional litter. My first husband and I had raised St. Bernards for several years and we had owner handled one Saint to her championship. Back then it took 19 bitches for a major so we were proud of our accomplishment. When I first got into Yorkies I was really not interested in getting involved in showing again, I just wanted to enjoy our babies. We eventually added a few more yorkies to our household because as everyone knows, you can't just have one yorkie.

They all stole our hearts. Eventually we started breeding, not for the betterment of the breed because I had not even considered that side of it. I just bred pretty healthy, loving pets. I wanted to share the joy that my yorkies gave to me with others. I guess I was lucky there that I did have yorkies that were fairly good representatives of the breed. Of course back then good resources like Yorkie Talk were not available and I did not have a mentor other than the lady I bought my yorkie from and she was just a byb that loved her yorkies. After raising yorkies for about 7 years I met a friend that also raised yorkies and she had a great desire to show so eventually she and I started going to shows and truly learning more and more about this wonderful breed. Because of YT and going to shows I have learned so much and I am still learning. My ultimate goal would be to produce and show my own yorkie to its championship. I know that will take a lot of hard work and money to accomplish.

It is not wrong for you to want to breed yorkies. It can be very rewarding but it can also come with heartaches. If I knew 13 years ago what I know today about yorkies, mentoring and the betterment of the breed I would have done things much differently. I can't turn back the clock but I can give advice to those that want to breed and that is do your homework and get the best representative of the breed you can for your breeding program. If you can't afford to show then at least attend some shows and talk to reputable breeders. Many people say they are breeding for the betterment of the breed but one cannot better the breed by just breeding pet quality yorkies that are full of faults. To breed for the betterment of the breed you have to start with high quality breeding stock.

If you do decide to breed then I wish you the best and I hope you truly will do your research and get started the right way.

11-02-2009, 10:29 AM	#2
bjh Donating YT 5000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Southeast Texas Posts: 7,959	I got my first yorkie from some friends nearly 13 years ago. Dixie, our first yorkie, was 7 months old when we got her. Our friends had yorkies and we wanted a small dog that could travel with us when we went to trade shows. At the time we were selling antiques and collectibles at trade shows like Canton Trade Days and Winnie Trade Days. I have always been around dogs my whole life and had had several different breeds over the year. I always enjoyed breeding and raising an occasional litter. My first husband and I had raised St. Bernards for several years and we had owner handled one Saint to her championship. Back then it took 19 bitches for a major so we were proud of our accomplishment. When I first got into Yorkies I was really not interested in getting involved in showing again, I just wanted to enjoy our babies. We eventually added a few more yorkies to our household because as everyone knows, you can't just have one yorkie. They all stole our hearts. Eventually we started breeding, not for the betterment of the breed because I had not even considered that side of it. I just bred pretty healthy, loving pets. I wanted to share the joy that my yorkies gave to me with others. I guess I was lucky there that I did have yorkies that were fairly good representatives of the breed. Of course back then good resources like Yorkie Talk were not available and I did not have a mentor other than the lady I bought my yorkie from and she was just a byb that loved her yorkies. After raising yorkies for about 7 years I met a friend that also raised yorkies and she had a great desire to show so eventually she and I started going to shows and truly learning more and more about this wonderful breed. Because of YT and going to shows I have learned so much and I am still learning. My ultimate goal would be to produce and show my own yorkie to its championship. I know that will take a lot of hard work and money to accomplish. It is not wrong for you to want to breed yorkies. It can be very rewarding but it can also come with heartaches. If I knew 13 years ago what I know today about yorkies, mentoring and the betterment of the breed I would have done things much differently. I can't turn back the clock but I can give advice to those that want to breed and that is do your homework and get the best representative of the breed you can for your breeding program. If you can't afford to show then at least attend some shows and talk to reputable breeders. Many people say they are breeding for the betterment of the breed but one cannot better the breed by just breeding pet quality yorkies that are full of faults. To breed for the betterment of the breed you have to start with high quality breeding stock. If you do decide to breed then I wish you the best and I hope you truly will do your research and get started the right way.