[rosemark]

As a show breeder who has produced at least one champion from every litter of yorkies I've produced (one litter of 4 produced 3 champions), I can tell you that kennel blindness will destroy your breeding program in a heartbeat. Here is my breeding philosophy:

1. Seek out knowledgeable individuals who will honestly critique your bitch and tell you what needs to be improved. This person needs to feel they can be brutally honest, and you need to be able to take the criticism gracefully.
2. Breed each litter as if it is the last litter your bitch may ever produce. Money wisely spent on a quality stud will be money saved on handler and show expenses. The fact that you own a male, even if it is a champion, does not mean you should use that dog on every bitch you own.
3. Breed to the stud dog that most closely resembles your ideal dog. Be extremely critical of that dog and be sure that the traits that dog possesses are the same as those you need to correct in your female. Do not breed to anything that has faults you cannot live with, as you are bringing those traits into your gene pool. It's wise to know what the stud's parents looked like as well. Ask for referrals and talk to those other breeders to understand what the stud produces. Ask about faults, genetic problems and most of all, ask about litter size and puppy mortality. Consistent litters of 1 or 2 puppies can be indicative of a problem which causes fetal death and the puppies to be reabsorbed.
4. Look at what the stud dog produces. Sometimes you are better off breeding to the father of that lovely dog you see in the ring if the mother did not possess those traits you admire in that dog. Remember, a "proven" stud dog doesn't simply mean the dog is fertile. It means that the stud transmits it's desireable traits to it's offspring on a consistent basis. If have the opportunity, learn about entire litters sired by that dog, including those that were sold as pets and why they didn't make the grade.
5. If you are breeding to show, find out how many champions that dog has produced. A huge stud fee doesn't necessarily equate to quality offspring. Keep in mind, not all specials are truly the best dogs in the country, but rather their owners have the resources to campaign the dog. You might find a really great stud dog owned by a small scale show breeder that will produce the results you want without a massive stud fee.

In my opinion, the reason people practice line breeding is because they do not have a comfort level with knowing what traits to expect from a dog. So they go the safe route and hope for the best. If you can be honest with yourself about what you would choose to improve your female and breed to a dog that produces those traits, you will have a great level of success.