[AHicks99]

Any breeders comments and opinions are appreciated and welcomed. Please no judging.

Ok so Ive bred yorkies for awhile now and just want to brush up on my skills and knowledge. I havent had a litter in over 1 1/2 years and Im sure I can learn quite a bit from this site and the help of other breeders.

In my past Ive had two breeding females total in my program. I am not a commercial breeder or breed more then one dog at a time. I have been selective in choosing my new female based on so many things.

My current female has had her first and second heat. I chose to wait until her third heat due to her size and wanted to make sure she was big enough to breed. She is almost 5 lbs and compared to my other females she is tiny. My other females were 7 and 8 lbs. She was recently bred with a tiny male and tied several times over the time she spent with him. It was a monitored breeding to make sure things went the way they should. And at this time all is well. We are hoping things were successful and will wait to confirm.

I just have some questions are

1) Will the dam stand for a male if she is not ready?
2) When whelping do you allow the dam to whelp freely or do you intervene and help her cut cords and so on?
3) Do you allow your dam to consume the afterbirth or placentas?

In the past my females have been free whelpers but would like to know other breeders opinions on this. The pros and cons of why or why not to. In my experience these questions may depend on the dam and how she is taking to her litter.

Like I said I am looking to refresh my mind with other breeder stories and experiences. I am not perfect but looking to be better. I breed occasional and choose my yorkies according to AKC standards. I am not a back yard breeder nor do I do this for money. I enjoy my dogs, they are a big part of my family. And by far one of the most important things in my life.

Looking forward to any comments and suggestions.

Thank you