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Originally Posted by Nancy1999  I believe we should only support breeders who have good breeding programs, and are breeding for the purpose of improving the breed; and remember, they will be much more likely to do important health testing, and this is where it benefits the pet owner. The problem with supporting breeders who have no AKC registration is that you might be supporting someone who has no breeding rights, in other words, they bought a dog that for whatever reason, should not have been breed. So by breeding the dog, they are in essence stealing. The AKC registration PROVES that they had a legal right to breed this dog. It's kind of like buying a TV from the back of a truck, you didn't steal the TV, but you are enabling someone else to benefit from thief.
If you only want a pet, I would suggest you look at rescues, they have many pet yorkies that are looking for good homes, if you want to ensure that the Yorkshire terrier breed is healthy 100 years from now, support a great breeder. |
I couldn't agree more. I would never support a breeder who breeds unregistered dogs. That is a bare minimum requirement before breeding, that the parents be AKC registered.
You can bet that anyone who is breeding unregistered dogs knows nothing about their genetic background or does any health testing before breeding. You could pay less upfront, but have huge vet bills later on with a puppy like this. It doesn't matter how clean the breeder's house is or how well she treats her dogs. A nice backyard breeder is just as likely to produce a puppy with ticking time bombs for genetic diseases as a mean, dirty puppymiller.
Take a look at these statistics. Wouldn't you rather get a puppy from a reputable breeder who knows her lines are free from genetic issues many generations back and health tests both parents?
39% of Yorkies are born with Legg-Perthes.
31% of Yorkies have luxating patellas
Health Survey 2007 What breeds are commonly affected with shunts?
Small breed dogs tend to have shunts that form outside of the liver ("extrahepatic"). In the United States, Yorkshire terriers have almost a 36 times greater risk of developing shunts than all other breeds combined.
Portosystemic Shunts FAQ
Yorkies are ranked #3 by the OFA in number of cases of luxating patellas:
OFA: Patellar Luxation Statistics