[gemy]

Now as a "potential" working dog breeder - and working bred breeder. I agree with much that has been posted. In the working/herding/hound breeds, there is often/usually a specific tasks or set of tasks this breed was bred to do.

Many might disagree with me, but as an obedience competitior as well as show ring competitor, I feel that in my breed the dog in the show ring is not able to convey to the judge just what and how good they are as a working dog, able to do the tasks that they were assigned/bred to do. The judge can look at and feell the conformation of the dog, but is "hamstrung" I feel to determine if the dog has the "willingness" to do what they were bred to do. One often repeated criticism is that dogs in the show rings are "overweight" and or under conditioned. Perhaps as in only one of our specialities the Russian Specialty judge in 100 degree weather no less, made us run around a large ring three times. This will give some idea of conditioning, but not necessarily some idea of how willing they will be and how adept they will be in doing their breed specific tasks. We have a short coupled dog, bred to guard and protect in a pretty specific way, yet all the time despite our breed standard, I see judges put up dogs too long, dogs with weak rears, dogs who move like a light bodied terrier would. Not what our breed should move like or look like.

Working instinct is also passed down from parents to puppies. If the parents and grandparents and great grandparents never earned working titles, (of all the various sorts there are) then how much over time will the mere instinct get diluted?.

So a breeder who wants great working ability and temperament who also wants to "show" has a great challenge. Not only will you keep your dogs in show coat condition, but you must work with your mating dogs, earn the working titles. That is a whole lot of time money and energy. But so very worth it.

This breeder might take a poorer ear set, or lighter black coat, to breed if that dog has excellent proven working abilities. Of course no good working dog can last long, without sound bone and structure, and health checks are necessary and mandatory.

Herein speaks the passion of the working breed owner/exhibitor/breeder.

For Yorkies, these beautifull, gusty little terriers, may not need to do what they were originally bred for but... those instincts can be honed and trained in a variety of ways, agility, tracking, therapy dogs, obedience. They are so much more than lapdogs. I like Donna treat my Razz man as a dog. He is going to agility, we swim, we do obedience (or at least try too:-), to some detriment to his coat.

These dogs are so much more than lapdogs. Although I do love having Razz man on my lap!.