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Originally Posted by 2Morkies  I disagree with all of you who say that "no reputable breeder" will cross breed. Long ago...your little "pure bred" Yorkies were much bigger because they were used to catch mice and rats on boats and farms. |
Yorkies were never bred with Maltese, as far as I know? Huddersfeld Ben was the original sire dog or "Father of the breed" for the Yorkie as we know it today. He was bigger at 9-12 lbs himself but he often produced smaller puppies. As far as I know, the Skye Terrier, the Paisley Terrier, and a few other small terriers were used in originally creating the Yorkie. And a Yorkie and an Australian Terrier were together to make the Silky Terrier. Either way, all that stuff confuses me, but back then they were doing it for more of a purpose I would think. Today it's just people mixing all these different breeds simply to produce cute puppies and what the public wants.
I have absolutely nothing against mixed breeds and would own one myself. I don't prefer the standard Yorkies, I like mine bigger, and out of standard! So I do truly wish they would up the size limit but today's world just wants tiny, tiny, tiny and tinier.
Oh and I totally agree there are a TON of purebred breeders who are not responsible or ethical either. It really sucks there's not a better way to regulate things, otherwise puppy mills would be out of business.
But I do understand why you must keep reputable purebreds going strong... I mean, there are breeds that are MADE for certain things. Some people look for friendliness, kid friendly, family dogs who are active and love to play, so they go for the Goldens and Labs. Some want a companion dog so they go for the Maltese. Some want a good working dog, they go for a GSD. There are reputable breeders who strive to better their breed and if we did not have those anymore, well, that would suck. People look for certain qualities in each breed when looking for a dog and the problem with mixing breeds just for the hell of it is that is lost. They could end up with the shedding of a Golden but the hair of a Poodle. Could end up like ANYTHING really. There is no set standard and that would just be weird if a GSD was no longer a GSD or a Golden was no longer a Golden. Ya gotta keep purebreds alive. Although I will say I think it's absolutely terrible what some have done to certain breeds like the bulldog, etc. That's a whole 'nother topic. Oh and the way the GSD has that back slouch... simply for show. So uncool.
There are many many GREAT mixed breeds out there. And I don't think people are terrible people for breeding them necessarily. Like you said, your Morkie breeder has been following up and sending pics, etc. That is GREAT! Atleast she is involved. I think people just get frustrated because it's become such a designer trend. People come in to the dog park and I ask what kind of dog and I get a response like "he's a chi-weenie" and I just wanna laugh! That is NOT a "breed!"