[maggiesmom_2007]

Originally Posted by BFar

I agree. So much so that I have been hesitant to admit that I have a litter due and share in the excitement and nervousness of it here. I was thinking about this yesterday as I was washing my show dog, even though I was sooo tired, babying my expectant bitch, coaxing her to eat and making sure my cut down boy got his attention and got his teeth brushed. And how much work it is to be an exhibitor and breeder and how much of our money goes to taking care of the dogs. And that's the easy part. The biggest investment is our hearts. I'm not patting my own back here. This is the same scenario for the breeder/exhibitors that I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know a little at dog shows. The apathetic B/E is the rarity. The more litters, the more exhausting it is. The more tirelessly they have to work. These breeders are amazing to me and are the ones who are making it possible for there to be nice Yorkies in the world. They live a different life than the non-breeder... I have tickets to a Broadway play next Friday that I received as a Christmas gift that I probably won't be going to... how many weddings, etc. do breeders have to miss because of doggie obligations? All this without even mentioning the work it takes to show a Yorkie. The travel, the lack of sleep, the motels, the money, the stress, and then getting a labor-intensive Yorkie groomed so that it can compete with the professionally handled dogs int the ring. It is a collective labor of love and there is a culture of people who have this calling to do this with their lives. I don't think they deserve to be judged by anyone who has not done it themselves. For one not involved with breeding/exhibiting to decide the number of litters a breeder/exhibitor should have just does not makes sense.

:thum bup: