no real point to this thread really, suppose i'm just having a bit of a moan!
i haven't been on here for a fair while, but missed it so i'm back!
but, from all I've learned about the breed from your lovely selves (and many breeders/exhibitors who don't seem to be around anymore
) i'm not sure if I can keep breeding or not. my pups have all been beautifully breed standard, with excellent knees and to date all have clear eyes... but there are NO health tested studs in the country! not even a single male with a clear eye cert- I've spoken to the only ophthalmologist in the Provence and he hasn't tested one yorkie. i had been phoning up to ask about dna testing for pra, and was pretty much told that there is no point as i have no way of knowing what the males status is
on top of that, there is only a small handful of exhibitors here as well, and none of them test (the breed clubs i've spoken to see no need for it) and honestly, i'm not sure if breeding a breed that Can have so many problems but are not tested in this country is something i want to do. i love raising yorkies, and me not breeding them won't make them be tested, it will just mean that *I* am not breeding them to the best of *my* ability. i suppose at least i know that i can accurately manipulate knees to check for LP myself rather than taking their word for it that they've had a vet check, i suppose at least i know how to spot the beginnings of a cataract or visible eye abnormality which may not be 100% noticeable... but what if one of my pups develops PRA and i know that there is a test that Could of prevented it if only the tests were utilized here.
poppet is coming 3 in January and still an un-spayed maiden- i'd wanted to breed her to begin showing (her only major fault being she is over sized), or to breed kuki again to attempt to get a slightly smaller poppet- but she is coming 5 in October... clock is ticking and i don't know what to do for the best.
sigh.