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Originally Posted by magicgenie  Nancy, this thread is a bit old, but from what I hear from people on the inside, the YTCA is still a pretty unhappy outfit. They're so very political that I'm not convinced it's passion for the breed that's driving them. Some seem much more interested in stroking their own egos, or get a directory listing.
I know some members very well though we have few in my region. I withdrew my application some time back when the membership committee expressed concern that I associate with some breeders of Parti color Yorkhsire Terriers, and that I sometimes don't dock tails. These seemed such trivial things over which to discard a potential member who was actually willing and eager to substantively contribute to the club's objectives.
I don't understand their hatred of Parti breeders. As far as I can tell the Parti cloloring is a natural phenomenon within the breed. Some of my friends breed for Parti color and I'm not willing to disown my friends for sake of a club membership. As for the tail docking, that's just pitiful.
In any case, objections to a membership application are supposed to be made in writing and forwarded to the applicant so that he/she can face their accuser, so to speak. These objections were made on the sly and I gather I wasn't supposed to know about them. Presumably it was an attempt to intimidate my sponsors into withdrawing their support. I chose to withdraw instead, feeling this was kind of creepy.
My thoughts about YTCA members: Some are very upstanding and will knock themselves out to do right by the breed. Several have admitted to me they don't participate in anything the club does and only belong for the directory listing. I know at least one who capitalizes big time on that listing to charge premium prices for mediocre dogs. She has no champions, nobody who would sell her a decent dog, participates in nothing, just pays her $25 member dues every year so that people can find her listing and feel they're getting the best.  |
Obviously, you don't care that much about standard, you feel like a breeder can pick and choose what traits they like and what they don't like. I believe quite the opposite, if you decide to breed, you should pick a breed where you like the standard and will defend it. Once you start breeding anything you want, you may have a purebred on paper, but you really don't have a purebred. A purebred is more than just a bloodline, in my opinion. How many threads here have we seen, "Is my dog a Yorkie?" I see some countries such as Canada that are so against this indiscriminate breeding, that they don't even want to register dogs who don't look like standard. I'd hate to see that happen here, but I really believe in the standard and understand it's importance.
As I said before not every breeder in the YTCA is a good one and it's hard to get a bad one out of the group, a actual buyer has to do the complaining, not just other members. Look at the AKC, not every breeder with the AKC is a good one, some are there, just to sell puppies, but it's still the best registry there is. I recommend the YTCA to members here because you can usually find one in every state, and you can visit the home and see the breeding dogs in person. I know you've said before you don't like this idea either, but I really think it's important that people see the breeding conditions for themselves before they buy a dog. It's the very least we can do.