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Originally Posted by magicgenie  Thanks for clarifying, Nancy. I do care a great deal for the standard but I'm not convinced the Partis have no place in the breed. Enough people like them that maybe a small space should be set aside for them. I don't want to argue for or against. I want to be neutral and not have to throw away some friends I really like a lot because I don't understand their choice of Yorkie color. Heck, I don't even like Partis myself, never saw one I would say is pretty, but to each his own.
As for the tail docking, you do understand that's not a breeding issue but rather a matter of surgically lopping off a puppy's tail. Over the years I've imported many fine European bred Yorkies and become accustomed to seeing the full tail. Whimsically, and not always wisely as an exhibitor, I sometimes choose to leave the full tail on a puppy.
I do have show dogs and do dock the tails of any dogs being shown in the US, as per the custom in this country.
Cathy, I didn't know breeder complaints did not go directly to someone in the club.
I wonder how helpful it would be to go to the AKC with things we think the YTCA could be doing better. |
I understand a lot of people like Partis , but public opinion should have little to do with changing the standard. Breeding for the recessive gene is always risky and once you breed it in, you can never breed a "standard dog" from two parti's. Biewers got accepted to the AKC and many believe that is the route pet buyers and breeders should go if they love the coloring. I understand that you want to be neutral, but I also understand, why the guardians of the breed of standard should be anything, but neutral, the standard should only change if there's some issue with safety. When you say you care a great deal for standard, to me it’s like saying; I care a great deal for the constitution, but let’s change it.
Because we are literally putting to death millions of dogs each year, I believe the only reason to be breeding is to preserve and improve the breed. Improving the breed doesn’t mean adding more variety; it’s sticking to a standard and breeding for health. Breeders in the past worked too hard to create this lovely breed, I would hate to see it die out, so we definitely need some people breeding, but I hate all the overbreeding just so the public can have the variety they desire. I mean I love floppy ears on Yorkies, but I think any Yorkie breeder who bred for them would be unethical. Doesn't matter how much people love them. Look at the German Shepard dog, breeders tried breeding more and more extremes, and now the dog is a shell of its once beautiful form, and this gives a black eye to all purebred breeding.
Concerning docking, I believe that breeders need to always be concerned about safety first, and in science the status quo is considered the safest until you prove the alternative is safer. This takes a long time. The docking rule may change in the future, they may outlaw it, or there may be enough evidence someday that people say it’s safe, but until it changes, I would support the standard. I can understand perfectly why YTCA members might be hesitant to admit someone into the club, who only cares a great deal for the standard, but doesn’t really want to defend it. I’m even more adamant about dew claws because lots of breeders don’t do them, there have been so many accidents on Yorkietalk about somebody’s dog dewclaw being torn off.