[yorkieK9trainer]

"This is a very interesting thread. Please correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the AKC registration only certify that the pup is a "purebred" yorkshire terrier, and does NOT certify that the pup will mature to the exact standard? That is my understanding anyway. Thanks!"

Yes, you are correct. The AKC isn't in place to certify what your dog will be at maturity. Is was originally designed, however, to certify that the dog you're trying to register w/ their "club" was produced from parents that fit the standard of their perspective breed. That is NOT what it is today, unfortunantely. Our registries have climbed in numbers and under an UNwatchful eye of poor presidentialship of the AKC. If the club had followed the footsteps of the founders, only those dogs that "should" be bred (because they fit the standard prior to showing or mating) would be registered. Now, if those two adults bred together and produced pups that were out of standard, yet were registered when they were a litter, and then matured to be poor representations of the breed, they wouldn't be bred back to an AKC registered dog (therefore the progeny wouldn't be registerable) thus stopping out a vicious cycle that is present today. Does that make sense? You produce a litter of Yorkies, from let's say two phenominal specimens, and three pups come to this world. One is BLACK and so okay, not a recognized color and so it doesn't get registered. And the other two come out w/ proper pigment and color and so you DO register them. You follow your pups in their new homes (like any good breeder would) and you discover that one is GORGEOUS and is actually being shown (bravo) and the other is equally "cute", but is 12 pounds and has everything going for it-except the size. And that 12 pounder is already registered! What do you do? No biggie. The problem only come w/ this situation if/when the dog in question ever produces a litter him/herself. WHO are they going to breed this 12 pounder to?? NOT a dog that is registered-not according to proper "breeding" ethics of back in the day. And so, there really isn't a problem. The breeder that produced that 12 pounder simply needs to go back and do her homework and decide what she's going to do as far as genetics go w/ her foundation stock.
And while there is a problem NOW, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to fix it as best we can for the future. Yes, I think that the AKC should be a form of elitest group for purebred dogs. Why? Because that's what many of these puppy buyers ALREADY think it is! And yet they're buying these registered Yorkies that look like Silky or Austrailian Terrier crosses! I'm certain the AKC doesn't have enough staff to put forth a team that can go and examine all the kennels of the breeders out there to assist and so I've taken it upon myself to take the higher road and simply not produce something from a foundation stock that doesn't fit the standard. I refuse to be a part of that vicious cycle myself.