I know what you mean about showing, taking care of the yorkies and having small children to take care of all at the same time. I was showing and raising yorkies before I had any kids and then finally was able to get pregnant myself - took 5 years but I finally did it. One child was not so bad, but after I had my second one and there were two toddlers in with the yorkies (I mean inside the house all together) it was impossible to keep the kids away from the yorkies. I did hire a handler which helped so she was the one that traveled. We showed for several reasons - to breed and make sure they were worth breeding, but also for the wins, friendship, focus to stay busy, and the pride that came with winning. I only showed the ones that liked the ring, which is best. They would actually get excited to show. Was it expensive - yes! Was it worth it - yes, I loved it. I had to stop though since it was too much with my kids - I was spending all my time trying to keep them seperated. Why? My daughter thought the puppies were rag dolls and kept picking them up - even the upside down hold and the hold around the neck - which scared me. I tried my best to teach her how to be gentle and how to hold carefully - didn't work. And evrytime my back was turned she was getting the dogs. So I stopped, gave my yorkies to my closest friends and now just recently returned to showing now that my kids are all grown up (24 and 21). Do I still love it - yes! Is it hard - yes! It is a family thing and my kids - I think - are very proud of our dogs, especially our wins. My son even is talking about going into the ring with his favorite. They love our yorkies!
T. |