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Originally Posted by Lorraine that's where designer dog breeders and mixed dog breeders are misleading you.
Yes many of our purebreds of today were derived from breeders or more acurately, a group of fanciers for that certain type bred certain breeds of dogs to create the breed along with the traits that they were looking for. As a quick example the sporting dogs have their breeds of pointers, retrievers etc, herding dogs have their breeds for herding purposes etc.
The Yorkie was and still is in every way a terrier but through selecting breeding stock many of those traits have changed including size, they are smaller than those first created in the late 1800's, early 1900's.
So, what is the difference and why is not a Yorkie poo for example not accepted as a new breed? Because the work hasn't gone into it as a breed within itself and it has not been standardized.
For Yorkies to be the breed we have today and indeed for them to be recognized as a purebred took many many generations of breeding what they created as the Yorkshire Terrier, including keeping breeding records and producing a breed, in this case a Yorkshire Terrier, that will breed true and not end up looking like something else as is the case of crossbreds that are just crosses of two dogs of either purebred or mixed breed status.
They Yorkie poo you see can look like anything from a Yorkie to a poodle and everything in between including size and colour variations that can be anywhere from 4 lbs to 20lbs and can look like a Yorkie in colour or any of the poodle colours and derivations. You breed a yorkie poo to a yorkie poo and you won't be assured of getting anything that will look like either parent.
Yes within any purebred you can get some size differences as undersized or oversized, colour not quite right that may have thrown back to its origination or is the result of a genetic recessive gene and other reasons.
Or course, what you also get in a Yorkie pup will reflect somewhat back to its pedigree and parents as to how good the quality of the Yorkies that contributed their traits and genes to that pup. You breed poor quality Yorkies and guess what you aren't going to get a show dog and indeed it could even look like a small breed mix although certainly is a purebred. |
I definitely agree, . I know that there are some "standards" circulating for designer dogs now, but anybody can make up standards, including Joe Blow in his basement. These designer dogs aren't going for AKC recognition, they're just being bred, given a fancy name, and that's it.
I love mutts, I'm owned by two of them. However, with all of the dogs sitting shelters out there today, with the 9.6 MILLION dogs and cats euthanized every year in the United States alone because they don't have a home (according to the American Humane), with as many as 64% of animals entering shelters being euthanized, I don't think that anybody should be breeding mutts (and that's what they are, plain ol' mutts). Then again, I don't think that people should be breeding any sort of dog that hasn't proven itself to be a fantastic example of its breed and has many titles. In my opinion, any dog who's bred should be titled, health checked, and the puppies should come with a contract stating that they MUST be returned to the owner if the purchaser is unable to keep the puppy for any reason. Breeders have to start taking responsibility for the puppies they produce, but unfortunately, far too many are solely interested in the money, or having their kids "witness the miracle of birth", or letting their dog have "just one litter".
I'm owned by a wonderful Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier X ("Morkie"? I call her by what she really is...my mutt, my Maltese/Yorkshire Terrier X, my angel). She's my beautiful little rescue dog. She was originally given some fancy name and some complete moron who obviously knew nothing bought her. After this idiot abused her, after she was attacked, after she lost an eye, after she barely made it past her 7-month birthday, she was finally safe in my arms thanks to a wonderful rescue.
These rescues work day in and day out working because of people's mistakes. They're working because somebody couldn't bother to spay or neuter their animal or become educated on the problem of pet overpopulation. This is what "just one litter" or "I want a puppy just like my dog" does. My foster "Yorkie-poo" lived a terrible life and died in June because some moron couldn't be bothered to include an contract and follow up the puppies he brought into this world. These countless dogs are suffering due to no fault of their own because of mistakes humans make.
I have no doubt in my mind that a lot of the people out there breeding their dogs care about them. I also know that a lot of people say that they're not looking for a show dog, just a pet. I'm not looking for a show dog either, which is why I rescue. There are also always pet quality puppies from every litter from a reputable breeder. With all of these caring people out there, it's my dream that they'd spay/neuter their animals and share that love with a dog who would be euthanized otherwise.
Of course, this is just a dream. Without people being fully aware of the problem and willing to make a difference, there will be more Yorkidoodledoos and Pikichuachuas and these rescues will continue to work around the clock, trying to help these animals, these innocent victims of other people's mistakes.