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Originally Posted by Tay794 What about Morkies or Yorktese? (Maltese-yorkie or yorkie-maltese) |
OK, I'm getting controversial here. Please, I do not mean to offend but I think you all know what is coming. . .
So, I DO love mutts! What I don't love is this fallacy of the "super-mutt" or the "designer-dog" that according to the article people are willing to drive all day for and plop down fantastic amounts of money for.
Just so you know that I am not biased here: if you want to see what a "Yortese" probably looks like, please visit my website and look at the "Yorkie" in the superman outfit, because there's a very good chance you are looking at a Yorkie Maltese mix. He's my little man and super little athlete but there's three other things you need to know about him 1) he is an adoption from an animal shelter 2) he cost me the hefty sum of a $40 donation to the shelter 3) three years after adopting him, he almost died of a rare and potentially fatal autoimmune deficiency called "Addison’s disease" - relatively rare in Yorkshire Terriers. So much for the "out-cross" “hybrid” fallacy!
Good breeders who practice according to the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America's ethics rules do not breed Yorkipoos or Morkies or any other flavor of the month they can come up with.
They do, however, take dogs who have genetic faults out of their breeding programs. Just because a dog is a mutt, does not mean it can't pick up a genetic problem from one or both of its parents. (I believe there were problems with labadoodles?? “Despite the benefits of hybrid vigor, Labradoodles aren’t ‘superdogs’. Skin problems have been reported as the most common issue, with reports suggesting that many Labradoodles have had skin problems varying from minor to serious.”??).
Now, if you are looking at my "son" and saying: "he looks like a typical pet Yorkie!" You are right! While I can't prove conclusively one way or the other (and since he competes under an Indefinite listing Privilege ("ILP"), I'm not about to anyhow), the reason you can't see the Maltese (unless you know the breed standards backwards and forwards and even then he still look a heck of a lot like the Yorkie in the pet shop window) is because of the history of the Yorkshire Terrier. Most breeds, with perhaps the exception of the most ancient, Salukies and Maltese (and recent genetic testing has even brought THAT into question) are the products of crossings with other breeds. The exact origins of the Yorkshire Terrier are not well known. We do know that Yorkies are the products of crossings of various Northern English terriers such as the Clydesdale, Paisley, Dales and Broken Coat but there's also some speculation that the Maltese was brought in to soft and silken the coat as well as give it the length. So, if this is true, your average "Yorktese" is no more than a throwback! I wonder how many of the people selling these dogs would admit that, or better yet, even KNOW that! (When you visit general message boards where people sell dogs, it is almost horrifying to see that these so-called breeders often can’t even spell the breed of dogs they are selling correctly! I’ve seen “Chihuahua” spelled “Chiwawa”)!
Here's a more basic question: why would you make such a cross? What's the point?
Each breed is unique now, products of generations of careful breeding, each bred for a specific purpose and “type”; in the Maltese's case, going back hundreds of years! Mix them together and you dilute the best parts of each. If you want a scrappy little darling, you get a Yorkie, if you want a regal couch sitter, you get a Maltese. They are very different types of dogs - why mix them?
Here's a better idea, go to
http://www.petfinder.com and find the perfect mutt and give it a home!
