[my2boyz]

I was in the same spot last year. Please let me start by telling you my story...

We had a little male for 12 years and he was the most loving, absolute best dog in the world but he had so many health problems. I won't go into them all but believe me, life for him was a huge struggle at times. Truth be known...the breeder I got my Boog from never should have bred his parents. Boog appeared healthy until he was about 2 and then everything went haywire. I know all too well the agony and heartache of dealing with an unhealthy Yorkie...we shed a lot of tears over Boog, the expense was staggering at times but we kept going because Boog let us know he wasn't ready to let go. The day he did let us know was the absolute worst day of my life...one that I will never forget and wouldn't wish on anyone. I often wonder what would have happened to Boog throughout his life if he had gone to someone else...would they have taken the time and expense to properly care for him or would he have been ignored, passed from home to home or just put down? Worse yet, would he have been bred and passed those health problems on to more Yorkies and their families?

We now have 2 beautiful little males and I thought about using them for stud or even getting a female to breed but I changed my mind. See, I don't know the health history of my boys and they could possibly pass something on that would be devastating for more Yorkies and their families and I just couldn't do that to anyone. So, I decided to have them both neutered and I'm glad I did. We now have 2 loving boys who don't mark or hump things, they are little love bugs!

I guess the point I'm trying to make through all of this is...if you are certain your Yorkies are healthy, you've got the health history from their breeders and you've done all the associated tests to be sure, if they fit within the Yorkie standard and have good temperment etc...then go ahead and breed them. However, if you're not sure of these things and they don't fit the standard...please don't breed. Look at the rescue sites and Petfinder to see what Yorkies are being rehomed...most disappointed their owners by getting larger than they expected or have some kind of health problem that their owners didn't want to, or couldn't, deal with. I feel breeders have a responsibility to ensure the health of their dogs...to the dogs themselves and to the new owners. I've been on the short end of that stick and I can tell you...that's not a heartache that I would care to pass on to anyone no matter how much money I made from it.

Please don't feel like I'm lecturing you...I didn't mean to...but this is something I'm pretty passionate about. Good luck with your decision...whatever that turns out to be.