[Yorkiedreams]

Originally Posted by Lorraine

Hi Dawn,
Competing in the show rings goes further than just breeding to the breed standard. You see, my lines were developed from Yorkies whose breeders have been showing/breeding for over 25 years They have immersed themselves in the breed as I am. That means that we don't just look at our dogs for type, conformation etc, also we keep alert for health issues. We know our dogs, we know their parents, grand parents all the way back for many generations. If I don't personally know certain dogs as it was before my time, I know breeders that do or I know the breeder that produced that dog or bought it and can tell me all about it.
NOw that is one heck of a lot of knowledge not just for the pup I might sell as pet and its parents I am talking about many generations on both sides of the pedigree and that will include what health issues might have shown up or didn't, longevity of these ancestors etc.
The puppy farm breeders that you mention in the UK and indeed that are here that buy a female here use or buy a male there, can tell you nothing about previous generations. Even if an official AKC or Canadian Kennel Club if in Canada, pedigree is provided all it has is the registered names and registration numbers, championships if any of the dogs in those generations. It tells you nothing aobut what they looked like, nothing about health, nothing about how long they lived or if still alive.
Sure this is just maybe a pet puppy you are buying to love, but isn't that information still important? It is to me especially as I mentioned previously, I bought the first two from people that didn't know what they were doing. These two Yorkies that were my pets, never used for breeding thank God, and me paid the price for that lack of knowledge on the part of the breeders involved.

Lorraine I agree entirely and made the same points myself in earlier posts!!