I Am Thinking Of Breeding
 

I was thinking of breeding my coco but I have a question. She is is PERFECT health and has good lineage but she has an underbite. Some have told me that this makes her not able to breed. That because of her underbite this is a defect and she shouldn't be bred. I just wanted to ask about this because I am puzzled as to why her teeth would have anything to do with the health of her puppies :confused: She is very healthy and was the only pup in her litter with the underbite.

The underbite is a genetic trait that will be passed down to pups and makes her a poor candidate for breeding. Some pups may present an even worse bite than the dam which would affect their general health. See the thread posted below on being a responsible breeder, it's a great resource.

An underbite is a hereditary trait. Most good breeders breed to better the breed. They try to eliminate all bad traits to improve good breeding lines. I would not breed this female. I had bought and sold within a week a pup that had an underbite. It's just no good. Do your research first.

Sounds like you really care about your pet and that is how it should be. These babies are to be loved and cared for as our families do. BUT, that unfortunately does not make them good candidates for breeding. And, The possibility of having difficulties that could result in harm, sometimes severe, to your family pet. You would never forgive yourself if you decided to breed her and she lost her life or the puppies died. I personally would not take that chance..

But I don't understand how an underbite would make her lose her life or give her complications? She is healthy otherwise. I have had her throughly checked by more than one vet. I guess I need to do some more research becaue I don't see the correlation in bad health and an undebite to me that is just cosmetic.

for you it's just cosmetic reasons. Personally, I would never buy a pup from someone who the mom to the pup had obvious faults. I know that sounds ugly, but there are a lot of people that think and feel this way. I know, two perfect dogs can have an imperfect pup but when you see a parent with a fault, it weighs heavy on a potential buyer's mind. JMHO

I guess her underbite is so slight you have to open her mouth to see it. When I purchsed her the breeder dropped the price on her because of it but if she would have never said anything I would have never noticed.

I did not even mention the underbite. My post was to point out the dangers when breeding a family pet. Yes, we who breed responsibily keep our Yorkies in our homes and consider them pets as well as for breeding. And, granted, there are risks with breeding any female no matter how many tests we do, how much we research and how careful we are in the selection process of the stud. We have not necessarily accepted that but we know it can and has happened and that is why we try to do our very best to prevent problems before we decide to breed the dam and sires of our choice. We also have worked very hard to learn all that we can before putting the first 2 dogs together to make puppies.
In this case, the underbite is another consideration that you cannot do anything about other than not perpetuate the fault by breeding her. You can always start your breeding at a later date.

Even if it is slight , she can passe it to the pups .

I totally understand you question. But the Yorkie is supposed to be a specific way and we have a standard to follow. The standard calls for a scissor bite. If we start compromising and breeding some of the traits that are not in the standard aka cosmetic faults. After time it can take away from the original appearence of what a true Yorkie should look like. I've seen some underbites that are severe and noticable and really take away from the elegant appreance the Yorkie should have. The pups can come out with severe underbites, sometimes if can hinder the way they eat. There are ways to improve faults in breeding but underbites are a fault that is extrememly difficult to correct. I don't know this from experience but from my vet who is a reproduction specialist. Before he explained it to me, I didn't understand what a bite had to do with anything.

Yorkie hugs,
Irene :aimeeyork

Her bite can make it difficult for her in the birthing process to open a sack- to move a puppy - to lick a puppy- to cut an umbilical cord- with the result being dead puppies. You might think well I will take care of all the above and nature has a way of pulling a fast one on you and she goes into labor and delivers with you not there to assist.

The bite is very improtant- I did rescue a while back for a older gal who had a horrible bite- it was difficult for her to eat and drink because of such a differance in the length of the bottom and upper jaw. At least 2 1/2 inches- I had never seen such a mess in my life and hope that I do not again. I understood how her forever family came to the decision that it was in her best interest to put her down. It was a struggle to help her eat and drink. I was lucky that I placed her but it took me 7 months to find the right home who was willing to work with her special needs.

The bite does matter. I wonder how many generations of bad bites had been bred to produce this mess. I will never know. I just wanted to cry for her- there was nothing I could do for her- but find her a home. This family paid $2,000.00 for this gal 3 years ago . She has a baby that should never have been sold- her parents are still being bred.

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this one. I can't imagine that anyone, especially a well intentioned breeder would hope to have a yorkie with an underbite. If it's a preference, get a bulldog. Even show quality dogs produce plenty of pet quality pups. Shouldn't purebred breeders aim for excellence?

I see your point. Like you said agree to disagree.