Well I'm going to ask my vet because i was told by a lady that if you don't breed them they can get a certain kind of cancer and if you are not going to breed, then you should spay them, which is why we spayed our two lb little girl. I don't think having babies will hurt them as long as they are healthy, after all it is natural. This lady that told me this heard it from her vet, so i'm just going to ask my vet. I trust him, because he is also a friend and has been a vet for over 20 years. I know everyone on here knows quiet a bit but when it comes down to the health of our pets we need a professional that we can trust.I did skip Sugar's last heat and I have been wandering about all these things because i'm not a profesional dog breeder, so i'm going to call my vet on Tuesday and have a talk with him about what is best for our dogs. I love my yorkies with all my heart and like my children will do whatever is in their best interest. I do like raising puppies so i don't want to have her spayed unless he tells me it is going to hurt her in some way.

For myself only , I will never allow my girls to have pups because there is a lady who told me so . I never her that having puppies can prevent a bitch from having cancer . If it was the case , there would never be research on cancer neither finding a cure .

Excuse me! I didn't say i was letting my dogs have pups because anyone told me anything. I was just repeating what someone told me. Like i said I will check with my vet not anybodies on here or anyone else's word.People like to make arguments over nothing. My advice is to always check with your vet before anyone else's advice.They are vets for a reason and we are mere pet owners.

Girls, Let not have a argument here girls, Remember its a discussion board!! LOL

every breeder has their own opinions as well as every vet...I see nothing wrong breeding every heat if a gal is 12 - 18 month heat. As a matter of opinion I asked my vet for sake of argument today if he would breed a bitch every heat if she was a 12 monther or more he actually said there is no reason not to breeder them every season if they are in excellent health and good moms and free whelper within that time cyle mentioned above.

Then its time to dig into your gut and since you know you gal whether she is ready willing and able...you have to make the final choice.

Actully I have heard of this. They say to have a bitch and not spay her can increase her chances of unteren (sp) cancer. However this can be prevented by breeding them. So if you dont want to breed, spay your dog, if you want to breed be aware of the risk and complications involed and when ever you decide she or you for that matter has had enough puppies get her spayed. To leave them intact can lead to many problems, cancer is only one of them.

So is the agreement pretty much that a female if in good health and everything is able to have one litter of puppies a year? So if you have 6 monther you should take one cylce off..if you have a yearly then you are able to have a litter every time. That is what I am getting out of what everyone is posting anyway. I agree with the one litter a year.

Please no one pounce on me but I happen to agree.

I agree also :D One litter of puppies a year is PLENTY :D I can imagine all the strain the females have to go through to have the pups and to nurish them all. Could you imagine yourself having 2-4 babies every 6 months? Wowser! :D

A few years ago, reproductive specialists recommended breeding every heat cycle til the female is around 5 years old. Then have her spayed and retire her.. I have not followed up on that research. I would not ask my vet for his/her opinion about my breeding practices except in an incident when I had a need to use the vet the previuos whelping. I love vets to death, but, many vets have no additional training in the practice of breeding healthy animals. They are wonderful and absolute necessities when a critter is sick but I find that other occasions I get more valid info from other breeders and research on computer.
To me, it depends on the bitch-her size, health, and the number of puppies she has each time and what the whelping and nursing take out of her. I bred my last female 3 times in a row-2-3-3 puppies per litter. Puppies were healthy and small and mom was in tiptop condition. I had planned her retirement at a certain age and I wanted another baby that resembled Jesse. Well, repeating the exact same breeding does not produce the same features. Midori, the dam and Shorty, the sire were both retired at the same time and no more babies from them. She is 6 and Sire is a bit younger..I am not suggesting anyone compromise their standards or philosophies and maybe we need to agree to disagree.

I have had this discussion with a awesome vet in Michigan when I lived there and breed Mini Pins, and with my awesome vet here in Alabama with the Yorkies. Since most females are almost a year and half for their second heat cycle I was told by BOTH vets to breed back to back, then rest my females, then go to every other heat cycle. It is easier on them when they are younger, so it is in their best interest to breed accordingly. NOT a money issue for me.... Now, this is providing there are no complications with the whole process. I don't know about anyone else here but once my females go into heat they are vet checked before they are presented to their stud, this is my practice. As well they are seen by the vet at least twice before they whelp. Their safety and well being is very important to me. I think I have only read of one breeding member respond to when they retire their females from breeding. So, I will jump out there and ask this question When do you retire your females???? My answer is depending on the females, some are retired sooner than others. But no longer than 5 years of age. This is approximately 3 to 4 litters. I am sure that the rest of the breeders here on YT can tell you as a whole yorkies love to be mommies and are very devoted to their litters... :p So this is my 2 cents worth....

Is the uterus removed when they spay or just the ovaries? If the uterus is removed then of course spayed females develop less uterine cancer...they have no uterus!!! :confused:

I just did some research and they do remove the uterus when thy spay.

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There are no right or wrong answers to these types of questions..the last person many should ask is a vet. I love vets, but unless they breed most have little hands on knowlwdge. Book knowledge is important, but it doesn't get the job done half the time when it comes to this type situation.

I would want to see if these pups are want you want to repeat. That is the first consideration for me...taht can not be done for 6 to 8 months at least. You have to take each female one by one..no one rule applies to all.