Breeding = money
 

I've been researching and researching on breeding before I ever took the plunge and purchased a breeding pair of yorkies. I wanted to do it as a hobby and because I absolutely love the breed & tired of hearing how someone purchased a substandard or sick dog and were nothing short of ripped off, lied to, and left hanging with disappointment & a mountain of vet bills. It happens everyday and just sickens me.

I dont mind spending the $ to do it right. My dog's health/welfare and offspring are most important. Im prepared for marking, belly bands, sleepless nights, yuckie messes and howling......the whole thing. I work fulltime but have a home office with a very flexible work schedule and have plenty of PTO.

But I must say that this has literally cost me a fortune! We could have bought a truck with the money we've spent over just the past few months. If thats what it takes to bring someone reputable to my area then so be it!!!! Im on a mission to bring quality dogs to my area & put a stop to people just throwing together two dogs just to make a buck and leaving the new dog owners to suffer the consequences. Yes-its happened to me before so I know exactly how it feels to get taken by greeders.

On my search for my breeder pair--(took months on end) I asked the questions that a regular pet buyer wouldnt....i.e. What have your dam and stud been tested for? or better yet-can you tell me about your lines? hahahaha you'd have thought that I asked what planet did you come from? It seems the average breeder does not do much pre-breeding tests or screenings or even know their lines. 80% of the time I asked those questions-never heard from the breeder again. Had a very long list of scratched offs and very few possibilities. I did have a hard time finding a vet in my area to even perform the tests soooo not many breeders are doing this in my area either. The research I had to do was very extensive & seemed to drag on forever. Was very frustrating.

I finally do have my dogs (awesome quality), but have found that locating the best was only half the battle.....We're nowhere near being done shelling out the $. I just dont see how the "average joe" could even afford to breed or have more than one breeding pair. When breeders say they dont make any money--they are not lying. We are a middle class family & I could have ran my entire household for 3 months....mortgage, car payment--(the whole shabang) on what I've spent so far and havent even reached the first breeding yet! I cant imagine what the final tally will be after the first litter comes. Wayy into the thousands....I dont ever see making back the money I've spent, but thats not why I chose to do it.

For people who just want to breed their dog once correctly and thats it (like many people come on here and say)...let me tell you-I will vouch, its NOT worth it. It would be wayyyyy wayyyyy cheaper just to purchase another dog. I could have bought several litters of yorkies with what its cost me so far.

I think I would just die if I went through all of this and my dam had to have a C-section or worse & lost her. My dogs will be with me forever (breeders or not). Their welfare and the welfare of each and every single pup are a responsiblity I chose to take on when I chose to do this.

Over the course of all of this, I have really come to understand why some breeders seem uptight about people breeding their dogs on these forums. Just like marriage, its not something to enter into lightly and I must give a round of applause to those who do it and do it right. Those who step up to the plate and say "are you sure you know what your getting into".....and to get criticised for being the one who just wanted to educate those who are going into breeding blindly.

As time passes though, I would appreciate it if I could get advise and support from those who are more experienced than me on this forum. I'm not here just looking for answers to my occasional questions....Im here to make friends too.:)

Very good post !!! I wish you luck in your venture. I agree it is not about makeing money cause you don't make a profit from breeding, it is to better the breed. Good Luck

Thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!:)

Amazing post. Thank you for sharing your story.

Seriously, what breeders do and what they go through deserves a ton of credit.

And just remember, reputable breeders show their dogs to make sure that their dogs are wonderful representations of the breed so that adds to the expense.

Very well thought through and well said. I'm also going to start breeding(biewers), but, I don't even have the female yet. I also want to better the biewer breed. I just couldn't breed right now, as I also want to read, read, read and get ready. I know it would devastate me if anything went wrong.
I also don't understand how someone can get a yorkie and first or 2nd time it comes in to heat, decide to breed it just to breed it. I'm already nervous as all get out about my bitch whelping, and I don't even have her yet. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone comes in here needing help at the last minute without ever studying anything about breeding, whelping. That to me is being very irresponsible
Good luck on your breeding. You sound like one very caring/loving person

Yes..We're working on that too. I've been in touch with an AKC trainer, but I missed this month's enrollment. I might go with Reidsan of Canutillo, TX instead, but not sure of his experience with yorkies. Anyone have the opportunity to work with him?

Thank you. Im nervous too.....in fact, I will probably hold off until I feel more comfortable. My aunt used to breed yorkies about 15 years ago and doesnt live far from me. She had to quit because she couldnt say goodbye to her puppies and thought that nobody was worthy enough to have one. Im the same way though....I can see it now. Interrogations...interrogations. The sad part was, my aunt knew all of the people who bought her yorkies very well. My grandma also had a yorkie she was going to show, went through extensive training, but her yorkie's bite was off just a little so that didnt go well. She was beautiful dog in every other way though....very short career. I've learned a lot from my aunt and grandma. They introduced me to yorkies.

I'd suggest going to some shows in your area and trying to find a mentor if you want to do this correctly. You can get the schedule of shows in your area from Info Dog:

InfoDog AKC Dog Show Information - Main Menu

I'm afraid that's how I'm going to be. I wont' want to sell any of mine. :(

Thank you, but please dont assume I need a schedule of shows and dont have an expert close by who can help me. I'm here looking for friends and the occasional questions I may have. I've seen a lot of people jumped all over on these forums over assumptions and I dont want the same happening to me. That is however great advice you offer and thank you for posting it.

Yes it is a very expensive venture.
We have a lovely Champion female that never produced the first surviving offspring.
I have a lot of money invested in her show career etc and when it came time for her to whelp, we lost the first litter. We did try again as she delivered naturally.
Second time around CSection and problem with her uterus so we had her spayed as she was our first priority. We lost the pups.
A lot of money and alot of disappointments/heartaches and a lot of work. But a lot of pride and joy on the accomplishments we have made over the years.
Good luck to you

I'm not assuming anything. I have no idea what resources you have locally or if you were aware of Info Dog.

You said you were working on showing so I was just trying to be helpful. Don't shoot the messenger.

BANG hahaha

Yes was very helpful. I live in a city so most everything is at my fingertips. Just paranoid someone is gonna bite me. :lol tears

.

I'll try and keep this short.
I got into breeding myself without any help from anyone. I did my years of research, looked into the breed, all the negatives and positives.
Then I felt I was ready for breeding.
My girls have international and Irish champions in their blood lines, and I am not talking about from centuries ago..
A couple who show yorkies and have had many champions bought 1 of my puppies, and are hoping to show her.

So what I am trying to say is, that you don't necessarily have to be a show person to breed show quality yorkies.
So I think this little BRB (as most would call me) has a lot to be proud of.

And I'll add an honest answer and tell you that yes I have made money from breeding. And I find it hard to believe that nobody else here does!!!!!!!!!1

Sounds like you've had the best and worst of both. Glad you we're able to keep on truckin and be proud of your accomplishments.

I'm sure glad I read what you wrote, because, I want to be an excellent breeder, but no intentions of showing. You're not a byb, you're a hobby breeder, and that's all I want to be

Hey thanks, and I am sure that 1 day you will be. If I can do it there is hope for us all .LOL.

This has given me a lot to think about. I was thinking about breeding at some point.

I know what you are experiencing and I am always happy to talk dogs, biewers, breeding, or potty habits (LOL). Feel free to call me or email me at dee@houseofwags.com

Sometimes it takes getting burned and experiencing the bad. I've bought puppies that were supposed to have AKC papers and didn't; supposed to be 5-6 pounds and were bigger or smaller. I stand by my dogs, and I will be there for the buyers in the future....I try hard to be the breeder I would want to buy from. And it sounds like that is what you want to do or want to be--welcome.

Altho i do show some, there are many ethical, reputable breeders that do not show. Either for lack of funds or just not interested so to say an ethical breeder ALWAYS shows is just wrong. Showing is very expensive. A good breeder is always trying to better the breed .

:thumbs upI totaly agree and you said it so well:bravo:

Betty & Micah my love:aimeeyork

I wish you luck in getting a good quality breeding program going. I'm not a breeder so I don't have any words of wisdom about the subject but I do understand their frustration. It sounds like you have really put thought into this and want to do it the right way. Good for you for trying to go about it the right way.

I'm a photographer and there are "Uncle Joe's" everywhere that think that just because they have a camera they are a professional photographer. Meanwhile I have spent a huge amount of time, money, and effort into learning to do what I do. I've lost jobs to "Uncle Joe" because people see a cheap price tag and don't see the crap quality until it's too late. Then they wish they would have hired a real professional and not gone for the bargain basement price tag. --- Sorry... "Uncle Joe" is a raw nerve right now for me.

You have been lucky then. I don't breed yorkies, but have been breeding papillons for several years now. I think it is very important to show and finish dogs before claiming you can produce show quality. That is the whole point of dog shows, to have your dogs evaluated by people who have studied structure, movement and your breed's standard, and who have been tested on it, before determining whether a dog should be bred. I am not saying that a dog has to be a finished CH in order to be bred, but rather that showing and also observing dogs in the ring bred by others can help to insure that you really are meeting the breed standard, and not just your concept of the standard.

I sat down and came up with having "invested" just over $40,000.00 into our breeding program thus far, including the price of the dogs, leasing bitches, finishing AKC CHs on them, whelping supplies, vet care related to breeding (CERF, Cardio exams, progesterone, 2 ER c sections), and including just one year of routine vet/food/toys/crate/misc for each of our finished dogs. It does not include traveling/entries/expenses for the performance events (which it should as my first show dog is a CH/MACH/UD/RAE which makes his get more desirable to me and others), and it does not include show related expenses or regular routine care for the dogs I am currently showing or are puppies, nor does it include caring for some older dogs that were not able to finish CHs for whatever reason and just did performance work. If you included the costs related to the works in progress or the "flunkies" LOL and then considered all of the dogs routine care over their lifetimes, including my oldest dog who has a heart condition and who has been taking $100 worth of medications on a monthly basis for 7 years now (that is $8100 alone), you are probably looking at closer to double that or more. I also have not included the costs of remodeling our homes and yards to make sure that the dogs have plenty of room and are comfortable, at two houses that were remodeled at probably $7500-$9000 each (fence is expensive!). Also not including the agility or obedience equipment and supplies... and not including the motorhome and its insurance and upkeep (I don't even want to go there!).

Over the last several years, we have produced a grand total of 16 puppies, of which we kept 6 to show. The remainder were placed at a pet price.

Believe me, the costs of this hobby FAR outweigh any income, at least for me. I am not complaining about it, but I want to support the original poster as she is absolutely SPOT ON.

I agree...but, only when it's done the correct way. I'm just starting with my Biewers and it's not been cheap. I'm holding one boy back who has show potential...we're keeping our fingers crossed!

:goodpost: A dear friend who bred the top Llasos for many years had this to say recently on the same subject:

"If you haven't been into showing, then you probably don't have the necessary knowledge to know the pedigrees and the genetics of the various dogs. Being knowledgable in this area is, imo, key to being a reputable breeder because only that knowledge enables you to select the right 2 dogs to breed together to enhance and better the breed. You need to know what problems, both health issues and confirmation issues, have been thrown by dogs in a particular pedigree. That enables you to learn what to avoid as well as what will enhance when breeding."

I thought your whole post was dead on correct, but this part in particular stood out to me. :thumbup: It's always good to know there are people out there who really do "get it."