Mentor
 

Looking for a mentor in the o'fallon mo area for breeding

IDK what kind of, or how many responses you might get here. I would suggest, if you haven't already, attend some dogs shows and try to meet breeders there. I would think breeders would be more likely to want to mentor you if they could meet you in person.

I noticed there is a silky terrier show (not yorkies, but still would be interesting) in your area real soon. Then a Columbia, MO all breed show later in March.

InfoDog List of Pure Bred Dog Shows Held in MO

Hi! I was looking for pictures of the furbabies you are planning to breed. Are these the ones that you are talking about?
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...s-anymore.html

No, went out and bought 3 others from 3 dif. Breeders from 3 dif. States none in mo.

Oh. Well you must have your hands full! Do you have any pictures of them?

Yes, i dont have the larger dogs anymore gave them my oldest son in fl.

Oh. Was it because they were big and you were wanting to get into breeding? I would be happy to help you with posting pics if you need me to.

What larger dogs did you have? That must have been so hard to do! You must have a lot of courage!:)

Finding a mentor is not that easy.
It really should have happened way before you bought your breeding dogs. They would have assisted you in picking out breed quality dogs from reputable breeders.

You're right Mary, I didn't know this OP had the problems in the past with too large of yorkies for breeding and has already purchased more.......kind of getting the cart before the horse.

:thumbup::thumbup: Since you have your foundation stock, have they been evaluated? Tested?

Mentorship is a responsibility that is not taken lightly. A mentor will guide you every step of the way. Not just when it's time for whelping. They will teach everything there is about the breed you've selected. Canine Genetics, structure, health testing, the standard, pedigrees, line-breeding (the only way to minimize problems and set type) selecting the best of the best, and how to breed to improve the breed. Every good mentor knows the importance of knowing the breed inside and out. They also know that no one buys a dog for breeding until 7 months of age or more and has all the qualifications of a show dog. If these steps are not being followed, then you are breeding irresponsibly, adding to the yorkie population of misbred dogs. If one is embarking into the breeding journey without taking all into consideration.....then they are entering the world of BYBers and breeding just for $$$$.

Just taking your dog to the vets and them looking at them does not insure you that you have healthy dogs that are good enough to breed. Vets are not well versed in every breed and know what tests need to be performed.

Are you trying to be helpful, are trying to be something else

Can't get any help in my home town, just want to breed 2 or 3 females the best i can for pet only

How old are they?

They are 5 and 6 mo.old trying to learn all i can now before next year

Just giving facts and information based on my own experiences. Finding a mentor and breeding responsibly is not an easy journey if done correctly. There are no short cuts.

did not ask for any short cuts

I know you didn't. What you are looking for is a Mentor and the information I'm providing you is to assist you in doing just that. Not sugar coating anything, as that would do you a great injustice. It's tough, believe me. It was a 5 year road for me before my mentor allowed me near a whelping box.....she was/is a tough task master....and I thank her for that. She is worth her weight in gold.

i thank you for that, but there is not any of you that live near me

Can you tell me exactly where O'Fallon is?

It's about 35 miles outside of st louis mo.

Here's what I suggest.

There is The Gateway Yorkshire Terrier Club of St. Louis. The Club is not fully operational yet as they have not met the criteria to hold Breed Specialties yet. However, there are members that are very knowledgable.

Go to the YTCA.org website......scroll down to Regional Clubs, click and go to the Gateway Club and click on that......there is some contact info. Contact the Secretary.....I would suggest that you maybe attend a couple of meetings, they are held once a month. Great way to meet breeders and people with the a great interest in the Yorkshire Terrier.

will do, thanks

Hello, this is what I did, I was not able to find a breed specific mentor, I breed silky terriers, but I found a great lady that breeds Havanese, so I asked her to teach me the principles of breeding, for the first year I follow her like her shadow, she is a Fabulous lady,she hand me a notebook and a pen and told me to write down everything, that I thought it would be important for me to know, I also attended shows that she showed her havanese, my daughter took an interest in showing and we took it from there, she was gracious enogh to introduce us to silky terrier breeders and show exhibitors, and we gain a LOT of experience, I finally got my first silky breeding girl when she was 8 months old, she was shown by my daughter in the jr. handler rink, when it came time to show her in the real rinks,the breeder that we got her from did it for us, we keep a close phone relationship, because she lives about 4 hours from us. so when I have breed specific questions I call her, and I see my mentor once a week since I am still learning.
I bred her and last november we got our litter of 5, with one girl that we are keeping with hopes of showing her. so Do research with your club and see if is any toy breed exhibitor breeder in your area, the principles of whelping are basically the same, newborn care is very basic too,
and is NO way you can get this experience without a mentor. I learn SO much from her. we still very close friends, I help deliver a litter of havanese too because mentor was available.
just something a bit to consider.
hugs, and welcome.
Carmen in nj

Being this club is not fully operational. What a great thing, to be in on building a club from the ground up, meet people that are fun and have a similar interest.

thank you for the info. Finely a real carring person

Hi!

I'm curious as to what made you decide to get into breeding Yorkies? Did you have one prior to buying these to breed? Have you had a toy breed before? Have you bred any dogs before?

We bought our first one because we had a blk Lab for almost 15 yrs and after having to put him down we decided that because of our age and where we live that we couldn't care for a "big dog" again. We got our Lab when we lived in Iowa - we had a huge backyard - 2 kids - we were younger - and he fit into our lifestyle.

We chose the Yorkie because of it's size and spirit. But even after "looking into" the Yorkie breed - we still had no idea of what all it was going to take to care for them properly. We didn't have to brush our Lab's teeth. We didn't have to bathe him every week. We do our Yorkies.

We just took our girl in to have her teeth cleaned and it cost us $400. :eek: That was the week after having both of them (our girl and boy) in for their shots, fecal tests and bloodwork that ran approximately $300! Now our boy needs to go in for his teeth in a couple of months and that will be another $400.

Have you ever seen an excellent example of a Yorkie? If you have, then you would understand why most people on this site want to preserve the breed. They are absolutely beautiful - with a dynamic spirit and personality.

Have you been to your local animal shelter/humane society lately? You should take the time to visit one. Some of the dogs there came from people who decided to let their dogs breed because they were so cute. Or maybe it was because they just didn't take the time to have them neutered/spayed or just didn't think about it. Maybe it was because they thought everyone should have an affordable dog.

People are not entitled to an affordable dog - they're entitled to have a well bred dog that they can afford to take care of. To me it's like the people who say that they're entitled to have as many kids as they want - while they're on welfare!

If they want an affordable dog - they can go to the animal shelter/humane society and get one that is already neutered/spayed and is already on this earth. We really don't need to add to the overpopulation of careless breeding. Select breeding is done for a reason.

I think what most people don't realize is that show dogs are pets - first. So when people say that they just want a pet - it should be what a show dog looks like because that is what they are supposed to look like - whatever the breed is. The only difference should be minor - something an average person wouldn't necessarily notice.

I really hope you don't breed your dogs until they have been tested and evaluated. I noticed that you gave the first 2 dogs to your son because they were large - not what you expected. So if you didn't want them because they're large - do you think someone else will want your pups if they're not what they expect? :confused: Where do you think they'll end up?

Everyone that has offered is caring, for the Yorkshire Terrier and dogs in general. The way you stated this comment, eluded that everyone else didn't care, if we didn't, we wouldn't have offered advice.