Disagree, While I am still a newby to Conformation, these Judges do not play games. I have learned so much and Jeanie you and Debbie can too. 99% of the excibitors are wonderful people who care so much about keeping the breed pure. There is no way to tell if you have a champion out of a litter until maybe 20 months. They may get one champion out of 10 pups. The rest are placed in Good pet homes. And I mean Placed. Nothing compared to the prices I have seen on some sites. Sure you will always have a bad apple in every bunch but for the most part they are very very caring that know their lines. Matter of fact there was a lady that was a YT member here a while back and she now has a top 10 Yorkie in the US. Havoc...She learned and studied and is a GREAT exhibitor and handler....

I have a question...maybe a naive one; if it's naive, I apologize....you guys should know by now that genetics is not my strong point. :p

Some posters have mentioned how there are no genetic defects tied to "color" except w/ Chocolates. I thought that there had been discussion (ahem, quite "lively" discussion) as to whether or not parti colored dogs in general (not just yorkie, but partis in other breeds as well) could have genetic related issues that are related to the gene which causes the parti color. Was it blindness maybe...? Does anyone know what I'm trying to recall w/ this? It's fuzzy...so I can't remember the details.

Were those genetic relationships proven categorically false? Bc I can't recall if/when the issue really had a conclusion.

:thumbup:

I believe it may have been deafness and yes it is linked to dogs carrying the piebald gene. Most notably is dalamations.
I am not aware that of any biewers who are affected nor as an issue within our dogs. Best you can do is have the dogs Baer tested.
Some more info.
Genetics of Deafness in Dogs

Odd I am in the show rings and know many AKC show breeders. I don't see tons of crappy breeders with bad health. NOt sure which shows or where you might be talking aobut and if yours aren't shown why are you at shows or are you? Curious phenomena.
Actually chocolates can have health issues and often do.
Color test for dilute gene? Really? Never heard of that one.
I am sure there will be some people looking for wrong colour, rare whatever, or very undersized. In my considerable experience I am not usually too interested in interviewing to any extent these kind of pet owners. My preference is someone looking for a nice Yorkie who knows something about Yorkies or are more than willing to learn.

Well I will you tell...Diana and I have different opinions, we have debated them often...that being said...she is no where what you just described.

Yes, there are tests available to determine what color coat gene a dog may carry. Actually color coat testing has been the most widely determined in ANY breed.

Man it is like racism in the yorkie world, lol!!

Why is color so offensive? And to make a claim that the only reason someone breeds for an off color is for monetary gain is hasty rationalization and ridiculous. Does color equal money? Do you know every breeder's objective?
Many truly love the different colors (I know I do) and they are breeding because they love that look, not for monetary gain. Many breeders have a certain look in mind for the yorkie. Many reputable breeders breed for certain traits that differ from one another. One might like an ear set better than an another's for example. They are small variations but do they get condemned for liking that certain look and breeding for it? You can go to a show and see all the little variations breeders are breeding for. Some judges like a certain look while other judges like a different look. If we all liked the same exact thing, only that yorkie would be in the show ring and all the judges would judge the same and choose the same dog but we know that doesn't happen.
Color is no different. It is a certain look some breeders like but just because it deals with color, they get condemned for it, even if the yorkie is standard in every other way.

Why do some breeders automatically assume that since the breeder is breeding off color dogs that they are concerned about health and genetics? What proof is there to show that this true? A different color such as parti does not mean the breeder doesn't care about health but yet many of you have stated that. So where's the proof? If you want to make the claim that breeders who are breeding chocolates, goldens or partis don't care about the health or standard you need to back up that claim with evidence. And unless you personally know their breeding program, you can't.

I have seen many so called "reputable" show breeders who breed gorgeous dogs but pay little attention to health. Breeding by standard, and showing by the standard doesn't mean that breeder looked into the health and genetics but it is being assumed so.

Health should ALWAYS come before color or standard.

Oh and to say no genetic testing is needed because you know your lines so well is incredibly naive to me. If you aren't testing, you can't know your dog's genetic mapping. You can only assume so. Your dog could carry LS and just because you haven't ever had a pup in the line with it, doesn't mean it isn't there. Can you honestly say you know everything about your dog's genes, inside and out, especially saying you didn't do any testing? Just using LS as an example but it can apply to many things such as color and other genetic diseases or abnormalities. If we knew all of this we would have a completely healthy breed as we could find and eliminate all those diseases. There is so much we don't know about genetics.

I love all the yorkies whether they are black, blue, white, gold or chocolate. They are all beautiful wonderful yorkies.

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Thanks Deb! :)

-Diana :animal-pa

Thanks for sharing. We all have opinions! :D

Might also add that if you have a good Breeder, that has studied her lines

from the begining there is no need to test for the gene. REPUTABLE

BREEDERS know their Breeding stock and can go back for many many many

many generations. They study their structure,color, movement, coat and if

any have a genetic defect, they will STOP the breeding of that line

I can speak from 1st hand experience and tell you that YES, this IS a problem with Biewers--at least with mine. I tell her all the time to stop licking my face and she doesn't listen. I tell her that I didn't make the bed up just for her to nap on and she doesn't listen. I tell her she's not getting any more treats and she follows me around the kitchen anyway. I have therefore drawn the conclusion that clearly she is deaf. :D

The sad thing is that just last night we finally discovered/admitted that our 7 month old Biewer is most definitely deaf, so to me this isn't all that funny.

I had no idea, which makes me feel 100x worse than I do, but she follows our Yorkie around so it was hard to figure out. There have been many signs but I just was in some sort of denial. We finally figured it out last night as she was standing there staring at us yet again, I swear she reads lips...anyways we have an appointment @ 6:30 this evening... will keep you posted...:confused:

Im sorry I hope you get some answers. How old is she?