Breeding advise
 

I use to breed Yorkies a few years ago but gave it up to have a few children of my own. Now that my life has calmed down (a little :) ) I would like to start breeding again. When I gave up my passion for breeding, I sold all of my yorkies. I had 6. Not to many but it was enough for me. Well, I'm looking to start up again and I am looking for advise. What are today's "must haves" in the breeding industry? Could you post a few pictures of your yorkie homes and nurseries? Come on, you know you want to brag about your set-up!!!!

Well, tell us more about yourself and your breedig history first. What were your standards for your pups? What testing did you have done? What breeding group did you belong to? Who was your mentor? What were your policies with your pups once they were born- how did you care for them, how long did you keep them, what were your requirements for their new homes? How close is your vet and do you have a close and trusting relationship with him or her? Does your vet specialize in toy breeds? Anything else you'd like to share?

As you probably know, Yorkies are the second most popular breed, unfortunately, every Tom Dick and Harry, want to breed Yorkies and it's been disastrous for the breed. The breed is plagued by many genetic problems, and it's imperative to learn about these illnesses before you buy a breeding dog. A breeder should be an expert on the breed, and so there should be a lot of studying that you should do before you design your breeding setup, for that is probably the most unimportant part of breeding. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it needs to be close to you and easy to clean. May I suggest you start by going to shows, and developing an eye for what makes a Yorkie a good candidate for breeding? Also, it's a great way to meet people who can help teach you, if your heart’s in the right place. Don't say, I don't want to breed show dogs, I only want to breed pets, we already have too many pets available, and rescues are overflowing with sickly Yorkies. I'm not trying to squash your dream, but only want to encourage you to breed for the right reasons and that's to IMPROVE the breed. By the way, how old is your youngest?

Well today's like yesterday's must "haves", is a very good healthy fine representative of the breed. All health testing done and passed.

I am assuming of course because you bred Yorkies before you should know the health testing necessary.

Not too much in required health testing has changed in a few years.

What has changed and unfortunately grown much larger is indiscriminate and poor breeding for our beloved Yorkies.

Breeding dogs that are rife with health problems, that have the wrong coat, temperament, and size.

And sadly the owners of these pups, bear the brunt of the emotional and the financial cost of poorly bred Yorkies.

So join your local breed club, preferably a Yorkie Club if not a Toy Breed Club, and if not that then an All Breed Club.

Set up of a whelping box is the least of your worries.

I think when breeding it is very important about the health. I think making sure the dogs your breeding come from a background with no health problems and that you do genetic and health testing on your breeding dogs. I think making sure your breeding yorkies that are standard. Its important to me that a breeder follow the Yorkshire Terrier club of America rules such as keeping the puppy until 12 weeks and such. Also breeding females under 5 pounds is a big no no because it puts the female in so much danger but I am guessing you know that. Breeders should breed to better the breed and most of the breeders on here have said its not to make money and they rarely do. I think this is standard and doesn't change with time at least I hope not. Puppies should be given the best start possible so taking all the precautions possible to try and make sure your going to have healthy pups is so important. So many breeders out there could careless about there breeding dogs and there puppies and don't do any kind of health testing and let the pups go way to early like 6 weeks and stuff.

Well I only bred for about a year. I bred regular yorkies...no tiny or teacups. I had a local mentor and didn't belong to any groups besides this one. I typically kept the pups until they were 10 weeks old. I use a local vet but don't have an extremely close relationship with him besides the pet visits on occasion. We only had 5 litters the entire time I was breeding. My yorkies were kept inside of my home but with kids now, I am wanting to build some sort of kennel to keep them in to sleep at night. We have a nice sized yard and they would be able to have open play during the day.

My youngest child is 16 months

Joey's breeder won't even sell to familes with children that young. I don't think toddlers and Yorkies mix well. It will be hard for you to get breeding dogs from reputable breeders. I would just go to shows and read all I could for the next few years.

Welcome back to YT, I breed silkies and I waited until my youngest son was 15 to start researching, attending shows and meeting breeders and breeds. is hard to attend a show and mingle in the back with a baby, I seen it done but is really hard, so I waited, specially the financial burden of a young family, the price of a High quality breeding pair, costs of health tests and money in the bank in case anything goes wrong with a whelping. you can start learning, looking into breed clubs and such, while your children are young.
best of luck in your learning adventure.
hugs,

Obviously this isn't the site for me to do research on. I came here looking for advise and ALL I'm getting is negative feedback. You gals have a nice day. I'll be researching elsewhere.

The financial burden is not a problem of mine. My family is very wealthy. I'm about to start breeding again because I love doing it.

I have been reading thinking everyone had been very friendly and helpful to you. I dont think being wealthy means you can be a succesful breeder. I was actually very impressed with everyones helpful advice on this thread. Good luck in ur breeding.

Also curious why when u were finished breeding that you just sold all your yorkies? I cant imagine having dogs for breedin only, and then just selling them when i didnt want puppies.

I'm sorry you didn't get the feedback you wanted. May I ask what is it about breeding that you love?

Hi and welcome back to YT. Great place with an amazing wealth of knowledge on all things Yorkie. I don't know much about breeding but from all the posts I think people offered good sound advice in a positive manner. Best of luck to you!

I would advise you to shadow all the large AKC sanctioned dog shows, regardless of which State they are in....take your list of pedigrees with you so that you can see from the entries if any of those breeders will be at the show. Ask questions all over the show....it will take you awhile to get "known" around the show...the top breeders are in such demand, that while they are polite, there are many fly-by-night "breeders" that try to con these people....so you have to get to be well known and trusted by these show people. After they begin to trust you and actually see that you are sincere and trustworthy, you may be able to purchase a puppy with breeding rights. They may also be able to give you a path to a retired champion that you could possibly pick up for a hefty price, but it is the dog you are after! Fortunately, money is no object for you, because a Great breeder, from your favorite line/pedigree, is going to cost you upwards of $3500.00, maybe much more. You may have to go the "co-owner" route, which is fine....you will be mentored by experienced breeder. This will take a considerable amount of time...your youngest will be at least several years older...but you will get top notch dogs, with top notch pedigrees, and you will be able to delve back into your passion....and you know it is a passion because you ceretainly do not make any money doing it! Good luck, you can purchase volums of books that cover all the top lines....since you once bred, you are familiar with what YOU like in your pedigrees....so you know what lines you want to breed, to get "the look" you like! What name did you "DBA" before and what lines did you lean toward?