Tough decision
 

My youngest Biewer girls will be 1 year in Feb. I have one that is still on the small side. She's is more up on leg but very fine boned. I am going to take her to my vet for evaluation of her pelvic bones. I haven't weighed her in a while, but I'm pretty sure she's under 4 pounds still. I have a feeling she will be too small to breed. I hope I'm wrong.
I went through hell and high water to get my Biewers, I spent a lot of money and time, but what comes first is her well being.
Spaying and selling her as a pet is NOT what I prefer to do. That means I will have to start over with another puppy. But these are some of the tough choices we have to make when we breed.

Maybe you all can say some prayers that she just may need a bit more time to grow.

Hugs,
Irene

Keeping my fingers crossed for you. I have to commend you on doing what is best for HER and not YOU...of course, I wouldn't have expected otherwise from you . ;)
I know that is hard to try to develop a good line to find that one of them is too small/big, has a flaw, etc. I hope everything turns out good for you.

you are what breeeders should be,hope the best...maybe the vet will say she is a late bloomer..good luck

I have really learned alot from reading posts like yours. I have learned that it is irresponsible to become over-zealous & breed before you should or even breed when you shouldn't. I have learned that it could take years to fine-tune your breeding line and not to expect otherwise. I have learned that no matter how careful & cautious you are, you will at some point experience problems, heart-ache, and even loss.

Thank you for your post, and to everyone else who posts here with their questions, concerns, victories and stories. I appreciate the knowledge.

Irene,

I will say alittle prayer for her..

There has NOT been one time that I have not cried when I have either purchased or kept back a female/male for show or breeding and then had to place them into a loving forever pet home because of their size or health issues.. It NEVER gets easier.. They become a part of our family and our home..

My Trianna is a smaller girl at 4.4 lbs.. She is very compact, but when I had her x-rayed by my vet he said she had the largest pelvic opening of any female yorkie he has ever seen! My vet does see alot of yorkies, there is another show/breeder here that also takes her yorkies to him.. So there is HOPE!! ;)

Keep us updated on what you find out..
Melanie

I wish you luck !

I wish anyone new to breeding would learn from posts like this...and remember - if a female is just too small.... then don't do it....

I hope things work out for you :)

Irene,
I too have a small female that was purchased for breeding and I am facing the same dilema you are. Harmony, is my girl her last weigh in was 4.6 pounds... :eek: :eek: and she is 10 months old as well... Same description as the body build. I have offered her for sale but just wasn't happy with the people that were looking to purchase her, so she is still in my home with me. Many members and others have advised me to just hang onto her as she could still blossom...
Now, if she does that would be great. If she could get to 5 1/2 pounds and with a x-ray of her pelvis to see what that will bring I am prepared to wait.
It has helped that Maevie has had Little Man for me... He is almost nine weeks old and is still under a pound. So, if he remains small and is proven with my other larger females to see what he is going to throw with them, I may possibly be able to breed her. A lot will have to be determined yet on the outcome of these two... I will have to wait for her 3rd to 4th heat cycle, but I am prepared to wait and see.
I have fallen madly in love with my Harmony and maybe that is why I couldn't find a suitable home for her. If she never reaches a exceptable size for breeding I guess she is going to just be my lap baby as that is where you will find her most of the time. :p
My advice is to give her a little more time. If you have to start out with a new puppy you would have the same time invested basically. Not to mention you will have your own litters coming up and you will probably want to hold back a pup at sometime of your own breedings. Then when showing them in the ring you can do "breed by exhibitor" and join me in that ring!!!
Good luck on what ever you decide to do... I know it is a tuff call.

Not good!
 

Well Miss Liberty is still too small. She's barely 4 pounds on the scale. She reminds me of a cat in her structure. Fine bone and narrow. I dont' need xrays or my vet to tell me she's not good for breeding. I can see it for myself <sigh>.

She will be spayed and placed as a pet. She is used to sleeping in bed. She loves other 4 legged company :) She's lightening fast would be good at agility. This is so hard for my entire family to come to this conculsion.

I was wondering what Harmony weighs these days.

Irene. Liberty is gorgeous. Will u be selling her? If so, may I ask how much? You can PM me if you like.
Thanks!

I am so sorry that must be really hard on you! But I am sure that you will find her a very loving home!

Big Sigh......

She would LOVE it at my house...I got it all covered - Sleeping in bed with me......2 yorkie girls to play with....a big yard ....and a Water Hose Monster Chanel who can teach her how to jump.... :D

Irene, I am sure it is very hard for you to part with a much loved companion...a long time ago I over heard one of my children talking to a puppy and telling her to grow big so she would not have to leave..I felt awful.

Irene,
I am so sorry about Miss Liberty.. It is always a hard decision when we decide that we need to place one of our kids into a loving pet home.. I always tell myself they need to come to me to get where they needed to be.. My thoughts are with you in this difficult decision..

Oh, Irene! It happens. :( I'm so sorry for your disappointment. Hugs are coming your way!

Thank you all so much. This is soo hard. I second guess this decision for my own selfish reasons. I don't want to let her go. Having 12 in the house and me working it's so much work for me to keep her as a pet, besides, she would be so good at agility. If I can find her someone that will put her through agility that would make her the happiest. I've been tearing up all day about other issues, I have a friend that has been having a bad week. And then all the nice caring PMs and emails just make me cry even more. I guess I'm just having one of those days. The hugs and kind words feel great! Thanks! I'll be sure to update you on Liberty's new family when they come along :)

Hugs back!!
Irene

Irene, this is my feeling when I have to evaluate a bitch for purposes of using her as a mom.. I am gonna cap. this but not to yell, just to show my strong feelings--I CAN ALWAYS PLACE A DOG AT ANY AGE THAT DOES NOT MATURE OUT AS GOOD BREED STRUCTURE. I CANNOT ALWAYS GET THAT DOG BACK WHEN SHE GETS OLDER AND HAS THAT MUCH PRAYED-FOR GROWTH SPURT! So, I would keep her and watch her...plump her up if her skeletal structure and pelvis will support a pregnancy and whelping.
In th end, you answer to yourself so do what you feel in your heart is right...

Thanks Rini. I took her coat down. That's when I noticed she is teenie than I originally thought. I'll take a pic of her this weekend and show you what I mean. She is very small boned and narrow. Comparing her to her sisters I guess I'm just not comfortable with breeding her. You are more experienced than I so you may have a different comfort leve. I appreciate your encouragement. But my heart tells me to place her.

Bless your heart, Irene. One of the (many) reasons I've always known I couldn't be a breeder was the thought of giving up the babies. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for you now after having such a bond with Liberty. God bless you.

Gee Irene I am so sorry to hear this- I know how important your progrram is to you...big hugs....I am confident you will do what is best- you truly care and that is a good thing-

Irene, I was not saying I would not place her. I was saying that since you do love her so much and since she has probably not finished growing, you can keep her til she is full grown and then IF she does not get large enough, you can still place her. If you place her now and find that she has grown into a size that meets your "comfort level" you will still have her.
My comfort level is not based on how much experience I have but on the size, quality, and other characteristics of the individual dog.

That is such a hard decision to make! I admire you for doing the right thing for your little girl. I love Biewers!

Wow, how sad. I am so sorry you are faced with this decision. It hurts. sending hugs.....

I guess we just had a mix up in communications sorry.

I agree 100%! You are wonderful to think of that baby first! Best of luck!!!! :)

OMG, this one took me back... My daughter did the same thing. She was crouched down on the floor with a puppy saying things similar to what you said above; I just went into a bathroom and cried like a darn kid myself.

Irene- hope it all works out for you. It is tough being a breeder, thats for sure. Decisions have to be made at times. We all wish that they were easier to make.
Hugs to you.

I'm glad to see that everyone is being so supportive. Some times dogs just shouldn't be breed and the breeder is faced with such a hard decision. Just because you sell a dog that you can't (or won't breed) doesn't mean that you don't care about your dogs, and that you only have them around to make money. It just means that you are responsible. (When I posted that we were going to sell Madie (her teeth didn't all come in) I took a lot of greif. Yes she did get Pregnant, but it was unintentional and those things sometimes happen. However, after her litter is born we plan to have her spayed).

It's breeders like you, and supportive people around you that allow everyone else to have the puppies they love.

I wish everyone could be as supportive as the people who responded to this thread when breeders have to make a tough decision. It is never easy to get rid of something you love, and everybody giving you a bad time makes it worse.

Good luck.

Anna you are so right. We need more support for eachother. We all don't have to follow the same protocol but at least respect one another and support eachother for the most part. There are things I will not support but those are the obvious, lying cheating and stealing in the world of breeding. Accidents happen all the time.

Placing Liberty is a tough decision. She is so narrow in the pelvis area, even if she were 5 pounds now, she's just too narrow for my preference.

Even though the decision is a sad one, this is a positive post. Something I LOVE to see myself!!

Hugs,
Irene

AMEN, AMEN!!!! I LOVE your post!
I do NOT know how many times I have personally stated how very much I LOVE my dogs and give them a wonderful home both physically and emtionally.. But if and when there comes a time one of our yorkies does NOT work in our program "THEY DESERVE BETTER!" That does NOT make us a bad breeder, it makes us a loving breeder and one that puts our dogs happiness always first! My dogs are spoiled, given as much attention as possible and always loved! But when they are retired (either because of their size, structure problems, etc.) they deserve a life where they have at least one playmate and a home where they can sleep on the bed every night, go on vacation and always have a loving lap to sit in and NOT have to share it with 3-4 others! Placing one of my yorkies has never been easy, but like I stated if you love them you will give them better!

:bravo: :bravo: :bravo: I love Pat's saying...Breeders are cut from a different cloth. Many people do not understand rehoming but it does happen for various reasons.