Originally Posted by BamaFan121s SoCal--No offense taken, I would be happy to respect your request to share what knowledge of breeding I have with you. I understand that the opinions of a more "seasoned breeder" would be more highly regarded than my own as you are well aware of the fact that the recent litter I had was the first of my own. I believe I told you this in a former thread regarding Theriogenologist? If you recall correctly, you quoted me and made the assumption that all breeders should know what a theriogenologist is? I can look up the thread for you if that will help?
Anyway, to answer your questions:
Years breeding Yorkies-I started working with a breeder of Shih Tzu's in 2000 who has been breeding for over 20 years. She also had a Yorkie, not bred, pet only that I fell in love with. In 2002, myself and my father began researching Yorkies an working with a 15+ year experienced breeder who is also a close family friend, who is also who my father got Cody, our sire, from. We worked both with them and with our vet to learn about the breed, what to expect, how to select a dog, etc. They were also beneficial in helping us to learn about desired genetic traits, which was more like a refresher course for myself (and my father) as I attended medical school and studied a great deal in cellular biology, including genetic engineering. Once we had Cody and Trixie, we continued to work with our vet, the Shih-Tzu breeder, Cody's breeder and Trixie's breeder and another Yorkie breeder with whom we met through our vet, and eventually another breeder in North Alabama from whom we eventually got Abby, my sister's dog.
Number of litters per year-this is easy...1. Trixie is my only dog. I have no desire to have or breed any dog that cannot be my 'pet' first. I don't think it is a bad thing, it's just not what is best for me, nor do I desire to show.
Club affiliations-unfortunately, there are no local YTCA affiliations in my area, at least not that I am aware of. If there were, we would have considered having AKC reg dogs more rather than CKC reg. But again, we looked for a desireable dog, not a desireable piece of paper, as we had no intention of showing. One breeder we worked with was originally from Florida and was affiliated w/ the Central Fla YTC...Cody's breeder--he is both AKC and CKC reg.
website-don't have one...is there any reason why I should that I am not aware of...is there something specific that you feel would be on a website that I can tell you about?
Breeding philosophies-not really sure what you mean, I would be happy to elaborate here if you can be a little more specific
Raised in the home or out-in the home, again, Trixie is my only dog and only goes out when she has to potty as we have an abundance of wildlife in the area...including Hawks!
Not breeding under 4 or 5 lb females-would not breed under 5 lbs because of the high risk of health problems-Trixie is 6 3/4 lbs, Cody is 5 1/2 and Abby is 5 lbs, but still growing
Breeding for the standard or for another "looK"--our dogs to meet the standard for the breed, yet, if their look was 'undesirable,' which I suppose is a matter of opinion, we would not breed them
Price range-we asked $1000.00 for our females and $800.00 for our males. That is slightly above the 'norm' here. We hoped that if we weren't the lowest around, that would discourage 'impulse buyers' and potential 'millers.' Luckily, all of the owners were referred to us, 2 by a friend, 1 is a friend, and 1 by our vet. Once we learned more about them as individuals, we told them our 'real price,' which was lower.
Buyer Qualifications required-this differs on a case by case basis. Not to be biased, but if anyone had shown up in a clunker and look as if they had not had a bath in weeks, they would have gone home empty handed. All owners were very knowledgeable about the breed-3 of the 4 had previously owned Yorkies. We'd said we would ask to see their home and visit with their pup to see how he would adjust, but because of the way we met them this time, we did not do such. We already knew them. We require that they be kept indoors...again because of the wildlife and we state that we will randomly contact their vets to ensure the dogs are getting proper routine care. It states in our sales agreement that if at any time they fail to do so, they will have to surrender the dog back to us. Anything specific here I could elaborate on.
Contract or not-yes, what specifically do you want to know about it?
Health guarantee-yes, limited to what can be classified as a genetically inherited disorder, not injury, neglect etc. We have also had the parents thouroughly screened and do so annually as well as complete vet records for the grand dam and sire and provide copies of such to the owners
I think that covers everything, although brief. I would be happy to elaborate on any of this if you would like for me to, just let me know. True, Trixie had as close to a textbook and perfect delivery and pregnancy as you can have, which I realize is not always the case. We had no outrageous out-of-pocket expenses for emergencies or unforseen costs, so yeah, we do have some profit, but not much, to show for it. It's sitting in a separate savings accout where it will remain until 1) we can be sure there will be no complications with the pups and 2) it is time to breed again, which who knows where we will be in a year...may not want to do it again at that point. We had 4 healthy pups, no stillborns and no runt and all survived and are in perfect health. Apparently, I prepared myself correctly? I would like to think I did something right. As far as my motivation, I can assure you that it is not ego, nor is it for profit. If you have ever looked at pups that you bred and they are healthy, they go to good homes, you have the honor of knowing that it was because of YOUR efforts, you promoted good breed standards and you kept 4 people away from a puppy mill, that is the biggest reward and motivation of all.
I think I have answered all of your questions. Please let me know if I have missed anything or if there is anything I can elaborate on. Again, I don't claim to be an expert, but if you look back over my past replys, I don't think you will find a case where I have given "bad advice" nor do I make a habit out of posting if I don't think I am knowledgeable about what I say. If I have, please let me know and I will be more than happy to retract the statement.
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