Completely terrified to ask questions.
 

I am a well-educated, first-time breeder, and my father has been the Animal Control Officer, pound owner/keeper of our small city for 35 years. He is also an Abuse Investigator for the province of Manitoba and raised yorkies with my mother for several years. My point is that, I am not a dummy, but truthfully, I am scared to ask questions on the breeder forum. So many vicious, condescending responses. Isn't learning and asking questions the "right" thing to do if you love the breed, and don't want to make mistakes? Someone, please reassure me that I am not going to get a strip torn off me for wanting to be informed. I would very much like to join this community, learn, share, be a good person and responsible breeder. But my desire for knowledge is hampered by the negativity on this site. Thank you for considering my opinion/questions.

Hi and welcome to YT :). I hope you find some answers, feedback, and educational material here...if you look around, you'll find a ton of stuff.

I understand your hesitation - some of the most heated threads here have to do w/ unethical / unscrupulous breeders and breeding practices. Given how much the yorkie breed has been unethically bred - you can probably understand why/how passions can run very high on this subject.

My best advice to you is that you look around, read the threads here - and first and foremost, find out *why* this is a sensitive and very important subject. With that background in hand, your subsequent questions will be informed, intelligent, sensitive, and insightful....they couldn't help but be that if you truly look around and are willing to learn.

Starting places are, of course, this section itself -- but also see these 2 sections of the YT Library:

Breeding and Breed-Specific Library - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

Puppy Care and Puppy Info Library - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

When I first decided to breed Yorkies, I had to understand exactly WHY I was doing it. After my "why" was answered and understood, I researched exactly what I needed to do to get to the "why" I had established for myself. I decided my "why" could not be reached until I was thoroughly educated on the history or the breed, and then drilling deeper into lines and pedigrees and what was producing HEALTHY Yorkies, with great dispositions, and that LOOKED like Yorkies were supposed to look.....reference the breed standard.

This part of my education took about 10 years. I attended seminars, dog shows, became familiar with breeders and show people, most of who treated me with the same skepticism and mistrust that you feel you have seen displayed by breeders on this forum, to people whose true motives or agendas are unknown. It became obvious that I was an "outsider" who quite possibly was seeing breeding Yorkies as a get rich quick scheme, and the dedicated breeders that have spent years and years perfecting their lines and promoting this breed, through hours and hours of blood, sweat, tears, study, research, showing, reading, studying, etc, these people did not appreciate anyone that was not totally dedicated to the breed, strictly for the breed's sake.

I had to establish trusting relationships with these people.....some were willing and others were absolutely not interested! I established a relationship with several mentors, very well respected, well established mentors.....all this before I ever considered actually breeding two dogs of my own. I helped whelp litters.....I worked on and off for several years, with a vet that specialized in small dogs, especially Yorkies, for no salary, just experience.

After a total of around 15 years of all of the above, I bought my first breeding stock, and began reaching my goals in my own breeding program. THIS is what I did to avoid as much as possible, the resentment and skepticism of breeders. It certainly was not easy, and there are areas and people that I still approach with humble respect but optimistic caution. I did realize that some of the harshest, most caustic, teaching methods were coming from people that knew sooooo much more than I probably ever would know, and one of my mentors is really brutal with me.....she has reduced me to tears on several occasions....but she has taught me soooooooo much and I owe easily 85% of my breeding experiences and expertise to this lady. I just "got over it", "sucked it up", matured emotionally, stayed the course and showed that I was determined to do it and do it right.

In my opinion if your wanting to breed and you want to breed right you should not be afraid to ask a question because you should want to know everything you especially about the right way to breed. A lot of us on this board have had a dog that came from bad breeding so we are very passionate about people breeding right so owners and dogs don't have to suffer.

My main thoughts about YT are there is lots of room here for nearly any discussion you would like to hold. Stick around, post it up, just because someone disagrees with you is no reason to leave.

With that being said, yes, a few here occasionally respond with negative or condescending remarks towards someone that asks a question. Let's just call them the 1%, it's much less than that. They do offer some good insight, knowledge, most of the time so it's worth sticking around. LOL Kinda like visiting New Jersey! LOL

There are a lot of Canadians here! YT is a very good crowd!

Hello! Wow! I didn't expect this level of support and positivity! Thank you everyone who replied. I think I will stick around :) And in response to "Live to Dream"... Lost a little boy (Giacamo) a couple years ago to "Protein-losing enteropathy". He was four years old. I have never experienced that level of anger before or again. Thanks again all, for the positive feedback. Now, be prepared to put up with me!

PS:Yorkiemom1...wowsa! You don't mess around! :)
PPS: Mark - would love to see NJ!

LOL I've got a brother in law from there. It's a fairly old perception that Jersey residents are a bit on the abrasive side. LOL Said in good fun, it may or may not apply today. :eek:

I do not like to look like an idiot.....so I wanted to know absolutely everything I could , before I ever got into a conversation with a breeder.....I didnt mind them knowing I was just trying to get started, I just wanted them to rest assured I had "paid some dues" and had invested in a knowledge base...!

I think its always better to ask questions, its how we learn. When I am here I always try to reach out and help where I can. Welcome to Yorkie Talk :)

Logically, If a breed-quality AKC dog is purchased from a reputable breeder on an open registration, then the *new* breeder would naturally have the original reputable breeder they purchased from as a mentor. That mentor should be able to answer any questions a new breeder would have.

Usually, when new breeders are searching for answers here, it is because they have wrecklessly bred a poor example of the breed that should never have been bred, or that they did not have the right to breed.

Those of us that love the yorkie breed want the standard preserved so future generations will have a yorkie that looks like the yorkie we know today. If people keep breeding their off standard pets and poor quality examples of the breed, we will move further and further away from how the yorkie should look. I personally would find that devastating. I grew up in Yorkshire, England with a Nan that raised yorkies. I hope my grand children and great grand children get to experience the yorkie as I did as a child. The only way that will happen is if only the best representations of the breed are bred. Reputable breeders of such quality lines do not give their dogs away to be bred willy nilly by just anyone. They mentor their new breeders and work with them to protect their lines.

Hello and welcome to YT.


:)


You will find a wealth of info here but you do have to expect to be challenged and be prepared to challenge in order that you can be part of meaningful discourse re: this breed. Everyone is passionate here about the breed, either as breeders or pet owners, so sometimes opinions come across as "heated".


However, in my opinion, the most important thing to remember is that everyone here is trying to protect the breed as well as individual dogs and puppies. If you keep that in mind, I think you will do just fine.


Good luck :)

Its like anything else you gotta take the good info you get and ignore the rest you cant be afraid to post because someone on here might post something you dont like this is a big forum with many different people with different personalities, you gotta take the good with the bad

Just a thought for you -- and my opinion only, however an opinion I have come to with education and experience.

I have had the joy of being loved by several Yorkies. I am not, nor do I ever intend to be a breeder. BUT, I will not buy any dog/puppy from any breeder who does not show. I want a dog that someone has put a great deal of time, thought, and experience into breeding the very best example of the breed. Hoping that each litter they have will improve the breed and produce another champion.

When admire my Yorkie and ask me how they can find one like her I tell them my opinion and give them some names of folks I know who don't breed to sell puppies, but breed to produce the perfect Yorkie.

If that is not important to them then I would suggest a rescue that would love a good home and return tons of love as well. But, generally, they are looking at my healthy,well bred, gorgeous example of a Yorkie, and saying that is what they want.

Guess the bottom line here is - in my experience- show folks breed for different reasons than the business of puppy production and sales.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

You need fear asking questions here much less than expressing opinions. Over the past 6 years or so, I've seen many breeders abandon this site as a place for meaningful discussion about their breeding. That said, I overall enjoy Yorkietalk as a place for Yorkie owners to share their experiences. Sadly, I haven't found it to be helpful to breeders looking to learn and grow.

Thank you, KazzyK! I never thought to ask her! It's not an imposition? I'm not sure it's realistic to ask her for help. She lives far away from me. Although, I suppose I could email her. But I like the multiple opinions on here more than a single response.

Magic Genie, thank you for the reply. I do see a lot of "hoitee toitee" on here ;) so I hear where you are coming from. This site is a good resource though. We can be friendly and kind and positive to each other, okay :) let me reiterate, I grew up with my parents who are Yorkie breeders. I have a good knowledge base.

Ack! I'm getting overwhelmed by all the replies! I haven't figured out how the site works yet! Probably not best to peruse on my phone! Thanks again everyone! I appreciate all the responses, but if I keep going this thread will have 100 replies just from me! I'll have a look on my computer tomorrow! Bonne nuit!

Some bedtime reading! Thank you, Wylie's mom:)

Lol, you're so welcome! I think it's wonderful that you're committing to learning first and foremost, before embarking on such a huge and rather sacred (to those of us who love the breed, that is) endeavor.

.......:confused:...... I am thinking it may be helpful to everyone else, if there was a list of names of the "hoity toity" members, so those specific members know how they are viewed and can adjust their time spent in participation on this forum, if they so choose. ("haughty, snobbish, disdainful, conceited, proud, pretentious, arrogant, supercilious, self important".....wow.

Oops! She'd probably rephrase that if she could, the OP.

What I like here is the diversity. It exposes me to things I otherwise wouldn't experience or even read about elsewhere.

I'm just a blue collar dog owner that came into ownership of a yorkie a little over a year and a half ago purely by chance, Gucci was given to us by a friend of my better half's because we could provide him with a better home. Suddenly, we had this special breed of dog that warranted research. That is where YT came in!

YT provides some good info and fostered pride in this little dog we suddenly had. That's where I'm coming from. I appreciate the resource so much that when I see someone new come in, I put myself in their shoes. We don't all have this vast ability to express ourselves or our thoughts accurately in print. Slips of the tongue or incomplete thoughts are going to occur. These new people, myself included, come here because of the dog. Most are here for the yorkie but I've seen that many breeds are represented and that just adds to the diversity.

Give the new person the benefit of the doubt, you know, unless they really screw up and not honor a contract or mistreat an animal or a human being.

To the OP, by all means participate here as much as you can as there is a lot to learn, but also ally yourself with some reputable breeders in your locale to exchange information and ideas. They don't have to be Yorkie breeders, they just have to be experienced and reputable. Join your local kennel club. If there is a regional Yorkshire Terrier Club where you live, join it ASAP and PARTICIPATE. There is no such club in my region and I know I missed out on a lot because of it. We don't even have a local kennel club any more. The "hoity-toity" are usually in the national parent clubs, YTCA and CYTA. If you can handle that, go for it. I'm too free-thinking to deal with it myself, but I've always marched to a different drum, so to speak. You have a good head start with parents who know this breed. Best Wishes!:)

LOL my friend,,, I am hoity toity? Smiling here. But I do admit to being rather opinionated....:D

]]


For sure learning and asking questions are truly encouraged. I speak only for myself, I like to read specific types of questions about breeding, questions that show me, you have read some been exposed to differing viewpoints on topic a/b or c.


I think you need to learn all about the Health Concerns of Yorkies. Spend at least a month reading the Sick and Emergency threads here. Learn the genetic diseases Yorkies are prone to. There is also a stickey on those diseases. And yes I do have a *show yorkie*, but I am not a breeder of Yorkies.


My passion is health and breeding to the Standard. But I do breed another breed a very large breed.

I always coach the very first question you ask yourself is ; Why do you want to breed Yorkies"? Beyond a love of the breed, not reason enough, you can love the breed, care for your dogs(s), support the health initiatives for Yorkies and in this way give back to the breed, but why breed a Yorkie? What do you want from this?


You are on a very exciting journey of discovery; hopefully a discovery filled full with a discerning passion for our breed and a commitment to breeding excellence.


Good luck with your journey

Gail, I don't know if you're hoity toity. You're very devoted to your dogs and well informed, and consistently well mannered in your posts. :)

All I know is it's worth the risk of a tongue lashing to ask any question you have. I know this from experience, and I am still here. Because this forum offers so much insight and information by people who have been through everything there is to go through concerning this breed. You can go to any other site and get generalized , repetitive, and incomplete overviews on any subject you want. Or you can come here and get a barrage of heartfelt opinions, actual knowledge from experience, and yes, sometimes a heart racing blow to the pride. But that usually stems from my own ignorance. And as long as you can see past the initial perceived insult to the knowledge and the reasoning behind it, you'll actually learn quite a lot here. Even if you are already familiar with breeding Yorkies based on your parents having bred them, there's still tons to learn about different breeders methods and morals (or lack thereof) . There's usually a pretty just reason between the lines of every vehement tongue lashing. I lived with a New Yorker for a bit when I was younger, so I learned real quick to look beyond the insult to understand the logic. I apply that here as well. it works for me. I love it here.