I definitely liked it better than Disney World.

Or instead of paying shipping, who knows!! Stacy might fly fly fly to Boston.. With a good plan, she can definitely stay with me :)

Michiko, I bet you can get her to Boston ;)

Yes do look in advance. A great breeder does not breed alot so we place our puppies quickly, but you are in a great area with some top beeders. When you are ready let me know and I will put you in touch with some super breeders over there that are reputable, have quality dogs and will be there for you. Also these people would be happy to talk to you at shows or just on the phone. A lot of my pet owners wait until I have something available. So you do want to start talking to them now and let them know you will wait for that wonderful little baby to add to your home. Good luck.

Thanks again everyone! It's great to know there are so many wonderful people to contact here when we're ready...we're getting close. (I'm ready, still getting hubby on board lol)

In the meantime I went to my first "show" yesterday (blue & grey in Harrisburg), and loved it so much I'm heading back today!

I'm not so much looking for contacts as I think I've found them here (yaay YT), but I got to ask a lot of questions yesterday (meet the breeds), and am getting an education! MG the show coats on these little dogs are beautiful! Pics just don't do justice...

One more question (for now), one of the breeders I talked to yesterday said that she usually chooses her pups for showing, and then shows them for a year or two before breeding. Then she said she often starts looking to place them when they are about 5 years old. Is that typical?

vviccles - good luck working something out and getting your new pup! That's so exciting!

Thanks again.

It is for some but not all. Each breeder is different. You can get to know a show person (or any breeder for that matter) and sometimes when they retire one of their girls from their breeding program, since you have become a friend, they will retire the dog to you. It's always wise to develop a friendship. I have lost quite a number of old guys the last few years, but yet family and friends have a habit of trying to steal my dogs. :)

Ginger
I am also new to this forum. I have been reading it though for some time. I have always been amazed at how everyone says you need to buy from a reputable breeder. The problem is that its almost impossible to do. They always have a long list, or if you want to Breed, most will not sell to someone who has never bred but then they fly all over anyone who breeds or buys from anyone but them. I own two yorkies and I did what I thought was a lot of research and ask the questions I was suppose to ask. I also paid alot more money thinking you had to pay more to get a quality dog. Anyway getting back to your post, its just not easy buying from a reputable breeder as the ones on this list makes it sound. Most people are not going to wait a year or longer for that special puppy that they have been wanting forever. I have also noticed many threads mentioning things like their puppys being in for surgeries for this and that, so does this mean that they all didn't do the research correctly? So many seem to have the paxtellar problem! Is it possible that alot of these yorkies are getting it from jumping? I have a 18 month old yorkie that I was hoping to breed for a few family and friends ( No Profit what so ever) anyway my vet said she had a very mild case of this so now I'm not sure what I will do. She was stepped on when very small so it is very possible it was trauma related, I wander if there is a accurate way to test for this? Sorry I guess I'm off topic, but if I bounce around to each one I will loose my train of thought. In answer to your question , if your thinking of buy from a Reputable Breeder , Yes I would start looking now judging from my response when I was looking for my last male. Sorry to ramble
Nancy

I just realized this is a Breeder forum. I had read somewhere that X-ray would show if the Luxating Patellar was from trauma but I read somewhere else that the only way to tell was during surgery to see if there were torn ligaments. Does anyone know for sure how to tell what it is caused by? My puppy was stepped on when he was small and I think it is very possible it could have been caused by trauma, I would really like to know, but she doesn't need surgery, she shows no signs now at all , doesn't limp, skip or anything. She is 18 months old and this happened about 4 months of age. She did limp at the time, but I can't remember what leg it was . I wasn't even thinking of Paxtellar being a problem. I also wanted to find out what are the risk of the Paxtellar in the puppies? If it is proved to be inherited? Would they possibly also have a mild case in which case shouldn't be a problem as a pet for my family members or would or could it be more severe? Don't bite my head off! I don't know thats why I am asking?
I have read as much as I can find about it, but alot of the information is confusing.
Thanks Nancy

Nancy

Yes, it is genetic (passed on). Any dog w/ patellar luxation shouldn't be bred. Breeding out the genetic defects (with Luxating Patella, Legg Perthes and Liver shunt) is KEY in successful and responsible breeder. Luxating Patella can be crippling to small dogs and the surgery is very expensive, so YES, it would affect a "family pet".

"Uncorrected, the patellar ridges will wear, the groove will become even shallower and the dog will become progressively more lame. Arthritis will prematurely affect the joint, causing a permanently swollen knee with poor mobility. Therefore, a good evaluation needs to be done by your veterinarian early in the condition to prevent long-term arthritic crippling."
http://www.peteducation.com/article....&articleid=457



Essentially, luxating patella is the knee cap continually slipping out of place, which is pretty unlikely to be caused by some kind of accident like being stepped on.

Here are some helpful links:

Legg: http://www.leggperthes.com/
Shunt: http://www.livershunt.com/
Luxating Patella: http://www.offa.org/patluxinfo.html

please don't breed any dog with patellar luxation.

Thanks for the emphasis Kristy, it is VERY important to eliminated any LP in your breeding program.

I asked my vet about LP due to an injury, and he said it was not. It's hereditary. Now knee injuries have similar symptoms? Sure. I would want proof; statement by 2 vets or something like that.
But chances are it's hereditary. JMHO

I have always heard the LPs can also be environmental but the only way to determine that is by x-ray. In an x-ray they can determine if it's hereditary or an injury.

Yep yep. :thumbup: X-rays will indicate torn muscle tissue with dislocation, as opposed to a natural, inherited occurance where muscle tissue is healthy and unscarred. Kind of why we know not to let them jump off couches and beds and such...knee injury... :)