need quick help...is this a bad coat?
 

we're looking at a puppy...I had the owner email me a pic of the mother...she looks awfully gold all over....very light & a lot of gold on her back...I can still see her back saddle...but again it's more gold, than blue...my question is: is this normal, or a mother whose puppies I should walk away from?

But, I also read yorkies often get lighter after being bred. This is this mother's 4th litter & she is about 5 yrs old.

The puppies are black/tan & their markings look fine/normal.

I tried to attach a pic...but the file is too large.


thank you for your responses...we are novices at yorkies...have been wanting for a couple years, but this would be our first....I'm hoping y'all can help!

I am not a breeder therfore, I can't help you there but, without seeing pics it's hard to tell.

IMO..4 litters in 5 yrs is A LOT of breeding...Usually a breeder will skip heats before breeding again. Is she a reputable breeder?...Did you check her out first? Maybe you could talk to some of the others that bought puppies from her. If she is using the same pair to produce puppies this will give you an idea on what the colors would be.

I would get her out of there sounds like to mucj breeding. look at disy in my avatar she is really light. but perfect. Kodi is more black and gold.

here is a better picture of Daisy.
btw Welcome to YT :)

litters
 

If the breeder bred on the second heat at around 18 months, then 2 1/2 yrs, 3 1/2 yrs and 4 1/2 years..that is a total of 4 litters..that is once a year breeding..well spaced...IMO...this what most breeders do if all goes well...

Daisy Mae...Daisy is a doll:) ...thank you for posting the pic to compare the two....I can see Daisy is light. This mom is also light...but her back saddle has about twice the gold in it, that Daisy does. I can see some black...but it's dominated by the gold. She's hasn't turned white...or silver...it's light gold.

Blowry:
I can see...I need to find a way to resize these pics & post them.

Thanks to one & all for the replies...I'll keep working on the pic resize!

pic resizer
 

There is a thread on resizing pics if you do a search for it you should be able to download a program that will help. I had the same problem. As for the light color, it is hard to tell without the pictures.

I thought it wasn't good to breed every heat? (just asking)

It's entirely possible she said the mother was 6 yrs, not 5. She told me one parent was 5 & one was 6 & I could have :confused: easily flip-flopped them.

Anyhoo...I'll look for the thread to resize the pics...thanks katie'smom. If I can't figure that out/find it....I'm uploading them to a snapfish album right now & I'll post a link to that.:rolleyes: :) If there's a will there's a way! :p

The pic is not ideal...but I'm hoping it's enough, that those of you with far more knowledge than I, will be able to take a look & let me know if she looks ok, or to walk away.

link to snapfish or resize is forthcoming soon...thanks again for your help

looked up the resize thread...thank you....here are some pics finally..

I have been waiting fir a pic, lol...but I can't really tell much from this pic...:p She is really silky and shiny though!

I am sure someone on here would be able to give you more advice!!! :p

a full shot of her

the cute pups

it is hard to tell much...they are not great pics...but they are all I've got

Those pups are adorable! I am not a breeder but the mom looks very pretty to me!! Really cute pups!

The mom looks so sad :(

she does look sad doesn't she...thought the same thing...but! I was impressed with the owner on the phone...really liked her...she really seems to pamper/love her from what she says....she worked in a vet office for a long time too...so I'm just hoping y'all don't see any red flags with the mom's coat....what you can see of it, that is!:rolleyes: :)

We're eagerly awaiting more comments on the pics...might be road-tripping tommorrow am, depending on the votes of confidence or thumbs down y'all give me!;)

I've been surfing your forum...have enjoyed it! What a nice group & some gorgeous yorkies! I've seen some pics of several other really light yorkies in the process, similar to this coat...I don't want to offend a soul, really, but...do they meet the breed standard? From what I've read in the past, sometimes other genetic health defects go hand in hand with a coat that doesn't meet the breed standard...like chocolate, parti, golden, etc I just want to avoid having our heart broken, especially my daughter's...and...hate to sound awful, but, it's also just a lot of dough! I'd like to get a "good" one...meeting the breed standard...if we're going to fork out over a thousand bucks. We have no intentions of becoming big breeders (guess that's obvious by my lack of knowledge)...but we would like to breed the one we get, when she's old enough, in a couple years. I don't want to breed/sell puppies that don't meet the standard, that might get ill or pass on genetic faults.

I'm still learning...so if I'm off base on anything, just fill me in!;)

If you are wanting a Yorkie as a family member and not to show, I don't see why not. I would be more concerned about the temperment of the parents. If you poke around the Photo Gallery, you will see these beautiful Yorkies comes in a variety of sizes and colors and each one is loved, loved, loved.

Listen to your heart and don't worry so much about what the AKC standards are. I did the same thing after I got my first Yorkie, Jazzie, I kept on reading all the Yorkie books and waited and waited for her coat to change - she stayed black and I just love it, not because of the color but because she's Jazzie.

Welcome to YT! And, IF you are seriously considering any pup, it DEFINITELY calls for a road trip if possible at all. You should see the pups and parents in person, get a feel for the breeders, and ask LOTS of questions. Notice if the breeder is particularly interested in what kind of owner YOU will be, or just happy to get the pup into a $$$ exchange.

You may change your mind about breeding at all. Most of us, who thought we would "just breed once for a puppy" have since learned better. Unless you're willing to possibly loose the mom for a litter, it's not a wise idea. So much can go wrong. Better to just save your pennies again and buy from a reputable breeder when you get puppy fever again :wink:.

Hopefully, one of our breeders here, will be along to give you more definitive opinions regarding the pix.

Good luck in your search. Your Yorkie is out there ;).

Breeding every heat would be every 6 months, every other would be once a year, skipping the heat that the dog has after that pregnancy which may be while she is still nursing pups, waiting until the next heat. I dont know if dogs are like women & are easy impregnated right after giving birth/while nursing. Hum...Thats got me thinking because I have been researching all this, so I guess I will be doing some more research tonight, thank goodness I print this stuff out at work, I'd be broke in computer ink;) Oh about the dog, She's cute, looks kinda sad though. Go look at them in person if possible. But someone is going to buy them better a loving home then not. She looks like she is saying bake a file in a doggie bone so I can get out of here. But maybe she isnt always in that cage, maybe the owner had to put her in it so she could get a pic, some dogs wont sit still long enough, so maybe she's saying hurry up take the darn pic so I can get back out & play???

she has a very pretty coat but i would say she was a blonde yorkie or golden she doesn't look to have any blue or black on her back. she is very pretty though. i would go see her if it was possible because pics can be decieving.

I think she is beautiful and the puppies are too. My Hannah looks sad in her pics sometimes because she wants me to stop flashing the camera, but she is a very happy dog.

Her coat looks like its been clipped on the top, leaving just the skirt where most of her blue would hang down in the first picture. That maybe why she looks more gold.

It looks like a nice silk coat to me. She may have some "running gold" but you would need to see her in person to know for sure. Silk coats also can look lighter from the flash, because silk reflects the light. She does appear to have the blue saddle to me.

Pups of course will be a guess for quite a while before you know what their quality will be. Be it pet or breeding quality.

bootiful!
 

Also i wanted to add that a lot of light momma's actually go even lighter when they get preggo because the breeder i got Peeka from the mom went completley silver on her back when she got preggo and had the pups which she wasn't before that

Wonder why the coat changes? Guess like us moms would if we had 3 or more kids born at one time, our hair would turn silver too:D

She is definately a light color, but it does look different from her gold -- so maybe just a very light silver? Does the owner have a picture before puppies that really shows the coat well? Just as important as the colors themselves is placement of the colors. You do not want the gold color to run past the back of the neck for instance.

Here is the standard on color placement:
"The blue extends over the body from back of neck to root of tail. Hair on tail is a darker blue, especially at end of tail.

Headfall
A rich golden tan, deeper in color at sides of head, at ear roots and on the muzzle, with ears a deep rich tan. Tan color should not extend down on back of neck.

Chest and Legs
A bright, rich tan, not extending above the elbow on the forelegs nor above the stifle on the hind legs. "

Also look at the father -- he has just as much to do with this as the mother. :) I probably would pass on the puppies, if the mother does not have the proper color placement. Just a lighter silverish blue would not deter me, but if color runs then I would probably look at another litter. I would not go for an all gold parent or other color deviations. But that is because I was specifically looking for a yorkie -- one that meets the standards. I wanted the potential to breed, even though I am still a ways off from the decision. I would also only make a decision in person.

thank you so much...everyone's comments are a huge help.

I do think there is a saddle...because I can see some blue, in the coat on her back. But, I can't tell if the color placement is right on that pic, & need to see her in person for that...but let me further ask a few things:

If she does indeed have a saddle (even if the gold dominates it)....and the color placement is indeed right, in person...and it's just that she's this light...(due to age, preggers or just always been): Is this light/blonde coloration, within the breed standard?:confused: And are genetic health defects something that can, be more likely to, accompany this type of coloration, if it's not?:confused:

And if she does indeed have a saddle/color placement is right (same premise as I preceded the above questions with): Does this mean she's just a light or blonde coat yorkie & not "running gold"? I'm trying to determine, how one can tell the difference. I know a "golden" yorkie, one that "runs gold", does not meet the standards...& as you can tell from my question in the above paragraph, I don't know yet, whether a light/blonde coated yorkie does. So, when a yorkie runs gold, is there no saddle at all?...No blue or black on her, at all? Is that the difference/how you can tell?

The reason why I questioned this is because Yorkies usually don't come in heat every 6 months...It's more like 9 months so it would actually be a litter every heat.

She looks alot like Daisy's mom :) she is very pretty.