Opinions on this breeder's comments, please
 

When asking a breeder recently what health testing she does on her dogs, this was her reply:

"The parents have routine tests as did their parents, including heart, lungs, bile acid, hearing, eyes."

I am still info-gathering (don't have my Yorkie yet) and I don't feel like I know enough yet to adequately (intelligently! ;) ) ask for more information. Please help me with further questioning!

What would you recommend I ask next?

THANK YOU!

Lynn

Some of the questions I would ask is "How many times have you bred this female?(it kind of throws warning signs to me if someone breeds their dog everytime it goes into heat) Is this a pair you've bred before? What does their offspring look like? Is there a history on either sides of the lines for health issues? Can I speak to your vet to confirm everything you've told me? Do you have any references/ any buyers that I could speak with? Can I come by to see where the puppies are raised?" There are tons more questions and I'm sure the members here will provide you with some really good one's I've never thought of:D

THANK YOU for the reply, much appreciated! I have some of that info already. She says that the mama is 6 years old and this is her 4th and last litter.
She denies any health issues on either side. I haven't asked for references but that's a great suggestion. I did meet someone who has two of her Yorkies and she gave an outstanding recommendation (and this was how i heard about this breeder.) The breeder has invited and encouraged me to visit but she's a 4+ hour drive away (one way) and I work every day.

Does anyone have any additional questions I should ask specific to health testing? Specific questions regarding which tests have been done, etc? I'm still unsure as to exactly what is available and recommended for the breed.

Thank you!

So is the general consensus that her information was sufficient?

Thanks!

No. If you are truly looking to get a healthy dog from a good breeder, you can get a lot of pointers from this:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html

Thank you for pointing me to that link; I had read it before, and I just read it again. That post is awesome and very helpful, but the answer to my specific question isn't in it.

You may have read this also, but maybe post #17 has more testing info of interest to you:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...e-breeder.html

MG,
Thank you for the additional reply, I really appreciate your time and help!
That's the same link, though, that you gave me before. Just one post, and the thread is closed. (No #17.) ;) I'd love to read that second recommended thread, though, if you get a chance to re-post. Thank you again! :)

PS Just noticed that you corrected the link while I was typing this! THANK YOU so much. I'm off now to read... ;)

MYTH BUSTER!!!: Actually, this is a practice that the majority of reputable reproduction specialists recommend breeders do. If you are keeping your breeding stock in tip top shape, it is evidenced based that breeding every season is better for the female, as it is the battering of the overies by progesterone in a female that is allowed to come in heat and go unbred, that causes so much damage to your females. I do hope the op does not get misled by the belief that breeding every cycle is a wrong thing to do....it is perfectly fine and is better on your females, IF done by responsible, reputable breeders that treat their females like athelets and keep them in tip top shape. Not all breeders opt to do this, but doing so should NOT send up
"red flags".

There are many myths and much conflicting information out there. How about you just get to know your breeder well enough to be comfortable with his/her practices. I've been to the lecture that promotes breeding every season and still don't feel it's right for my girls most of the time. Other breeders have different beliefs and comfort levels and that's fine with me.

You can always ask for test results.
Some do thyroid and xraying of joints.
To be honest though, I highly doubt there is a yorkie line anywhere totally free of luxating patella. I can't tell you if this breeeder is ok or not based on your oistm but anyone who does bile acids is deserving of some level of trust because very few breeders do it.

Totally agree with magicgenie making sure your comfy with the breeder is the most important thing! The reason I say I wouldn't want a breeder that breeds a dam at every heat is because I think they deserve a break :D. Can you imagine giving birth twice a year to not just one baby but a litter? Hehehehe but either way you will find oponents/proponents to everything. It just depends on what you prefer since you'll be taking care of the pup for 15 + years, but I think you covered everything with the genetic testing I would just ask to speak with the vet about the breeding pair or ask to see the records where the testing was done

Not breeding every heat though can be harder on there bodies and leave room for a pretty serious infection. As long as you are keeping your breeders in tip top health shape they are ok breeding every heat. Now breeders who do not keep there females in good health and do not take good care of them well they are doing it wrong and it will be harder on there females.

Everyone's opinion is different. I'm sure there are plenty who advocate breeding every heat just as there are those who don't. It's what you the buyer prefer.

I just really think if that is one of the buyers things that they really should look into to see what is actually healthy for the dog and not just go by what they think. I used to think the same thing until I did my researched and talked to some really great reputable breeders.

I'm not going to turn this into "one of those threads". The OP asked for opinions and they were given. No one has to agree with others opinions, but tiskers if you prefer a breeder who breeds at every heat and you find it more beneficial than not breeding at every heat or vice versa Go For It!!! There are plenty of other questions besides that to ask a perspective breeder. As I said at the end of the day it's what you prefer as the buyer.

Thank you all for the replies. They have all been read and carefully considered.

This particular breeder is Amy Dawson-Smith of Ajjls in Ohio. Yorkie Puppies For Sale Yorkshire Terrier Puppy Breeder She has been very responsive to my many questions.

I searched these forums and came up with 2 hits; one pro and one con. Does anyone have any personal experience with her? I haven't decided on anyone yet; I am still gathering info.

I welcome any and all opinions, and I expect they will be varied. She uses the "T" word on her website, but with disclaimers everywhere. I think I understand the issue with that, and I don't disagree. Personally, I don't want a teeny-tiny, anyway; I want a "full-sized" Yorkie, and even over 7# would be fine with me.

Should I start a new thread in the Breeder section?

I am not trying to turn this into anything I just want people who read this to be educated about something that is s myth.

Personally I would say away from any breeder who uses the word teacup because it was a word created by puppy mills and bad breeders and its a word people use simply to jack up the prices of there pup. Also in order to get this smaller dogs they will breed females under 5 pounds and that should never be done it is very dangerous and can cause the female to die and if they really cared about there dogs they would not do that. The yorkie standard says not to exceed 7 pounds so there is no special name for yorkies under a certain weight a yorkie is simply a yorkie.

Girlie, I don't know how much research your doing on YT but there genuinely are many red flags there.

I will start a thread...without my opinion in breeder reviews for you....We have got to help you find a good puppy...could be a lot of work!! lol

Have you checked out TYCA.org?

lol! ;) :)

Yes, and I printed off the list and I've been in touch with several.

The website is full of horrible grammar and misspelled words. For me, that would be enough to make me run the other way! The prices are ridiculous.

I'm not a fan based on the website alone....she says there is no such thing as a teacup but uses the term frequently on her site. Why use it and you say there is no such thing? Plus her pricing is kind of ridiculous . Is she a show breeder? That's the only way I can wrap my head around the pricing. Are these pups supposed to be show quality? If you're looking for a pet quality yorkie you could definitely find a respectable breeder that offers just as much if not more in terms of support/guarantee than this one. At a more understanding price. Her puppies are pretty though :D

My biggest beef with the site is that she delivers nation wide. That means no home visits. In fact, she doesn't even need to meet the prospective buyers. Personally, I could never give up a pup that I had raised in my home to someone I had only spoken to through emails and phone.

Also, she says the dogs have champion lines, but doesn't give info on how far back or whether or not she's the one who Ch them. That is another red flag to me.

Getting back to your original question, I don't think that having routine heart, lungs, bile acid, hearing, and eyes testing on parents and grandparents is enough. Reputable breeders do many tests (including extremely important gentic testing) on many generations back & study their lines in-depth to assure the health of their puppies & future breeding stock. They know exactly which dogs to breed together to achieve their overall goal of bettering the breed. It's a science.

I'm not educated enough on breeding to have an opinion about whether or not to breed every heat cycle. But these are types of questions that you should feel comfortable enough with your breeder to ask him/her. I'm a big believer in building a relationship with your breeder & getting to understand their philosophy. From there, you'll be able to find a great match. You should feel comfortable enough to let him/her know that this is your first breeder experience & that you might have a lot of questions about very basic things, even terminology. Don't be intimidated. A great breeder will be more than happy to answer all of your questions. I think that once you find someone you click with, the rest will be history ;)

Good luck!!

I thought I had stickified the health tests for YOrkies? I can't blinkey blink find it.

I just finished typing for 15 minutes and then lost the whole post.

Please some-one who can actually search with a damn, find and post the link here?

Is this the thread?

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ml#post4137336

I love you YES YES YES And my bad ANne is still waiting for clearance from me to stickify it.

Thank you so very much for finding this.