who will be the best companion for my unneutered yorkie
 

Hello everyone..

I have a decision to make and im not sure what to do.
Heres my story:

I have a 2 yr old male yorkie. He is un neutered ( I was going to neuter him, but then i chickened out. Also, I have many people that I know that would be interested in buying a yorkie , if i breed him).. He hasnt been intimate with a dog yet. However, I want to buy another yorkie because My husband and I dont spend much time at home and he is here by himself for many hours. When we get home, he just looks at us with these sad eyes and I feel soo guilty. My poor baby just sleeps most of the day and I really am considering getting him a companion.

Now due to the fact that he is not neutered, it makes it all more complicated. I would love a female, but then that will give me two options..

either breeding them, or neutering and spaying them both. or...............

Is it a bad idea to have a spayed female and an un neutered dog together??

Please help me

Neuter him and get another yorkie. They will be great playmates and around the same size. Good luck!

One of my concerns would be bringing a female in and your male may very well start marking all over your house.

I would neuter your male first. Then look to get him a playmate.

i agree as well...your best off neutering him and spaying the female if you get one in the future. good luck.

Yes, this is true, a dog who has never marked in it's life often starts marking when another dog is brought in to the house, male or female.

I hope you get your dog spayed; breeding Yorkies is a lot more complicated than it sounds. You will be responsible for any offspring your dog produces, and because Yorkies have been a popular breed, too many people have been breeding them that shouldn't and they are fraught with genetic illness. Be a responsible pet owner and neuter your dog, leave the breeding to the experts.

At the very least please read this before you decide to breed: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...-answered.html

Fiirst off are your dogs good representatives of the breed do they meet the standard. If not you would be bringing more out of standard pups in the world. Have the sire and dam been health tested to know they wouldnt have genetic problems that could pass on to pups. Do you have the commitment to research get prepared small breeds need help whelping. What if something goes wrong and you lose the female, the pups or both. What if the female cant nurse them or she has one that is tiny that needs supplimenting. You will need to take off work or not be able to really do anything for a long time to meet the every 2 hr feedings that need to be done. This and so much more is what you need to consider

Also what if your female needs a c section do you have a few grand saved away to pay for it. Most vets wont take payments

I think this brings up some very very valid points!!!! There is ALOT more to breeding Yorkies then putting dog A and dog B together, have you seen how many Yorkies and Yorkie Mixes end up in shelters and rescue? How many are constantly being sold on various classified sites? Abandoned or neglected? Can you commit to keeping them all or taking them all back if you had to? Financially able to care for them all if someone who gets one from you can't afford a sudden emergency that the dog will die without proper treatment? I for one believe that if you choose to breed, and bring a litter into this world, they are your responsibility and yours alone until the day they die. Sure you can sell them to new homes, but if anything goes wrong, I believe it's the breeder's responsibility to make sure each and every baby ALWAYS get proper vet care and whatever they need if for whatever reason the owner isn't able to provide it. And yes -I have bred dogs, I do more rescue then breeding now, I have only had 2 litters, and my last was 4 years ago and this is why - I refuse to bring any live into this world if I'm not fully capable of not only caring for the ones I bring in, but helping others who didn't come from such caring breeders as well.

The whole genetic testing issues is huge as well - I have never breed Yorkies, but I do know that at the very least a CERF eye exam by a specialist should be done, and I think it's a good idea to have a full ultrasound and echocardiogram (as well as a full OFA heart exam) done by a cardiologist and/or internal medicine specialist to look for any internal problems, as well as full blood work is a good idea before any breeding. OFA patella exam is also a good idea for any small dog. You could be easily looking at a good $2000+ depending on your area in health exams and testing before you even should be THINKING of breeding him if you want to insure he won't be passing any health problems on! When you pay for a puppy from a responsible breeder - They're not making any money off those puppies, they're lucky if they even break even by the time they take proper care of a pregnant and then nursing momma and tiny, fragile babies!!!

I agree with getting him neutered, and getting another Yorkie to keep him company! Otherwise - I'm biast to Italian Greyhounds LOL Aiyana and Benjamin are great friends! An unaltered male and a spayed female can get along well - But as others have mentioned no matter what gender or breed you bring into your home, it's very likely any other dog will bring out the dominant side of an unaltered male and he'll start marking in your house - And let me tell you, the urine of an unaltered male can be VERY strong smelling!

So true, and now with many states passing puppy lemon laws, you aren't just morally obligated to care for the offspring you are legally obligated as well.

Well - lemon laws are a great start - but they won't address a 5 year old that comes down with pancreatitis after the owner looses their job, or thousands of other emergencies or non-genetic illnesses that could occur! It's all up to the breeder to do the right thing no matter what and make sure their babies never go without during their life! Sadly I know very few breeders who would agree - some would take it back, but few would pay vet bills if the owner was in a financial pinch. It's on the owner as well to prepare the best they can - but crap happens - and often at the worst of times!

True, I'm just hoping it will make byb's think again about breeding their untested pets.

That's been my mission for years as well! Most don't think or don't care about their responsibilities. As a rescuer and as a vet tech - nothing breaks my heart more then having to help with the euthanasia of animals with something that could easily be treated if finances where available! I've had many I've had to help euthanize for pancreatitis or bladder stones, broken bones, or undiagnosed illnesses they can't even afford the hospitalization or testing to diagnose, it's very sad to see dogs given to rescue or euthanized for those reasons!

Rescue Mama I salute your passion and your obvious love of dogs. But at some point the ownership and responsibility for a dog's health does indeed pass to the owner of a pup you have bred.

Truly I believe a breeder should not be held responsible for non genetic illnesses. Illness that can come as a result of old age. Illnesses that can come as a result of poor care.

People who purchase dogs, or "adopt" from a rescue do need to be prepared financially and emotionally to do their part to secure and maintain the health of their pet over the lifetime of that pet.

A breeder who stands behind their dogs for genetic illness until 5yrs is doing a whole lot more than many reputable breeders do. I personally in the breed I breed will not "guarantee" against hip or elbow dysplasia, however I do guarantee I breed dogs free of that disease, and actually require the pet owners to get hip and elbow evaluations done at 2yrs old. Should a dog of mine prove to be dysplastic at 2yrs old, I will pay for the treatment (if any is needed) up to the purchase cost of the dog. I also require a whole host of other things from my puppy buyers, including when to spay. And I am now considering, if they spay too early I will not warrant or guarantee against hip or elbow dysplasia, if they don't follow what is reasonable in terms of weight gain or exercise for these large breed dogs, I won't guarantee against hip/elbow dysplasia. And all my puppy buyers are educated to the best of my knowledge both verbally and in writing how to care properly for a pet they purchase from me.

While I agree for the most part with these points - I also only offer a 5 year health guarantee when I've bred puppies, and if they are diagnosed with luxating patellas some other structural disease, if they're poorly cared for and/or overweight, I may not honor it. I also don't honor some parts of my health guarantee if they don't follow my vaccination and care guidelines.

That said, I'm not talking about normal situations. I'm talking about emergencies when the owner has found themself in an unexpected financially difficult spot. In this economy - It happens all to often! I do believe in situations like that that if the owner contacts the breeder for help, it's the breeder's responsibility to make sure the owner gets the help they need to assure the dog gets proper medical care. I'm all about the bottom line - And that's the dog. Now if it's going to be an ongoing health problem the owner can't handle, I'd probably just offer to take the dog back and take care of it myself. But broken bones, pancreatitis, HGE, or other such medical emergencies can often hit at the worst times no matter how well prepared someone may be. I know personally I've had to ask for help from friends/family before when I was out of work and one of my dogs got very sick very suddenly. It happens. But I do also think that every owner needs to carefully consider the financial responsibility of taking on a pet before buying or adopting one no matter where it comes from! But I think part of the benefit of going to a good breeder to purchase a dog is that life-long support that should come with them. I'm not talking financially in all situations, but emotional or behavioral support, or just to be there to talk to can really mean alot to a distressed owner, and make the difference between them keeping the dog or giving it up.