to spay or to breed?
 

I'm really torn whether to spay little zoey or breed her! obviously she is still very young and i have quite a while to make this decision but i just thought i would get as many opinions as possible! the sooner I've made the desicion the better right?
what were your experiences with breeding your yorkie? would you recommend it? or what were the positives in spaying your girl?

:heartwings zoey :aimeeyork

Hi and Welcome to YT!

Are you prepared to lose her in the event something would go wrong?

There's too many dogs needing homes... why make more?

Are you breeding because she is a champion and you think you can improve the breed?


Just some things to think about....

Welcome to YT. You are new here, and your little girl is only 3months old or so, I guess.

Your choices are NOT, either spay or breed her, they are Spay or not to spay, irrespective of any breeding decision, then if you decide it is best to keep her intact (due to other overweening health concerns), do you breed her?

Well, unless you have prepared for some time to breed a Yorkie, and have purchased this female on a breeding open registration; I would suggest do not breed her. The choice is yours of course whether or not to spay her.

If you don't have a mentor in place for the whelping, and well just all things breeding; have done none of the studying, have helped out in no whelps, it is extremely dangerous to try and whelp a small breed dog.

Your bitch will need to be health tested, as will the stud, that is not a cheap proposition.

Please if you are not familiar with the breeding world, then acquaint yourself with some of the articles here in this forum, and/or in the YT library

Personally, I could not imagine "not spaying". Good luck!

Unless you are a very experienced breeder with lots of money for vet visits & know what to do in the case of an emergency during breeding, pregnancy, whelping & raising puppies, I would spay my little one & let her live her life as an adored pet. Leave the breeding of animals to the true experts and don't take the chance with your little girl's life, for it is surely in your hands once you schedule a breeding.

Hi there, Don't breed and do spay. You should also microchip and tattoo. Yorkies have a habit of getting out of the house and yard. They also attract kidnappers. If you don't have extensive experience and help, Anyone who tells you to breed, honestly does not have your little ones best interest in mind.

Spay. Your puppy was not from a good breeder because she was released to you before 12 weeks and the YTCA says 12 weeks which would lead me to believe she did no genetic testing either and could also have LP and other things in her line. It can cost a lot of money to breed as well as the fact that she may not be big enough to breed and she could die.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I couldn't agree more!

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

I would spay and enjoy your baby for the rest of her life. I have had yorkies for over 40 years and leave the breeding to the experts. I could never put one of my babies through the risk as I have no experience and with Yorkies it takes a lot of experience. It's good you are asking and finding out that breeding yorkies can be dangerous for your baby and expensive. Enjoy your new girl.

It is so good to ask the questions first and find out all about it before just breeding two dogs & then trying to find out. With the prices vets charge today for the testing for breeding worthiness and health of the female, pregnancy care of the female & whelping/new puppy costs, I imagine that the bill can run pretty high should there be any problem at all. Tibbe's vet costs this year are about $3,000.00 and he's a basically healthy dog without a sick day in his life until he had pneumonia & GI problems. I can't imagine what it might cost for a sick mom w/a litter of sick puppies or something like that.

I have great respect for breeders who put their heart and soul into studying their lines, doing health tests to ensure that their babies will have the least chance of developing health issues, and to devoting their time into helping their babies develop into well-adjusted little ones. I am strongly against breeding a family pet. Your little Zoey should remain your very loved, spoiled baby, and for her health and well-being, you should not breed her. I have had Yorkies in my life for over thirty years, every one female, and I would never risk the life of one of my precious little girls.

Welcome to YT, would love to see some pictures of your baby!

I happen to agree with the other ladies, for the safety and health of your little one, I know spaying would be the best bet. Breeding comes with so many risks, and it's honestly not worth it. Enjoy your little girl, and spend the money that you would on breeding, genetic testing, and savings for a possible c-section on adorable outfits!

:)

thank you so much! i am really looking forward to getting her adorable outfits and bows (:
i uploaded a picture under my zoey 5/20/12 thread (:

Welcome to YT,
I just had my 4 yr old yorkie spayed yesterday, plus a dental cleaning. I also had a complete blood panel done on her beforehand, just to make sure she was healthy enough to get through the spaying, sometimes their are things that turn up and the dog could die, without having the bloodwork done, and know if their is a problem. Suzi's bloodwork was really good so that was a relief. I think the only time I would be concerned to spay is my yorkie was under 2 pounds fully grown. The advantages of spaying are numerous. The disadvanatges of not doing it and breeding your yorkie are so risky and dangerous to even the healthiest dog. these are small dogs, and so many problems with breeding, whelping , could occcur it is scary. It is not just yorkie's either, any very small breed , is dangerous to have puppies . When young, our parents lost their pom after having puppies due to bleeding, plus generally these little dogs produce small litters, it just is not worth the chance of losing your precious dog to breeding.
I wish I had Suzi spayed sooner, but was afraid, everything went just fine, and she is doing well. Even if you decide not to breed, and not to spay, their are a lot of medical issues that can insue from not spaying, which I was not aware of. If you spay before 6 months , or before the first heat is the best time to do it.

Welcome to yt

I understand you asking the question. There are many members who "thought" about breeding until they did the research and fell in love with their yorkie baby!

What I want you to think about.. is WHY you want to breed? To make money? To have more yorkies? Are you willing to have your Zoey die for any of the reasons you are thinking of? that is the harsh truth.. that is the truth that made me spay my Remy when she was big enough. The smaller they are the more chance of dying is higher in birth!

I love LOVE to dress my little girl, she has bows dresses bags and yes.. even a stroller. That will all come and it is so much fun. I have grown daughters and Remy fills that spot when they left home. So I understand.. but......you got to get her a little older, a little bigger and be sure she is healthy.

PLEASE save some money or have insurance, our wonderful little fur babies often have health issues that are very expensive and your zoey is so sweet and cute but had a rough start.

Good luck to you


ps.. I had a zoey and I lost her when she was very young so that name has a special place in my heart.. there are several yt members that have zoey named pups...so we are all wishing you the best

Research has proven this wrong! You have very recent research that proves the old wives tales about allowing at least one heat cycle, is preferred, for the future health of the pup....there are hormones that are released with the heat cycle that have beneficial effects on all other organs in the body, including but not limited to the heart and brain....also, maturing of the growth plates need to be complete. As a breeder, I have always recommended spaying around 8 months, before the first heat cycle....I have been reviewing the research from many different sources, and I am re-thinking my recommendations about this issue, and I present it this way to my new owners. I am now suggesting they wait until at least one year of age, or after the first heat cycle, before spaying.

I don't think research has proven it completely wrong there is a type of cancer that it knocks all chances of out if done before there first heat. I personally do not think everyone who buys a dog is prepared for the kind of eye and stuff you have to keep on a female dog in heat and I also think if the person who has the puppy has an non fixed male in the house with a female that is in heat it could go very wrong very fast and most people wouldn't put the care and time that needs to be put in to make sure they stay completely separate. I think in many cases before the first heat is the best time to spay.

I agree with you...I've read some of the same things. In addition, its been found there is a greater incidence of "spay incontinence" due to losing too much of the hormones such as estrogen in females. Incontinence at an early age has been occurring more readily in males as well when neutered too young. One vet said "more dogs, than you'd like to know, are euthanized for being incontinent.....sad....and unnessesary.

I was wondering 2 things if anyone may help. First when should I expect my girls first heat and how do I know?
And second does anyone live in Canada, maybe montreal area or even toronto... How much am I lookin at to pay to spay my Keyra?
Also another question... Should I Spay before her first heat or after if I even have time I'm not sure...
She's my first pup so I just want some help and opinions :)
Thanks

PS: Keyra will be 5 months on Saturday the 28th of July

There are alot of Canadians here on this forum...I am one of them. I live just outside the GTA...Whitby. It should cost around 350.00 to spay Keyra, also depends on the vet. I would spay before her first heat...usually first heat is around 7-8mths i believe.

Oh thank you so much! How do you know when they have their first heat? What does it look like I mean lol

Raelle had swollen teats and her vulva was swollen, and some slight bleeding. She wasn't really herself either...wouldn't eat or play, seemed really tired. She just wanted to cuddle...her brother was all up in her buisness though....she wasn't too keen on him bothering her. He got a couple of warning snaps from her and he eventually backed off.
BTW they have both been fixed since.
He is alot bigger than her (twice her size) and I wasn't trying to have pups, or lose my little girl, as I found out bc of his size the tie alone would probaby kill her ....she is only 4lbs to his 10 :eek:

Sent you a friend request to my fellow Canadian!!

First...WELCOME TO YT!!
I also thought about breeding when I got my first yorkie 7 yrs ago. I just fell in love with the breed. In the past I have bred Siamese cats, and Golden Retrievers. I bought books and did TONS of research on yorkies as this was my first small breed I have ever had. After doing much research and joining YT I decided I did NOT want to lose my little girl nor pay high vet bills in the event of her needing a c-section. My thought was...leave it to the professionals....I now own 2 females and a new little male...all are spayed/neutered....That being said...if EVERYONE spayed their yorkies none of us would have one!

Hello, this is just my opinion I would get her spayed. To many unwanted pets, dogs are being put to sleep on daily basis, you never know if your puppy is going to a good home.. I think people needs to stop breeding for few yrs or so and help with the unwanted ones. Enjoy your little girl and the yrs to come, and not worry about if her babies gotten good homes.. so please spay her..