Well not sure on the brand of chicken as someone left it there LOL...

I know some yorkies I've seen in the ring have just simply taken my breath away and I"m talking the dog had great structure, movement and a beautiful coat and was like floating on air in the ring nothing more breath taking!

Donna

I'm sorry you are confused :(

I thought we were talking about breeder/exhibitors in this thread? no? I think we were... My bad again?

No it is not a dumb question in anyway at all. While there are many shades of grey here, I am going to come down on a side more black n white.

IMO if a dog is "unable" to show in the ring, then there is something incorrect about their temperament. Let me define unable for a moment: a dog that subissively pees in the ring, a dog that refuses physical examination either through aggression or through submission, a dog that refuses to trot in the ring due to fear, a dog that tries to fight or bite another dog in the ring, a dog that cowers in the ring or has a huge startle reaction to normal sounds and smells within the show environment.

A beautiful temperament in my mind and a "show temperament" go hand in hand. If your dog is a confident, and a well adjusted dog, they should be able to show in the ring. Now again in my mind, a great "show" dog, just loves and I mean really loves to show. It is their milieu, they go out there and throughly enjoy all aspects of showing. So a very few dogs will be "great" show dogs (and here I'm talking about show attitude), but all very good tempered dogs should be able to "show" well enough in the ring to earn their points. These dogs will probably never go BIS, or even place in group, but are deserving of their championship.

Magic my first BRT was and is a fine tempered dog, who accepted the show ring. When it stopped being fun for him, which happened around 2yrs old he retired. Now on the other hand, he lives to work. Just watch him in an obedience ring! He goes out there totally focussed on me, happy in his attitude, eager and almost anxious to please me. Sometimes that eagerness goes against us, as he can anticipate my commands and move ahead of the command ( a no no in the ring). So for him, he wasn't a "star" show dog, although he did do well in the ring, but he is a "star" working dog. Ilona my breeder (of Razz) and trainer for Magic, was over at Boxing Day, and of course we did a bit of work in the house, hand commands only, and she smiled and said Now that is a Working Dog. So enthusiastic and eager to work.

Razz is more of a showboy than Magic. He does "turn on" in the showring. How-ever with him my challenge is in the obedience arena. He is a true terrier, and still can be, ditzy... like who/what/ huh, what is sit? Do you really mean sit right now? was that a command you just gave me? But Mom there is something smelling interesting over here or there, or I hear this or that... selective deafness... LOL.
We have been working for about one year on, staying out of the kitchen when our family has dinner. My BRT's took about 4wks to obey the commands, and these dogs are highly food motivated. cough cough, Razz on the other hand, enjoys defying my command. He is very cute, in his way to try to sneak back into the kitchen. And he works his cuteness. did I mention he was stubborn:D

So in summary, if a dog exhibits behavious as mentioned above, not only should you not show him or her, you should not Breed him or her, because the temperament is incorrect.

If a dog just accepts the showring, but doesn't really enjoy it, finish him/her and retire them from showing.

If a dog loves the showring, all other attributes being great, and financial wherewithall in place, then go ahead and special that "special" dog/bitch.

Jodi was answering this comment.

[quote=megansmomma;3379009]It's the BUYERS!!! I truly believe they are the entire problem. Poor people can get 1000 for a Yorkie? Why wouldn't they do it for the money? Take away the uneducated consumer and I don't think there would be a market for less than wonderfully bred Yorkies.

Oh well, now I'm confused. I have to go shopping now anyway, LOL.

Well wouldn't that be the ideal personality of a Yorkshire Terrier? :p
All kidding aside, thanks for the response. I understand a tad bit more. It seems a yorkie, whether show or not, whether fearful or outgoing still has basic elements in their personality of a terrier. My pup is fearful, but he does all of the quoted above. Oh geez... does he keep sneaking into the kitchen. I have stories to tell!

BUT! Even with all his crazy quirks and an undesirable personality (I'm convinced in any other home, he would have been re-homed twice by now) I have a feeling agility is going to be his thing. For the most part he's eager to please, and we "practice" in an empty jungle gym. He does everything he is asked without a bigger reward than a good boy. :)

That is great! I hope you find much joy in agility, as I have. It is such a fun thing to do together. Eager to please is such a great characteristic in a dog. You and your boy will bond ever closer the more you work with each other. Agility is a true team sport... you and your dog can't get any better than that

First off, in rescue you do not have a pedigree turned over with a dog at a shelter so there would be no way to know what is in their lines. It's not like you go to the local shelter, they hand you a dog and their pedigree. :confused: From what I have read on this forum isn't that called backdoor breeding? I've read before about how this can occur and hen a breeder will start tossing big names around in their advertising. Maybe someone else can help clarify better than I can.

[quote=BFar;3379131]
I could not disagree more on this point. The average consumer might try to do their homework, read a few books, steer clear of pet shops etc, etc, etc, but just like a Used Car Salesman there is always someone more slick at what they do. The breeders that are in to for the money will say and do whatever is needed to make that sale. Just take a look at all of the puppy mills that have turned to the internet posting pictures of their family sitting next to a fireplace or in a wagon saying "our puppies are raised underfoot......" They know what to say and do it well to scammer the consumer. If there were better regulations and consuer protection laws along with accountability for breeding there would be less breeders willing to sell sick dogs/poorly bred dogs to the public at large. But really, this discussion is getting so far off topic a this point I need to stop.

Any dog can end up in rescue, fine pedigree or not. Even those who live in the finest homes can find themselves faced with changed circumstances....

Sometimes, show breeders themselves are to blame for further burdening an already overburdened rescue system....just look at the recent thread on this rescue forum about the six yorkies thrown away and neglected by their "show breeders" in Maine. I bet they had lovely family trees.

Perhaps a course in ethics should be required for breeders. Just because one CAN produce an off standard dog for a few hundred bucks doesn't mean they should.

To me, "poor people can get 1000 for a Yorkie. Why wouldn't they do it for the money?" is like saying "Poor people can get $100 for a Kilo, so why not produce it?" Money isn't an excuse for doing wrong.

The fault likes evenly in both camps; breeders and buyers.

I kind of agree with this, buyers should educate themselves, but ultimately, the person who brings the dog into the world holds the most responsibility for that dog and any offspring it has. So be careful who you sell to, and be careful who you buy from. I really do think it's up to breeders to educate the puppy buyer, but so few do, and that's why I love YT, puppy buyers can learn a lot.

Ugh- I need to learn how to spell. My last post should have said "lies" and not "likes".

Laurie said that when she started out it was working as an RN full time, raising kids and showing dogs. I asked her how she did it; she said she almost went nuts but she made it. Her success speaks for it's self. I'm very lucky to be involved with such dedicated women.