What Makes A Show Breeder!

[DazzlinYT]

That's sweet of you to say Melanie, but he couldn't be perfect, or I could just stop here! Gotta have something to strive for, right? I do think he's going to be a LOT of fun to show and a great asset to my future. Can't wait to see you next week, and then you can meet him in person, and I can finally meet Tegan and "my" crazy girl!

[YorkieRini]

Originally Posted by DazzlinYT

You know, this is a very interesting topic for me... My Mother (who got extremely lucky in another breed, and produced 4 homebred champions from her FIRST litter) which she called a "calculated risk" decided I was a "backyard breeder" the other day. Thank you mother. I asked her what her criteria for that statement was, and she said because I have not yet finished my own homebred champion. Well considering they are SEVEN WEEKS OLD..I asked her to give them time to at least get lead broken before we go start throwing in the towel please! I spent 2 years showing other peoples dogs, then my own, who proved to be less than what I felt I should exhibit, but I kept at it, until I bought a BEAUTIFUL boy of someone elses breeding, but who will be a wonderful foundation for me, and a SUPER fun dog to show and finish MYSELF. I did not jump into this breed, and breed, I waited 2 years to learn EVERYTHING I could, research every pedigree I could get my hands on, learn everything about genetics, and "calculated risks", etc. before I made the decision to attempt a breeding. Do I consider myself a show breeder? No. I consider myself an exhibitor. I am HOPEFUL my little seven week old kiddos will grow up to be all I tried to throw together in the gene pool for them to be, but I don't have a crystal ball, so we wait. Until then I suppose, I am a back yard breeder, at least Mommy Dearest says so.. LOL

So you understand why the term is 'byb' is used by the 'pros' and you are obviously not offended by it. I love you sense of humor BeckiBoo

Hugs,
Irene aka 'wanna be show breeder'

[goldenray]

Originally Posted by DazzlinYT

You know, this is a very interesting topic for me... My Mother (who got extremely lucky in another breed, and produced 4 homebred champions from her FIRST litter) which she called a "calculated risk" decided I was a "backyard breeder" the other day. Thank you mother. I asked her what her criteria for that statement was, and she said because I have not yet finished my own homebred champion. Well considering they are SEVEN WEEKS OLD..I asked her to give them time to at least get lead broken before we go start throwing in the towel please! I spent 2 years showing other peoples dogs, then my own, who proved to be less than what I felt I should exhibit, but I kept at it, until I bought a BEAUTIFUL boy of someone elses breeding, but who will be a wonderful foundation for me, and a SUPER fun dog to show and finish MYSELF. I did not jump into this breed, and breed, I waited 2 years to learn EVERYTHING I could, research every pedigree I could get my hands on, learn everything about genetics, and "calculated risks", etc. before I made the decision to attempt a breeding. Do I consider myself a show breeder? No. I consider myself an exhibitor. I am HOPEFUL my little seven week old kiddos will grow up to be all I tried to throw together in the gene pool for them to be, but I don't have a crystal ball, so we wait. Until then I suppose, I am a back yard breeder, at least Mommy Dearest says so.. LOL

I'm sitting here laughing at this. But I'm going to say that your mom was teasing some with this statement. You are willing to spend the major amount of money to finish your dogs championship. To me that is a show exhibitor and wanna be show breeder. I mean you are not just breeding to have puppies to sell are you? Aren't these sitting there because you are looking for a puppy in the litter to show?

I sincerely hope you have a show hopeful in your current litter. Sounds to me like you have done everything right in your careful research. Showing dogs as you know is not cheap, and anytime I do sell a puppy, that money goes straight to my showing fund. Of course it doesn't quite do it since I don't breed much, but it helps. Much luck to you on your current babies.

[DazzlinYT]

You nailed it Cher! They were a very carefully planned breeding to get exactly what TYPE I wanted sealed into my "soon to be" line right from the beginning, and I'm praying we did it! Yes all the kids are staying put until one of them tells me otherwise. I may be that crazy lady who has twice as many males as females, but that's okay with me, I love showing and hate breeding, so what do I need girls for anyways?? HEHE! Boys are sweeter! As for putting any money back into the dogs.. well I'm so far into the red at this point, I don't think a couple of puppy sales would make much difference. Every time I make entries at this point my husband looks at me with the debit card and says "where now"?? Bless his heart, we're newlyweds, so I tried to break him in slowly..then the season started and oh well..gotta go show, sorry. As for my mother..well I doubt she was joking, but that's a whole other ball of wax.. I have let her roll off my back for 30 years now, and I expect I'll do it another 30. Was good practice to grow tough skin for the show world, HEHE

[PrincessMia]

i just recentley went to the AKC dog show in Chicago, and let me tell you the prissiest of yorkies were there! my yorkie is quite the princess, she has the bows, the clothing, the designer stuff, but most of all she is a normal dog. the yorkies i saw at the show were to fake, to me they were just "dogs" and i never thought a toy dog was just a dog before. our's has so much personailty and loves people and i got the chance to pet and see the yorkies in the show and they were very un-welcoming. this is my first couple years with the terrier breed and i think it is something to get use to from the retriever, But the show breeders and just show dogs i saw were know were near as special as the yorkies i have seeen elsewhere. but it didnt seem like they were nurtured and loved as we love our pets. i think a show dog is very different than the dog that sleep right next to your head everyt night.

[shelbysmom]

I had the opposite experience when I went to a show in CA last year. I thought the dogs were gorgeous and everyone in the room had an appreciation of the breed. Sure some of the breeders were arrogant and their dogs looked empty but MOST were adorable and happy little prancers that I wanted to take home!

before the show, everyone is nervous and it isn't a good time to approach the dogs or the breeders. After they show most are nice and open to talking to you. The dogs were soooooo cute. I was invited to one persons room to see her pups and I held her show dog. Sweet and funny and a typical Yorkie, just more beautiful than most of our pets.

And many show dogs end up sharing pillows with loved ones after they contribute to the advancement of this beautiful breed.

[goldenray]

Originally Posted by shelbysmom

I had the opposite experience when I went to a show in CA last year. I thought the dogs were gorgeous and everyone in the room had an appreciation of the breed. Sure some of the breeders were arrogant and their dogs looked empty but MOST were adorable and happy little prancers that I wanted to take home!

before the show, everyone is nervous and it isn't a good time to approach the dogs or the breeders. After they show most are nice and open to talking to you. The dogs were soooooo cute. I was invited to one persons room to see her pups and I held her show dog. Sweet and funny and a typical Yorkie, just more beautiful than most of our pets.

And many show dogs end up sharing pillows with loved ones after they contribute to the advancement of this beautiful breed.

You are so right. You know I never put all pets into the same category, knowing there are plenty out there that are sad and not in good homes, so not the same can be said for all show dogs. My dogs are extremely spoiled which actually can sometimes cause me problems in the ring. Yet they know when to behave and when they can act up. Although quite often they are bad at the shows too, which I just love.

You are also right about talking before showing. You don't want to know how many times people have distracted me and I almost missed going in the ring, so now I try not to pay attention to anything but the person calling in the classes. We pay a lot of money to be there and sure don't want to miss getting in the ring. We have to have great attitudes to have a great dog, but most dogs are resting up before going into the ring. Are mine arrogant, well sure, they know they are gorgeous!

[Paisleypup]

This thread seems to be answered predominantly by members in a specific geographic location of the US, which I find very interesting. But I think it is a very good 'read' for all of us. It points out how many different attitudes there are here at YT about breeders, and that for all of us, we need to respect the differences among us. For those looking to start showing dogs or just for a new breeder to buy from, and those who have been doing show breeding for a long time, this is valuable information. It shows that there are many different methods to pick who you want to do business with; show breeder, breeder only, hobbist, etc., and who to learn from.
YT has all kinds of breeders here, not just show breeders. I had to bump this up, it is very good.

[Yorkster]

These dogs are loved and cared for, but they do have to learn to stand to be groomed so it may look mechanical to someone who does not understand. It is true that their coat has to be protected and they may be wrapped before they leave the show ground. At a show....people are nervous, LOL I have heard of people who get physically throwup sick before they go into the ring. Trying to groom and putting a topknot in for the third time with 4 minutes left to ring time. It can be a pressure cooker. If you want to approach anyone do it after they show, by that time the pressure is off and they may have time to talk.. . . while they are wrapping their dog.

[Yorkster]

And some the night before they are shown!

[shyorkies]

Originally Posted by Yorkster

These dogs are loved and cared for, but they do have to learn to stand to be groomed so it may look mechanical to someone who does not understand. It is true that their coat has to be protected and they may be wrapped before they leave the show ground. At a show....people are nervous, LOL I have heard of people who get physically throwup sick before they go into the ring. Trying to groom and putting a topknot in for the third time with 4 minutes left to ring time. It can be a pressure cooker. If you want to approach anyone do it after they show, by that time the pressure is off and they may have time to talk.. . . while they are wrapping their dog.

I love your post! Yes my show dogs are wrapped.. But they are members of my family.. They have been trained to stand still or lay still while grooming and they know exactly what is expected of them.. They are just like children, infact they are my children!~ I am one of those that is very nervous before showing and I try to only concentrate on my dog and the grooming of my dog, but after the show I will let people pet him and I spend time talking to people~

[Yorkster]

Cher misbehaving on the table is one thing...but the Yorkie that comes to a stop before the judge, stares the judge down, and barks at the judge just once, then spins around twice.....well, first you hear the laughter at ringside and then a little applause! Love to see a happy, confident dog in the ring and maybe with just a little touch of animation or some would call it misbehaving! :>))) It is just a Yorkie thing!

[BlumoonYorkies]

Originally Posted by Yorkster

Cher misbehaving on the table is one thing...but the Yorkie that comes to a stop before the judge, stares the judge down, and barks at the judge just once, then spins around twice.....well, first you hear the laughter at ringside and then a little applause! Love to see a happy, confident dog in the ring and maybe with just a little touch of animation or some would call it misbehaving! :>))) It is just a Yorkie thing!

I really do not think this is just a yorkie thing. I believe this is called attitude. As you know not all Yorkies that go into a ring will show off. It is a goal to breed for this wonderful temperment. That can have attitude and showmanship in any situation! People think only health issue's need to be bred for there are many other things to take into consideration when breeding properly! Like attitude and temperment

[Yorkster]

You are very correct. Temperment should be right there next to health. In a dog that is shown, attitude is a must. IMO. I am also one who believes the dog should be well angulated, front and rear, well muscled, good spring of rib, tail up and when the dog moves in the ring, the topline should never waver. Difficult to have it all.