QuestionQUESTION: We have a male Yorkie "Harrison" he's about 10 pounds and we would like to stud him out. We have been thinking about either purchasing a female of our own or stud him out and ask for the pick of the litter.
What would be the best approach. Also if we stud him out and get the pick of the litter (female) can we then breed Harrison with the female offspring? Is that ethical?
thank you for you assistance.
ANSWER: Julianna and Graham,
I think I have bad news for you. Most people want a teacup or very small (5 pounds or less) Yorkie. Because your male is ten pounds you will not be able to find anyone who wants to breed with him. The standard breeding practice is to breed a small male to a larger female. If your Yorkie was a female you could breed her with a small male and you might be able to sell the puppies. If you got your own female to breed with him she would have to be larger than he is in order for you to breed. The reason for this is if you breed a female with a larger male then she will probably not be able to have the puppies naturally because they will be to large. The female would have to have a c-section which is dangerous for both mom and pups. Trust me, you do not want to go through that experience. It is pure torture watching the female go through that and worrying that she or her puppies will not make it.
If you want to breed you will need to get a small female (around 5 pounds) and then find a stud that is 2.5 to 3 pounds to breed with.
The American Kennel Club allows breeding back (to a close relative) only once. If you do it more than that they will not recognize the puppies and you will not be able to get the papers you will need to sell the puppies and make a profit.
A word of caution, if you do get a female so that you can breed you will need to get Harrison fixed. Just because they aren't supposed to be bred doesn't mean that Harrison wouldn't have other ideas. Also keep in mind that even if you get Harrison fixed he will always be marking his territory. For that reason I never kept my studs at my home. I always found a friend that wanted a Yorkie but couldn't afford one so I would buy it for them and then use him when I needed a stud.
I'm sorry if I disappointed you. Good Luck in whatever you decide.
Sincerely,
Melinda
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QUESTION: Dear Melinda,
Thank you for your comments, we are certainly a little surprised, when we purchased our Harrison, we were told that he would be approximately 7 pounds or so be we believe he is approx 10 pounds. He is not a teacup Yorkie, so do we have another option for breeding. Perhaps call the breeder we purchased Harrison from?
Thank you for your assistance.
ANSWER: Julianna,
How old is Harrison? If the breeder told you about seven pounds and he is ten then the only recourse you have is to try and get some of your money back. I am afraid though, that the breeder's only responsibility is to offer you a refund in exchange for Harrison which I am sure you do not want to do. Have you ever heard of the saying "Buyer beware"? When you shop for a Yorkie you are supposed to ask to see both parents so that you can get an idea how big the puppies will be. If both parents were ten pounds then you can expect a ten pound or larger dog. When you bought Harrison did you see both parents?
OK, now for the reality of things. There are breeders out there who will tell you that the puppy is going to be smaller than it really is. They know that by the time you realize the puppy is going to be bigger than what you wanted it will be too late. You will have fallen in love with your puppy and will not want to give it back. That is the reason that you should always insist on references and on seeing both parents.
As far as other options for breeding you may be able to breed Harrison but it is very unlikely that you would be able to sell the puppies unless you tell people that they are going to be "about seven pounds" and after having that done to you I can't see you doing it to someone else.
I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear but I always believe in telling it like it is.
Sincerely,
Melinda
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QUESTION: Melinda that you for your comments.
We did in fact research and we also requested to see both parents. Which we did. Both were under 7 pounds, so what happen to Harrison?
AnswerJulianna,
There are a couple of things that could have happened. I had a five pound female who I bred with a five pound male (before I knew better) and she had a litter of puppies. Of the three in the litter I picked the smallest one so I could breed her. She turned out to be a ten pounder. From this same mother (different stud) I picked out the largest puppy in her litter and the puppy turned out to be four pounds. Therefore, I would have to conclude that it was the father that had made the difference. Two different litters, same mother, different father. I unfortunately was not yet experienced enough to know that I should find out about the previous litters of each father to get an idea of the kinds of puppies they produced.
The second thing that could have happened is that there are unscrupulous people out there and the breeder could have showed you a Yorkie that was not the real father. I am not saying that is what happened but it can happen.
The female I had that was ten pounds did have puppies but I had a really hard time selling them because when people saw the mother they didn't want a Yorkie that was going to be that big. Like I stated before, your main problem is that Harrison is a male and you cannot breed him to a female smaller than he is which would mean that you will get puppies that are ten pounds or larger. My ten pound female was always bred with a 2.5 pound male and therefore she did have puppies in her litters that were only five pounds full grown.
Sincerely,
Melinda
