Breeding/Showing Question

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Well, I have a question. I was planning on showing Dixie, and then breeding her once I titled her, and hopefully keeping a pup out of the litter. I'm noticing more, and more, that her coat just doesn't seem the right texture. I'm still want to try to show her, but if we don't win any titles...what do I do? I was thinking about breeding her with a male that has a nicer coat, keeping a pup to show, then spaying Dixie. Would that be eithical, or should I just spay Dixie, and purchase another Yorkie for showing purposes? Dixie has AMAZING potential, the only thing that seems wrong is her coat. It isn't as full as it should be, and the texture is odd. I'm going to wait of course because it could always fill in later. I'm also thinking that maybe something in my grooming has gone wrong, but I can't put my finger on anything. I just flat out need help. I was so pumped up about all this, but I posted a picture on a website for Yorkies, and someone told me that her fur was all wrong, etc, etc, and I want to just say "Screw that, she's fine" but then I started really looking at her, and it just freaked me out. I started thinking that they were right, and maybe she wouldn't make it as a show dog, etc, etc.....I'm just really upset now, and I need advice. Thanks so much guys!

-Lauren

 

[Zoom]

How old is she again?

 

[dogsarebetter]

have you tried any supliments or vitimans to help her coat? or a complete diet change even

 

[otch1]

May I see a full body shot of her stacked on a table? When you say the textures odd, I'm guessing it's thin, whispy, growing slowly or feels a little oily?? Her diet and grooming do have a lot to do with coat condition, but her breeding may also be an issue. A lot to consider. Was she sold to you a show quality pup, what do parents look like, are they finished, ect. A yorkies coat is everything! Would like to see pictures.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Zoom, She'll be 8 months old this month. I'm really hoping her coat will fill in, as I've been reading up on thin coats lately, and it seems that sometimes they fill in later, but I haven't seen anything that mentions what age they fill in....I'm probably just blowing this out of proportion, but it upset me that someone said she didn't looks show quality because I'm starting to believe it also. I've been wondering if she just looks better to me because I'm her mom, you know? lol!

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

May I see a full body shot of her stacked on a table? When you say the textures odd, I'm guessing it's thin, whispy, growing slowly or feels a little oily?? Her diet and grooming do have a lot to do with coat condition, but her breeding may also be an issue. A lot to consider. Was she sold to you a show quality pup, what do parents look like, are they finished, ect. A yorkies coat is everything! Would like to see pictures.

I will take some pictures tomorrow, and post them ASAP! Yes, that's exactly the texture I'm talking about. She was sold as Show Quality, but the owners didn't show the parents. Her Grandfather was a Grand Champion though, and she has 80+ Champions in her pedigree, which is what leads me to believe it might be the grooming. I feed her Nutro: Natural Choice, but I've been thinking of ordering some Innova.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

have you tried any supliments or vitimans to help her coat? or a complete diet change even

I haven't tried any supliments, but we have been feeding her Nutro since we got her. It's the best food that we can get locally. I've been thinking of ordering some Innova online though. Would that be best?

 

[Zoom]

Switch the food and see if that helps. She might be getting ready to go into heat, which would have an effect on coat as well I believe.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Thank you Zoom!! I never thought of that, it's definately possible. Thanks again, and I'm going to talk to my mom about ordering some Innova online tomorrow. I love Nutro because it's so easy to get since we're at Petsmat once a week anyway, but I want what's best for her whether we're showing her or not.

 

[RD]

She is still very young. I imagine it takes many years to grow out a good show coat. Changing her diet will probably help, though.

If she has an incorrect coat type I wouldn't breed her, as nice as she may be otherwise. IIRC, coat is very important in Yorkies.

 

[Laurelin]

First of all, I don't think you should worry about a coat in this young a dog. It takes years to grow a mature coat. Also, coat in dogs depends on lineage. Did you see the parents? That should give you an idea about how she should coat out. Just curious, why weren't the parents shown? Just because there are champs in the pedigree does not mean a dog will be show quality. If the parents weren't shown because of coat issues, then that may be a factor here. Are you in touch with her breeder? An honest breeder should be able to tell you how your pup is looking and evaluate it. They should know if the coat looks on track or not.

I bet the issue is just age. Your pup is probably going through what I call the uglies lol. It's that wonderful stage where puppies start changing coats and growing. Harry's in this stage too, and he's short coated with a few wisps here and there. During this time, coats can look bad, teeth can be crooked, the dog's proportions can be totally off, you name it. A lot of times they grow out of these things. You can never really be sure that a puppy will be show quality until it's fully mature. You can have a good idea, but you never know for sure.

I'd talk to the breeder, see what they think, and then wait it out until she's grown.

 

[showpug]

My friend who shows and breeds yorkies and who is very respected in the breed told me that it takes about 3 years to get a show coat on a dog. She shows her puppies before then, but it can take longer to finish yorkies because their coat is very important. They usually don't do as well in the ring until they are in full coat.

Even if her coat isn't quite right, I would still try to show her. No dog in the ring is perfect. They all have flaws. When you breed, you breed to improve. It would be important that you find a health tested, champion stud dog with the perfect coat texture within the breed. It would also be very important that if you do decide to breed her that she pass all her health screens. Personally, I don't have a problem with people breeding to improve upon what they have and to aquire their next dog for the show ring. I think it would be different if you didn't health test and settled for any stud dog etc. Your goal would be to improve the the next generation and you would be breeding for a purpose.

Your dog is still very young. If you want to show her, why not start her now? She's more than old enough to make her debut. She probably wont win as a pup, but the socialization and practice is vital to make her a better show dog later on. You may even meet some other fanciers that can help you decide if her coat is correct or not.

 

[Spiritus]

My friend who shows and breeds yorkies and who is very respected in the breed told me that it takes about 3 years to get a show coat on a dog. She shows her puppies before then, but it can take longer to finish yorkies because their coat is very important. They usually don't do as well in the ring until they are in full coat.

Even if her coat isn't quite right, I would still try to show her. No dog in the ring is perfect. They all have flaws. When you breed, you breed to improve. It would be important that you find a health tested, champion stud dog with the perfect coat texture within the breed. It would also be very important that if you do decide to breed her that she pass all her health screens. Personally, I don't have a problem with people breeding to improve upon what they have and to aquire their next dog for the show ring. I think it would be different if you didn't health test and settled for any stud dog etc. Your goal would be to improve the the next generation and you would be breeding for a purpose.

Your dog is still very young. If you want to show her, why not start her now? She's more than old enough to make her debut. She probably wont win as a pup, but the socialization and practice is vital to make her a better show dog later on. You may even meet some other fanciers that can help you decide if her coat is correct or not.

I agree 100% with what ShowPug said here. I have a coated breed, and at 8 months, the coat is often not "correct" - it can be too soft, a tad wavy, etc. Until the dog is mature, that coat won't be mature. Heck, a lot of Belgian boys don't truly have "mature dog coat" until they hit 3 or 4. I know several breeders who show their males as puppies, then put them away until they reach maturity.

All dogs have faults. Some faults do mean they should likely not be bred, other faults can be improved upon. Every person in every breed has a different idea of what "acceptable faults" are (barring disqualifying ones).

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Thank you SO much everyone! You guys always give some awesome advice!

ShowPug: Thanks! I'm pretty much positive that I will still at least try to show her. Esspecialy now, after hearing that her coat will take a while to finish growing. If we breed her at all, it will be once she's tested, and whether her coat grows out or not, we'll still breed her with an awesome quality male. I'm in the process of looking for one, because once she's older, and has been tested, I don't want to be feel rushed into using a stud of lesser quality, which I probably wouldn't do anyway, but I always feel it's best to plan ahead.

Laurelin: You're post made me feel SOOO much better!!! Dixie was AMAZING looking as a pup, and I think she must be going through the "uglies" as you said. She has an awesome bite, and gait, but the only thing I see wrong with her is her coat, and sometimes her topline looks off, and others it doesn't....I'm not sure if it's the way I'm stacking her, or what. Which reminds me I need to get some stacking photos.

Thanks agiain so much guys! You're all awesome. I'm not nearly as worried anymore, and I feel alot better about showing her. Of course, I think she's perfect, but I'm her Mama.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

p.s. THANK YOU TOO SPIRITUS!! I didn't see your post before.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

She is still very young. I imagine it takes many years to grow out a good show coat. Changing her diet will probably help, though.

If she has an incorrect coat type I wouldn't breed her, as nice as she may be otherwise. IIRC, coat is very important in Yorkies.

Thank you RD! My mom told me to see how much Innova costs, and we're going to try to order some today, and I'll let you guys know how that works. I'm also going to order some Earthbath if the Innova isn't too much.

 

[stevinski]

how do u know shes got 80 CH in her pedigree?

i thought dixie came from a BYB?

 

[bubbatd]

Show her and enjoy her !! You still have a long time before you can consider breeding . At two years you can decide if you want to go through the costs of all the testings or just take that $$ and the costs of whelping and buy a good pup .

 

[showpug]

I forgot to add that you may want to go to a show without her and watch the yorkies show. Pay close attention to her age group in the ring and how their coats look. It may help you feel more comfortable if you go and watch a couple of shows without her before you enter her.

If you need help looking up shows in your area, I can help you. Just PM me.

 

[sam]

I think Mordy always recommends supplementing dogs with a fish body oil (not fish liver oil /cod liver oil) and vit E which really helps coat and skin. I think she likes Grizzly salmon oil and there's one other brand I think she recommends even more-- I know she's going out of town but if you did a search you can find other threads on it.
I have had three dogs come to me from rescue with terrible coats and all have improved significantly on high end food (your idea to change from Nutro is a good one) and with fish oil and vit E supplement has helped significantly.I have found it takes 3 weeks to a month after the change to see the difference.

I think you've gotten good advice about breeding from others more knowledgeable than I am. I guess for me, because I work with a local rescue, I am keenly aware of how many great dogs end up in rescue and how many million are euthanised each year because of the huge pet over population, I am glad to see you taking this decision to breed seriously.

I think it is very important to make sure you are breeding a dog who is worthy of being bred abnd that you have done the work of a responsible, ethical breeder . Dogs can be 100% wonderful but not be worthy IMO.
I'm glad to hear you say you will be doing all the health clearances and campain her in conformation. I also like to see people be able to show something that shows a good temperment like GCG or temperment testing, therapy dog certification etc (or obviously performance/working titles if it's a sporting /herding dog) I also like to see breeders who have a good enough reputation and breed infrequently enough that they have mostly all of their pups spoken for before they breed.