Dog Health Care

Are You Ready To Breed Your Yorkshire Terrier?
 by: Rose Lenk

The reported sales for Yorkshire Terriers is phenomenal. Over the past few years, the popularity of this breed as a family pet and as the dog to breed has seen tremendous growth. In fact, the requests for adorable Yorkie puppies is greater than the supply. This fact has many Yorkie owners wondering if they should look into the possibility of breeding their pet.

While breeding Yorkshire Terriers is a worthy goal, it is not for everybody or every dog. There are many things that should be considered before making the decision to breed your Yorkshire Terrier, the least of which regards whether or not you have the time and space to devote to breeding the energetic Yorkshire Terrier.

Many experts reserve the right to breed dogs to the professional breeder, and they will discourage anyone who has a idea to breed Yorkies from doing so. Though this may sound manipulative, there are good reasons why they discourage casual breeding. While I believe that there are many people who should not even consider breeding their Yorkie, I also feel that there are many intelligent people that can incorporate breeding into their lifestyle responsibly. To find out which category you fall into, consider the following points.

Pedigreed and registered doesn’t equal breeding material

Yes, a pedigree and registration are requirements before breeding any purebred dog, but their presence does not mean that you have a Yorkie worthy of breeding. Let me explain. The AKC and other registry organizations certify pedigrees and registrations that guarantee the authenticity of your pet as a purebred Yorkie; they do not certify quality. What this means is that an AKC registered Yorkie can have certain traits that are undesirable for breeding such as congenital health defects which are not discernable to the eye and undesirable behavioral traits, which can become more pronounced in the dog’s offspring.

Even breeders that possess dogs with Yorkie bloodlines of the highest quality do not breed all of their puppies. In fact, only a very select few ever get used for breeding. The ones that do are carefully evaluated for health quality, behavioral traits and breed standards in an attempt to continually improve the quality of the Yorkie breed. Randomly breeding registered Yorkies does the exact opposite, often resulting in sickly and below-standard puppies.

Breeding Yorkies is not an income opportunity

Breeding Yorkies for monetary gain is not a good reason to pursue breeding this exceptional breed. First, finding a bitch and sire of high enough quality to breed can be an expensive undertaking. Caring for your breeders and puppies until they are old enough to be sold can also be very expensive.

Think about it this way. The average Yorkshire Terrier litter is from one to four puppies. Now, you may be able to sell these puppies for $1,000 to $1,500, but Yorkies require veterinary attention and breeder care for the first three months of their life. Add on to this the cost of a possible Cesarean section and the fact that you cannot whelp more than one litter per dam per year, and you may find yourself in the hole rather than coming out ahead.

Time and dedication

It is estimated that the average breeder spends 120 hours per month caring for their Yorkies and pups. This 120 hours cannot be scheduled around other obligations; other obligations must be scheduled around your puppies. The small size of Yorkie puppies make them extremely susceptible to hypoglycemia and instant death during the first three months of life if they are not cared for properly. So, having a litter of Yorkies pretty much takes a considerable chunk of time and independence from your life.

And it doesn’t end when they are three months old. A good breeder will carefully screen and interview all potential buyers to ensure that their puppies get placed in only the best homes. They will also offer support to the puppy’s new family to make sure that they are properly prepared to care for the Yorkie, and they will stay available to help out any purchasers in need, even if it means accepting the puppy or full-grown Yorkie back into their home if problems arise.

If you are still not deterred after considering all of these breeding realities, you may just have what it takes to successfully breed Yorkshire Terriers. The next step is to find out all you can about Yorkies and how to breed them. The AKC is a great place to start. Good luck!

About The Author

Rose Lenk

Learn the 7 things you need to know about Yorkshire Terriers at http://www.goodyorkie.com

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Giant Snakehead Care: Using Live Feeder Fish

Owning a Giant Snakehead requires a lot of food and live feeder fish have been a staple out of convenience and cost management. This does not go for just Giant Snakeheads, but any other predatory fish. Over the years there has been a lot of debate at the actual value of using live fish as feed for your predatory underwater pets. The concerns rise from issues with the nutritional value of live feed, the potential health concerns related to feeder fish and even reasons stemming to the humane treatment of the feeders.

Lets begin by comparing the Pro’s and Con’s of live feeder fish as food and how it directly affects the Giant Snakehead.

The Pro’s of Live Feed —

1)Cost – Right off the bat, live feed is probably one of the most economically sound ways of keeping your Giant Snakehead full. Other alternatives tend to have higher costs, such as using live caught fish meat from the market.
2)Maintenance – The convenience factor of using live feed is probably the single best reason to use them, especially for a highly aggressive predatory fish such as the Giant Snakehead. Odds are he will eat every living thing you put into his tank, so the cleanup tends to be minimal.
3)Builds aggression – If you are working to have a highly aggressive Giant Snakehead, live feed is really the only way to go. Forcing him to actively hunt not only gives him exercise, it helps raise his aggression levels.

The Con’s of Live Feed —

1)Health Concerns – This is the primary concern of using live feeder fish. Generally most Giant Snakehead owners will use feeder Goldfish, which are naturally very high in an enzyme called Thiaminase. This enzyme is well known to cause Thiamine (or Vitamin B1) to breakdown into two separate parts, causing a deficiency in Vitamin B1 to occur. Without getting into the ugly chemistry of it, this has the potential to cause serious health issues in your Giant Snakehead.
2)Nutritional Content – Feeder Goldfish are surprisingly low in protein and very high in fat. This is probably due to the fact they spend their entire life sitting in an overcrowded tank with very little movement. To top it off the lack variety in their diets leave them with very little in the way of mineral and vitamins.
3)Contamination Co
1000
ncerns – The living conditions for feeder Goldfish are miserable at best. Always living in a cramped, unclean tank will create the potential for disease to occur within the Goldfish. The Giant Snakehead is a hardy fish, but this does not make him immune to disease from ingesting sick feeder fish.

So what should you do? Obviously you can opt to not use feeder fish at all and stick to using other sources of food such as fresh caught market fish or as I have on occasion thawed frozen fish like shrimp and scallops. Raw meat from beef cuts is also another option, but your Snakehead may not take to them. If your looking to keep using live feeder fish as I do I would suggest the following: When you bring your feeders home, have a separate, clean, filtered tank for them. The water needs to be slightly higher then normal temperature, say about 70-72C for Goldfish to help kill of any disease. Normally high temperatures for Goldfish lower their life expectancy, but these guys won’t be around for long. The use of medicated food and regular quality fish food is also a good idea as it aids in improving the health and nutritional value of your feeders. After about a week you Goldfish should be healthier then they were when you brought them from the pet store.

On a final note: I have used feeder fish exclusively for my Giant Snakehead and he has never suffered from any diseases over the past two years. The convenience factor is far to great for me to do otherwise and he is happy every time I bring dinner home for him.

By: Brad Betts

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

For more information on Giant Snakehead feeding, including a food guide please check out my website: www.snakeheadcare.com/

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