Make sure that the male is worthy of breeding to your female. Spend a lot of time and effort on this decision. You may want to get some expert advice. If you can, consult with your female’s breeder and ask him/her to go over hereditary variations of colour/health/size of his/her line to help you understand why one male would be better for your female than another. If your breeder or another knowledgable person isn’t available, then you will need to do the research on your own so you can make a educated decision.
Analyze your female’s strengths and weaknesses. Does she have a weak top line but a nice front? What about her coat texture? Her temperament? Showing in CKC events her can be helpful in this process. When you can’t recognize what is wrong with your female, you won’t recognize what you need to fix in future generations. This is what you are trying to do; improve the Yorkie breed by improving on your female. Be brutally honest. Don’t let your love of her get in the way of sensible choices. If you can’t be honest about her flaws, don’t breed her. Focus on one or two problem areas that you’d like to see improved and look for a stud dog who is strong in those areas without being too weak in some other areas. It is a delicate balancing act with no guarantee of success.
There are two main theories in breeding:
First: Breed like to like. This means that you take the overall look of the female and find a stud dog that physically compliments her look. The theory is that if you breed like to like, you’ll get like.
Second: Line breeding. This type of breeding is more complicated and involves analyzing the pedigrees of your female and your potential stud dogs to choose a good match. There are several ways to approach line breeding.
Term definitions:
Line breeding:
Similar to breeding like to like only instead of collecting physical similarities, you are collecting genes of a particular dog.
Inbreeding:
Extremely close line breeding. When you are starting out in breeding, you want to keep away from inbreeding as it is risky unless you are very sure of the pedigrees involved.
Outcross:
Breeding where there are no, or very few, ancestors in common. This often happens when you are breeding like to like. Most breeders practice some form of line breeding, generally focusing on one of the important studs in their breed.
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Make sure that the dog you are concentrating on is worthy of the honour. If you line breed a mediocre Yorkie, or one with a particular health problem, you will likely get a mediocre Yorkie with a health problem. This type of breeding is extremely difficult and you must carefully, carefully, research the dogs in your female’s pedigree so that you know where you need to go with the line breeding.
You will probably want to use a combination of Line and Outcross breeding. You will want to find a pedigree that is complimentary to your female and a Yorkie that is physically compatible as well. This should be done with the help and advice of knowledgeable breeders. Choosing a stud dog is also a really good reason to become active in CKC activities when your female is young. This gives you a wonderful opportunity to get familiar with various stud dogs available before your female comes in season.
Narrow your choices down to two or three likely candidates. Call the stud dog owners and interview them about their male. Most stud dog owners will be honest with you about what their males are producing, their strengths and weaknesses, and what you may expect. If a breeder is not willing or iffy to tell you about the problems as well as the benefits of their male, you should probably steer clear of them.
Now you need to make a decision about which dog will be best for your litter. No one can make this decision for you but if you have done your research and have been honest with yourself about your female, then you will most likely find a compatible male. You are now ready to enter the genetic cesspool and see what you get. Genetics is an extremely complicated business. Most people know so little about the genetics their Yorkies possess that it is all a hide and seek game. Even the most experienced breeder makes mistakes. This is why you need to be very careful and thorough in your research.
When you have chosen your male, notify the stud dog owner about when you expect your female to come in season so that arrangements can be made. You will probably want to get your female to the stud dog within the first week of her season so that she has time to get used to the new surroundings before being bred.
Information gathered off the WWW, books and advice.