Myths and Facts about Shorkie Puppies and Shorkie Breeders

So your dreams are becoming a reality!! You have decided you want a  Shorkie puppy. You think you know just what you want in a shorkie puppy right???. But do you? Please consider before you adopt if you have chosen a truly good Shorkie  breeder. You deserve nothing less than  a happy, healthy, wonderful Shorkie puppy! You'll be living with your new fur baby  for many years to come so it is of the utmost importance you choose carefully!

Genetic Testing and Health

#1 Things to look for in a shorkie breeder! HONESTY!

The Shorkie Club Of America Does Not Support The Hybrid Vigor Theory That Says Purebred Dogs Are Not As healthy As Mix Breeds! That is just offensive to the years and years of purebred breeders that have spent years and years perfecting a breed by genetic testing and impeccable breeding practices!

A well bred puppy is exactly that! A well bred puppy that comes from genetically tested sound parents.

A "Health Certificate" from a veterinarian is NOT  Health testing.

     It is only a piece of paper the vet signs after taking the pup's temperature and looking for obvious signs of disease stating he examined the dog and it appears to be free of disease at the time of examination. These health certificates are required by air lines before they will allow your pet on the plane, but some breeders try and represent this paper as proof your dog was health tested by a veterinarian. This certificate has nothing to do with health testing to find a congenital condition that may show up months after you have your Shorkie puppy. 

Quality Shorkie breeders  Will give the intended puppy parents a full review of the Shorkie  breed, including drawbacks of the perspective breed first, such as potential health problems and will never ever tell you that there re no health problems in the breed. Will give historical information of how the breed was originally developed (Stefanie White started the breed here in the USA) and especially indicating the breed temperamental "quirks" and if that temperament is suitable for the prospective family and their lifestyle. Responsible breeders do this so the puppy does not end up abandoned in a shelter because the buyer did not understand breed specific behavior and got the puppy because it was "cute" not knowing what its character would be like when grown. Shorkie puppies  are indeed excellent pets.  But they may not be suitable for every family.

Many potential puppy parents just fall in love with the furry faces and don't realize what health risks shorkies are at risk for. Make sure your Shorkie breeder is open and honest about the Shorkie breed and does not hide this from you!!! Any Shorkie breeder claiming that the breed is not at risk for health issues is not being truthful. They should know exaclty what health risk shorkie puppies have.  Mix breed dogs are NOT healthier!!

#2 The Adults being bred

The Shorkie breeder said all her breeding adults  dogs had been seen my their  regular vet so that must mean the dogs are healthy and will produce healthy puppies. The breeder you are considering has had their lines for many year and had no problems so there must be no problem in the lineage anywhere

MYTH!!!!

Regular vets for the most part are not experts in the field of breeding or reproduction.  Due to this they may not feel they have the right to tell a client not to breed or may feel that they will lose business by doing so.  Sadly enough even if a vet did tell a breeder not to breed the breeder may not listen and only give into the parts of the conversation the breeder wanted to hear.

No matter how good a vet is it is impossible for one to tell that a dog being considered for breeding is clear of genetic disease by just doing a routine examination.  Genetic testing that has been developed to weed out these issues call for the qualifications of a specialty veterinarians that are qualified to do the testing not just a regular vet.

You would think that Shorkie breeders that have been breeding for a while would take the money they make from the puppies they produce and get the proper genetic testing done. This would clearly be in the best interest of the Shorkie puppies being reduced and save so many families that adopt shorkies the heart break of a unhealthy puppy

It is devastating to encounter genetic disease  of any kind in any breed, . Families around the world  have their hearts broken when their furry family member is  crippled goes blind, found to be deaf, dies from heart problems, or is suffering  with some other gentic issue that could have been found if the breeder did the proper genetic testing .   we believe at the Shorkie Club Of America that Shorkie breeders that want to be responsible test; irresponsible ones do not test. Pure and simple

When Shorkie breeders take part in conducting genetic screening it is because we are dedicated to the ethical and healthy development of this breed. We are reducing the chances that our Official Shorkie Puppies will not be affected by the diseases that plague the shih tzu and yorkie breeds

 

The Shorkie puppies have AKC parents, so they must be healthy

MYTH!!!!

The American Kennel Club is only a registry. AKC registration does not guarantee you a quality and they cleary state it on their site  sire.

So just because your Shorkie Breeder has AKC dogs does not mean they are quailty and should be bred

The AKC does not register shorkies or approve of mixed breeding

The AKC  is the oldest purebred dog registry in the US but it is for lineage only.

It is not based on health and keeps no records of health. It is up to the breeders to individually screen their potential breeding adults

Many  breeder who breed purebred dogs claim the AKC registry as a stamp of quality for the shorkie puppies they produce.(shorkie puppy parents need to understand this) Many use the name the AKC  as tool to market the puppies they are producing. but puppy parents often learn a  hard lesson that just because they purchased  an AKC registered puppy does not mean the puppy came from reliable and ethical breeder. The same should be  said for Shorkie Breeders

Just because the adults  they breed to produce Shorkie puppies are AKC registered does not mean they are breeding quality.

All of my personal dogs are Triple registered.

AKC CKC and APR but that has nothing to do with Shorkie Breeding and producing healthy Shorkie puppies.

Fact!

Responsible Shorkie breeders gentically screen their breeding adults!