Yorkie Terrier

[tina2207]

I have a 3 pound yorkie terrier and my mother wants to breed her but she has a hernia and I just wanted to know if she was to get breeded if that would cause the hernia to explode and maybe kill her? PLease let me know ASAP!

[Margot49]

Ghilly is right. That is a very small dog to be breeding and that hernia could become an issue and those can be hereditary.  And, a dog that little could easily need a C-Section which is expensive in itself.  Consider if something happens to the dam, is your mother prepared to take care of puppies 24/7?  Yorkies can also have their own hereditary problems, one being luxating patellas and they can also have liver shunt problems.
Agree, if your Mom wants another Yorkie, please have that little one spay and look for a reputable breeder or rescue.
Breeding dogs is a big responsibility.

[Ghilly]

Yorkshire Terriers are extremely difficult to bred, hernia or not.  These are VERY tiny dogs, and the problems that come along with breeding them can end up costing you not only thousands of dollars, but they can also cost you the life of your dog and/or her puppies.

If you look at the Yorkshire Terrier breed standard as written by the AKC (American Kennel Club), it tells you that a Yorkshire Terrier should weigh between four and seven pounds.  A three pound Yorkie is EXTREMELY small.  Look at it this way, the difference between a four pound Yorkie and a three pound Yorkie is the same as the difference between a person who weighs 100 pounds and a person who weighs 75 pounds!  When it comes to being able to carry a litter of puppies and deliver them safely, that one pound makes a BIG difference!

Even if your dog didn't have a hernia, there is a chance, and at her size it's a pretty good chance, that she will need a C-section to safely deliver the puppies.  C-sections can end up costing in excess of $2000, and that's if everything goes well.  Then you have to have the puppies' tails docked, their dewclaws removed, and when they are being weaned you have to take them to the vet for their first shots, wormings every two weeks, the cost just keeps going up up up!  That's if you are going to do it correctly so that everyone remains safe and healthy.

You should have her spayed.  The earlier you have her spayed, the less of a chance she has of developing mammary cancer as she gets older.  And if you have her spayed, you completely remove her chances of developing pyometra, which is a life-threatening infection of the uterus that is extremely common in unspayed females.  It really is just not worth taking the chance of breeding her, there are just too many things that can go wrong.  With larger dogs the risk is great enough, but with the tiny dogs, the risk is SO much bigger!  Please, do your dog a favor and talk your mom out of wanting to breed her.  Have your dog spayed, and if your mom wants another puppy, buy her one either from a responsible breeder or adopt one for her from Yorkie rescue.  There are more than enough Yorkies out there needing homes, you don't need to jeopardize your own little one to make more!

Ghilly