with JULIE HOWARD
my first Yorkie pet out of the paper. The sire and dam were small and on sight, but my girl grew and grew. Live and learn. 2. What attracted you to the breed? I love the “big” dog in the small package. Their spunk and “watch me” attitude caught my eye. 3. Do you inbreed, line breed, or outcross? Why? I prefer to line breed to maintain the look that I prefer. I do outcross if the lines are getting too tight, but prefer the outcross to be only on one side of the pedigree. I have only done an inbreed- ing a couple times. 4. How do you house your dogs? (together, separate, runs, or pens) My dogs are together when I am home. My dog room is off my kitchen and leads out to a fenced in yard. At night or when I am gone, they each have their own apartment. 5. Do you feed supplements? My pregnant or nursing dams get supplements. I do add oil to their food daily. 6. Where do you whelp your bitches: I am fortunate to have friends that help due to my work sched- ule; however, my pen is set up in my computer room which is adjacent to my bedroom. 7. How and when do you deter- mine a show quality puppy? I do my first evaluation at 8 weeks and again at 16 weeks. I also seek out the opinions of other breeders. Then, I don’t evaluate again until around six months. 8. At what age do you begin train- ing? Please share training tips.
I start stacking at six weeks. When the puppies start watching me, then I start free stacking with bait. Lead train- ing depends on the weather. I live in Indiana where winters are cold and snowy, so I can’t start lead training as early as I should. The pups can walk around the house with the lead on (with supervision) but it is not the same as actually road working them. 9. Do you think your current standard is adequate? If not, what changes would improve it? I do feel the standard is adequate except for the wording of the DQ. There is currently a committee that is working on revising the wording of the DQ. YTCA will be eligible to submit the new DQ revision to AKC in 2012. 10. What is the greatest health concerns to breeders today? To me, the greatest concern is the lack of breeders acknowledging issues in their lines. The marker for liver shunt has not been found as of this date. Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis (HEG) is becoming more prevalent. Stifle prob- lems are ongoing in yorkies, as well as, other toy breeds. The YTCA’s imple- mentation of the CHIC program is a start to health testing in our breed. 11. Is dental care important? Explain. Yes, because healthy teeth and gums contribute to the overall health of the dog. Abscessed teeth and gum disease can lead to bad breath and other health issues such as heart disease. Not to men- tion, bad teeth are painful to the dog. 12. What do you enjoy most about owning this breed? Their unconditional love. When I come home from a long day at work (or a 15 min trip to the post office), my dogs
My name is Julie Howard and I have been breeding and showing York- shire Terriers since 1992. I had two pet Yorkies before I became inter- ested in showing. After the death of my beloved Lucie, I went back to her breeders, Jim Hupp and Bret Walker, for another companion. They had one Yorkie show prospect and an ador- able Pomeranian. I adopted both, and Cheri became my first champion and Beau my first obedience titled dog. I was hooked and the rest is history. I have finished numerous Yorkies and two Chinese Cresteds. I am currently Vice President of the YTCA and Secretary of our local Kokomo Kennel Club. 1. When and where did you first before interested in the breed? I first became interested while living in England. Yorkies were very popu- lar there. However, my landlord had 13 cats and would not allow a dog. Once we returned to the US, I bought
“I LOVE THE ‘BIG’ DOG IN THE SMALL PACKAGE. THEIR SPUNK AND ‘WATCH ME’ ATTITUDE CAUGHT MY EYE.”
84 • T op N otch T oys , J anuary 2017
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