I have a wonderful yorkie! He has very little hair growing on his back!?

Question

He is very healthy. No skin allergies, fleas infestation, fungi, or even any scratching. Yet we got him at 1 year old and he looks as though he is in need of rogain! He has hair growth simular to stubble mixed with what long, fine strands he has. He has regular growth everywhere else so when the breeder told us that it was natural for a "blue" to have this situation, we believed her. But since we would like to stud him, we feel that we should confirm her reason. Not much has changed in the 6 months we have had him, has not gotten worse or better. Any ideas? We bathe him 1x per week, brush 2-3x per week and have followed the advise of "experts" in the books yet not one person (except the breeder) has mentioned this genetic issue. Also have used the vet's suggested vitamin, with no results.

Answer 1

It is NOT normal.. It sounds like poor breeding to me. I have a yorkie and she is the blue and gold.. Blue on a yorkie is not the same as a blue on other breeds. The blue on a yorkie is a silver blue.

I had a long haired blue and white chi once and he came from a pet store (before I knew better) and his back was the same way. He of course came from poor breeding stock. His hair never grew in on his back, it was sparse and wirey.

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do for this because it was genetic.

However, you can buy him cute little t-shirts and sweaters;-)

Answer 2

Why don't you go to a dog show and talk to some real breeders. Mention the problem and see if they have seen it. It sounds weird to me. I wouldn't breed him with something like that. That is not something you want to pass on!! Use the time while you are looking into that to get the other health clearances the your breed requires. The only reason to breed is to improve the breed. You must do everything to make sure you would be doing that and not just making more poorly bred puppies. There are too many of those out there. A good breeder can tell you if he is of breeding quality or not. If not, neuter him and enjoy him as a pet. If you still want to own a stud dog, invest in a show/breeding quality male next time.