When Choosing a Yorkie
Where Quality & Standards Matter
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Beth Pass
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This is not as easy as it seems!
I know this text is lengthy, but worth your time reading before you buy!
Many people have emailed or called knowing nothing about the yorkie standard, except they think they are cute. There is a lot to learn and research before you buy your first yorkie. You must do your research, since there are sooooo many backyard breeders breeding their pet yorkies and have no clue what the standard is and there are many puppy mills out there too! I breed my yorkies, based on great research: to standard, testing for health issues, pedigrees/ancestor history, personalities/temperment, intellegence, and beauty (not in this order, but as combined efforts - each one is very important). Below is just a start as what to look for.
Do you want a yorkie with hair?
Make sure the parents have a silky coat. You do not want a yorkie with a rough terrier coat. Why pay all that money for a dog that is going to look like a mixed breed, unless it is what you want. It is much easier to cuddle though with a yorkie with a silky coat than a rough terrier coat. There are also cotton coats - yes they are beautiful, but will take more time to groom (everyday). Standard is for a silky coat - cool to the touch and shines (light will reflect from it). As a puppy - only the experts will have a clue as to the type of coat it will have. A novice will only be able to go by the pups parents' quality. If you want a long coat - most often you will want a silky coated yorkie.
What size you do want?
The standard says not to exceed 7 pounds. Yorkies do however come in many different weights - from very small to over 7 pounds. So how do you know what size it will be full grown. Rule of thumb is to double the weight at 12 weeks of age. This rule is Not Guaranteed! I have had yorkies that grow very quickly and packed on the weight when young and then stop growing by 4-5 months and hold the same weight their whole life. I have also had some that grow very slowly and hoped and prayed they would gain another pound after 1 year old. You just do not know for sure when they are young how much they will weigh when fully grown. Just like humans grow and change and when a child is young - you really are not 100% sure how much they will weigh or their height they will be as an adult. If someone is saying they guarantee it ~ buyer beware! No breeder can truly guarantee weight. Just because the parents are a certain size does not guarantee what size the pups will be. Grandparents and great-grandparents also have a lot to do with size too! Also with our breed if you check back to where yorkies came from - they were larger in size, so you could have a throw back from this from time to time. I have had some yorkies as small as 2 1/4 pounds and some as large as 7 pounds at maturity. We ended up keeping the small ones (2 1/4 pounds) in the family, since we knew how exactly to meet their needs and they were always very healthy. This might not always be the case for everyone. On the otherhand - If you do have children though - a larger sized yorkie is your best option to avoid accidents and visits to the vet to fix a broken leg. If you are not showing - size should not matter. I do not sell to anyone with children under 5 years of age. I have been there with small children and yorkies. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and would not advise it.
Boy Or Girl?
Many people call or email me wanting a girl. I will actually get 95% more calls for girls than boys and I wonder why. Girls are therefore harder to find and usually more expensive due to demand. Did you know that girls are more stubborn and independent than the boys?? They will also be the first and formost to cause an argument to another dog, even over as simple as who gets to eat from the food dish first. They prefer to find out who is top on the hierarchy and most often to play alpha dog. If you have only one female they will also be more independent and very stubborn at times. Boys are so much more easier going. They are my couch potatoes and love to cuddle. My males are always more affection than the females and love to give kisses. Over these many years, my females will always buddy up to my hubby and the males to me. For showing, a boy is always easier to train for the ring and more well behaved than the girls. This is why it is easier to finish a boy faster than a girl. One reason more people want a female is because they are worried about a male marking their area. But did you know that if you have a male neutered around the age of 5-6 months, they are not likely to ever mark their territory. So potty training a male is no harder than a female. Dressing up in bows and clothes - another reason why many want a female! When showing a yorkie, both males and females have to wear a bow. This helps to keep the hair up out of their eyes. All boys can wear bows!! There are so many colors and styles available today, there really is a lot of choices. Clothing for boys is the same - so many choices available and some really cute looking styles. No matter which one you choose, a boy or a girl, you will love it!
BUYER BEWARE
If someone is telling you they have a TEACUP yorkie. There is NO such thing as this in our standard. They are just using this word in most cases to charge you more money for their puppy. Prices are dependent on the quality - not size!
What color of a yorkie do you want?
Some are too light (silver). Some are too dark (black). The correct color is a dark steel blue, like the inside of a gun barrel. This is not too much too worry about if you are just getting a pet. All yorkie pups should be born black and tan and change color as they mature. Females will have a tendency to lighten as they age or have litters due to hormones.
No yorkie should be chocolate/liver or blue born or even tri-color!!
Our standard is very specific in the color of pups. And no one should breed a yorkie that is chocolate/liver, blue born or have litter siblings of these colors. Yes, chocolate is a recessive gene bb, but is a hugh gene fault! Blue born pups usually have health problems and many do not live past 1 year of age (based on research). If someone is selling these pups as rare or with open registry - "Buyer Beware!" Breeding with these colors can change our breed to become something other than it is or may cause health problems. And no ethical breeder would purposely breed for these colors! Check with the YTC of America (www.ytca.org) to learn about the recent changes to our standard.
What type of look do you like?
All Yorkie Puppies Are Cute Little Teddybears! As they grow - they change and develop into what they will be for the rest of their long life. So you need to check the parents and grandparents to get a better ideas of the adult look of your new pup.
Face
There are several different types of faces for yorkies. Longer muzzles mean more of a terrier face. Shorter muzzles mean more of what some call a babydoll face. We should not call them babydoll, as recommended by the YTCA. I prefer the in between size. Still very cute! Check with www.ytca.org for the yorkie standard!
Make sure you also check the parents
Make sure they are not roached back, which is genetic. This is where the back forms an arch. What you want is a straight back (topline). When I was learning about this - the experts said it should look like the dog could carry a teacup and saucer on its back. There are also feet placements - you want straight, not out or in.
Registery
I will only have AKC yorkies!! Why? Big question! First of all AKC is the only registry we have that will actually show up and check the breeders paperwork and cleaniness. They may also request a DNA check on the pups. To me this means a lot! I have heard where one registry allowed a dog that looked like a yorkie and was found in the streets to be registered. All she had to do was to write a paragraph of why she thought this found dog was a yorkie and send in two photos. To me - that registration is not worth the paper it was written on. Many of your unethical breeders have gone to other registries because they are not checked or because AKC will not allow them to register with them any longer. Not everyone is with another registry because of the above reasons. Just be aware. Limited registration is still registered, just that you will only not be able to show in confirmation or breed.
Price
Price is determined by the quality of the pup, M/F, its pedigree and its parents quality. Any pup bought younger than 5 months of age is always considered pet quality! To know if you have a show prospect pup it must be at least 5 months of age. A lot can go wrong in its quality as it grows the younger the pup is. Show prospect means it may exactly what it says a prospect - not that it will become a champion. There is a lot involved to showing and earning that CH. There are no guarantees at this age. Show quality is only after the pup has reached 1 year and has had time in the ring and has some wins.
A good yorkie is not cheap! Vet expenses have increased over the years. To raise a litter is very expensive, if done correctly. Yorkies do not have large litters as larger breeds do. You might find yorkies priced lower, but are the breeders knowledgable and do they do the required testing on the parents and puppies to make sure they are producing sound pups? You also must realize how much we paid for our yorkies. Show people also show to prove that our yorkies are of good standing and sound. We have invested a lot of time and money into our breed. Price can also be determined by the registery they use. AKC will be higher, since it can actually do the inspections and produce pedigrees. Remember though a dogs pedigree is only as good as all the breeders behind it.
At What Age to Best Buy A Puppy?
Never buy a pup younger than 12 weeks of age! Yorkies are prone to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and run the risk of an attack due to the stress of leaving it mother too soon. Also they need to stay with its mother to learn socialization skills during this time. If anyone sells a yorkie younger than 12 weeks of age - they do not know about this or do not care!
Of course with yorkies, the older the pup the better. Many show breeders will hold back their best puppies to keep. Unfortunetly, some puppies might not make the cut and a show breeder will have to place a pup when older. This is a pet breeders best situation, since many of the reasons why a show breeder cannot keep a pup they were holding back was due to a pup not being able to be big enough to show, too light, too dark in coat color, etc.. But for a pet - this is not a bad problem. The older a yorkie pup is the better idea a buyer will know of the quality, size, color, coat texture, etc... Yorkies are one of the easiest to adjust in a new home, since they are terriers. When show breeders send their dogs to their handlers (if they choose to) these yorkies are older often 2 years of age and has to adjust well to their new home with the handler if they are going to win. Then they quickly adjust back to their owner's home when they return after showing, so from my own experience this has never been a problem. I have had one that did fall in love with her handler and took a week to accept me back. Now all breeders should inform the prospected buyers of not only the good qulaities, but also the faults (small that they may be) so the prospected buyer will be well informed. No yorkie is perfect and one has to decide if that is a fault they can live with. With yorkies, show breeders must hold on to their pups longer to make a better idea of what they have, since yorkies take so long to develop. When a buyer buys a 12 week old, they really do not know what their puppy will grow up to look like as an adult. So they are taking a bit of a risk. All yorkie pups are cute when young, but as they grow and develop you have a better idea of what the adult yorkie will be. And remember - they will be an adult for a longer time, than as a puppy, so pick wisely. Also look at the grandparents too - many yorkies do not grow up to look like their parents.
Testing
When you pay for a yorkie the breeders should have already tested the parents and the pup before your purchase to make sure it is sound. What testing is important? Bile Acid test now is very important. I also do a full blood panel to make sure the protein levels are within the normal range. The reason for this is to make sure the pup does not have Liver Shunts. This is aweful to have to go through and worth the extra money to have a better idea the pup doesn't have it. The test is not a sure thing, but your more reputable breeders will do this test and present the results to you - paper results from the vet. Also the parents should be tested for Laxtaiting Petellas (knee joint movements). The pups are also checked by the vet before leaving. This is where the vet will checked the movement of the knee joints to make sure they are not too loose. You can also do an x-ray to check, but will need to put the dog under anesthesia to do so. Since yorkies are sepatable to anesthia (take a risk of going under and not coming out of it), I prefer my vet to do a hands-on examination. He is an expert at this and they should be experienced with this to know for sure. Of course the regular testing should also be completed - heart, eyes, etc... So when you pay the price for your pup - this should have included the necessary tests to be completed before you buy or buyer beware. I also have my pups now spayed or neutered before leaving. No exceptions!!
It is funny when people call and ask for my price and they say - "Well, I am not looking for a show dog! You must remember that any pup bought before 5 months of age is sold to you as a pet, no matter what pedigree, whom you buy it from, or quality of its parents. We have no idea the pup will be a show prospect until they are older- actually they are closer to 1 year of age to see if they are show worthy or not.
It is also important to buy a dog with a guarantee of one year against any genetic defect and 48 hours on a regular exam. Most reputable breeders do and will carry this guarantee. If you only get the 48 or 24 hour guarantee, what if your pup develops Liver Shunts? Latiating petellas, as of today, can be genetic or caused from an injury. An experience vet may have a better idea upon closer examination the cause due to scaring and the extent of the problem.
There are other things to check for such a the bite - is it even, scissors, under, or overbite. Only the first two are correct. What are the size and shape of the ears? Does the pup look like it can fly - too long. How does the dog carry the ears on its head? Are the ears rounded at the tips? "Bat" ears - also incorrect. As a pet - the ears only effect the look of the dog. For show - they should be just right. Eyes are another thing to check for. Are they almond shape or rounded? As a pet - this really doesn't matter. For show - they need to be shaped like an almond.
And last - temperment
A yorkie is a terrier. Smart and can want its own way. They should not be hyper or nippy or even barky. They should only bark when someone comes to your door. The rest of the time they will like to follow you and lay next to you. Also they are very curious. Never leave them unattended at home loose or expect a mess when you get back or even worse they are hurt. NEVER let them have a pacifier/binky! They can chew off the rubber part and swallow it!
Well, I do not have room to write a book about the yorkie. I have only given you a glimps into what to check for when searching for your yorkie. Now it is up to you to complete your research before you buy. I highly recommend the following books - "The Complete Yorkshire Terrier," by Gordon and Bennette and for good history about pedigrees and lines - "The Book of the Yorkshire Terrier," by Brearley. No, I do not make any money from them recommending these books.
When contacting breeders...
remember that we want to find homes for our puppies where they will be loved and cared for like members of the family for the rest of the yorkie's life. Normal life span on average is 14 years - so be ready for this commitment. We try very hard to ask questions to make sure our pups do not get into the wrong hands, such as careless breeders, puppymills, brokers, or pet shops. And it is very hard on us - when one of our babies are rehomed. So think about this long time commitment before you buy.
Do your research and be well informed before buying your yorkie!
Ask yourself what is the breeder's motif for breeding - puppies? Should not be!
What do the parents look like - what is the quality?
How does the pedigree look?
When purchasing you are making a long commitment that may last 15 years.
Do your research!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I do not sell to puppy stores, puppy mills, BYB, or Brokers -
one needs not to ask for any of my pups!
Help shut puppy mills down - Do Not buy from pet stores!
Best of luck in your search!
~Tina~
Quick Tips ~ What to look for when purchasing:
ˇAKC: only registration where you must prove parentage and they also check breeders' records. Some breeders have gone to to other registries just to avoid inspection.
ˇParents: The breeder should own and have for you to see at least the mother (dam) of the puppy, or both. You want to make sure the parents look like yorkies and of good quality and healthy.
ˇPedigree: If a breeder does not know what a pedigree is, how do they know about quality of the grandparents or of their health. Often times looks or health issues will skip generations.
ˇ Health: Breeder should have knees (patella's) checked by vet and have a Bile Acid/full blood panel test done on the pup and show you the results. Breeders should have a written guarantee with what they guarantee, everything should be spelled out.
ˇ Age: No yorkie pup should leave breeder before they are at least 12 weeks of age! Period!! If they go too soon, yorkies can easily get Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar due to stress being brought on by going to new home in which they can die from) and they are terriers and need more socialization with their mom and siblings. The older the yorkie pup the better! This way you know what you are getting. They are an adult longer than a puppy. All yorkie pups are cute, but they will change greatly as they get older. There is a difference in quality. Reputable breeders will most often hold their pups longer to see what they have, to evaluate the pups. A backyard breeder or miller want them out as soon as possible to make that money.
ˇ Gimicks: Breeder should not use the term "teacup!" There is no such thing as a teacup in our breed. A reputable breeder should know this and not use this term.
10 Tips when searching for your first pup!
Click here.
Click to go to AKC web site.
