Yorkie questions

[schnzrluv]

Hi! Much to my dismay a girl I work with is going to purchase a yorkie puppy from her good friend who is a "breeder". I tried my best to talk her into a rescue but it seems that she is set on getting a puppy from her friend. She is asking me questions (because she knows I LOVE all things dog!) and I would like to giver her some helpful info. Could some of the yorkie folks here help me out? I'm not real familiar with this breed, and the last thing I want to do is give her wrong information! Here are some of the questions she has:

-The "breeder" plans on keeping the puppies until 12 weeks of age before sending them to thier new homes. Is this a correct amount of time?
-She also asked about tail docking, this usually is done asap after they are born correct?
-What and when is involved with the first shots?
-how about dew claws? are they removed at the same time as tails getting done?
-Do yorkies ears generally stand on their own? If not at what age should they be cropped?
-What things should she look for when choosing which puppy to buy?

She said that the "breeder" claims that Yorkies are easily trained to a litter box. I'm not sure that is really a breed specific thing, in my opinion any smaller dog could be trained to do this with hard work and effort. Am I way off base on that? I think the "breeder" is really trying to sell this girl on getting one of her puppies, so she is filling her full of you know what. I think that should pretty much cover the basics but any more info is welcomed and greatly appreciated. I couldn't convince her to rescue but I figured I could at least help educate her on the breed so she goes into this with the correct information, as I don't feel like she will get this from the BYB.

Thanks in advance!

Lindsey

[kcalbat]

hello,

i know its been a few days but better late than never to reply! In my honest opinion anyone who does not show(or have evaluated) or work their dogs to prove them breed quality and who do not genetically tests their dogs prior to breeding are considered backyard breeder.

So i believe that breeder to be unethical. However if your friend is deadset on getting a puppy from that"breeder" than I suppose that is better than her going to her local flea market or pet store and purchasing a dog because at the very least, she know the parents and what they look like and how they act.

To answer some question, as far as I know yorkie ears stand up naturally although there are a lot of poor quality yorkies that will have drop ears or half prick which is very incorrect for this breed.

That breeder has a great idea in keeping the puppies until 12 weeks. Most show breeders of small breeds will hold puppies for longer periods of 12 to 16 weeks. Im glad she is not trying to dump such tiny puppies off on people at 6 wks or even younger as is a really common practice.

Some breeders give the first set of shots. A maltese show breeder I am talking to now told me she recommends that the new owner should take their puppy to the vet for a health check within 72 hours of purchase however DO NOT regardless of a vets recommendation give the dog shots. She says to give the puppy two to three weeks to adjust to her surroundings and get used to her new home before getting the remainder of her shots so as not to overload and stress the puppy out. I think this is important for small dog breeds.

I believe, but am not sure, that tails and dewclaws are removed within days of birth and probably at the same time but someone with more knowledge should clarify this.

I know that small breeds tend to be difficult to housetrain but I imagine it will be easier to litter train this breed than to train the dog to go outside and potty.

I hope this information helped some! Good luck!
Kelli

[Cassiepeia]

Yorkie ears aren't cropped, they stand naturally.
The tail is docked around 3 - 5 days after birth (if the breeder didn't do it, there's nothing wrong with it having a natural tail...it's not like it's going to knock things off coffee tables or whip peoples legs to shreds ).
The dew claw (from what I've read) is also generally done about 3-5 days after birth.

Cass.

[calgal]

I'd also tell your friend to make sure the breeder has the puppy bile acid tested first, since liver shunt is common in the breed. Also to have the Vet. check the knees of the puppy. Luxating patella is something to watch for in small breeds and sometimes can be detected early.
I have two Yorkies I got from a lady who shows them. She never lets them go before 12 weeks, sometimes longer depending on the size of the puppy or to watch for a possible show quality. The ears should stand by 6 to 8 weeks, some are sooner but if they look weak, then they are generaly shaved and taped. Tail docking and dew claws removed are generally done at three days old, making sure the puppy is well and healthy first. The white tips of the nails are also kept cut.
Make sure she gets all paper work from the Vet. and especially one that states the puppy is healthy.
These guys can be hyperglycemic in just hours of not eating, so tell her to have some puppy Nutri-Cal on hand, and also some baby food meats and the finger meat sticks. The puppy needs to be fed tiny meals about every three to four hours till it's about 3 or 4 months old, depending on how much it's eating.
I know I'm going to leave things out of this, but if it's super important, I'll get back to you.

[schnzrluv]

Thanks so much for the replies and helpful info! I think she has decided to wait, she is worried that since she didn't get the raise at work that she thought she may not have enough extra money right now for a puppy. I'm happy that even though she was set on this bad breeder, she at least is thinking financially responsible. I'm hoping that it will be a little easier for me to talk her into a rescue later on since she probably won't be able to get a puppy from this litter. She really has good intentions, just wanting a family pet that her and her young boys can spend time with.

Thanks!
Lindsey

[rmci]

Oh, good. She's being responsible. Hopefully she'll change her mind about rescues.

[Novel]

She sounds like she'll be an excellent dog owner, hopefully you can keep working on her in the meantime.

[frazzled1953]

My yorkie had one puppy in October. Her tail was docked when she was 3 days old. My sister breeds Yorkies and she usually keeps them until between 10 and 12 weeks. They are very small when they are born and even at 12 weeks mine only weighed 1 pound 2 ounces. She weighs 3 pounds now. I kept her instead of selling her. I started her shots at about 11 weeks. She just got her last one on Monday. Yorkies are an awesome dog. I had three but recently lost one because of illness she was 8. My sister's yorkies are 11,13 and 9 years old. My yorkies are very friendly sweet dogs.