Questions to ask breeders!

[Love4Bella]

So I am looking for a new yorkie baby to bring into our home. I have found a few on puppyfind but I am so terrified about having a puppy shipped that I haven't physically seen before. I did with Meeka and thankfully I got very lucky. The breeder I got her from does not have any puppies at this time and isn't planning any new litters for a while so I must look elsewhere. I want to know what are the questions that I should be asking the breeders before adopting a yorkie? I am sure you all can give me great advice on what needs to be asked! Thanks soo much!!!

[SET Yorkies]

Send the following email address a request for their breeder's packet.... It contains everything you need including a list of like 30 questions and the kind of responces you should expect from a good breeder.... Also, our website has a dissertation on choosing a breeder that I think is a must read regardless of the type of dog you want to purchase.... Also, feel free to give out this info to anyone... Healthy pets of Texas is bombarding message boards with the free info packet trying to stop puppy mills through buyer education, so I urge anyone reading this post to requestion the information, read it, if you are comfortable with it, pass it along to anyone thinking of purchasing a puppy.....

Send an email request to : healthypetsoftexas@yahoo.com

http://www.southeasttexasyorkies.com/choosing_a_breeder

[urbnalbino]

Originally Posted by SET Yorkies

Send the following email address a request for their breeder's packet.... It contains everything you need including a list of like 30 questions and the kind of responces you should expect from a good breeder.... Also, our website has a dissertation on choosing a breeder that I think is a must read regardless of the type of dog you want to purchase.... Also, feel free to give out this info to anyone... Healthy pets of Texas is bombarding message boards with the free info packet trying to stop puppy mills through buyer education, so I urge anyone reading this post to requestion the information, read it, if you are comfortable with it, pass it along to anyone thinking of purchasing a puppy.....

Send an email request to : healthypetsoftexas@yahoo.com

http://www.southeasttexasyorkies.com/choosing_a_breeder

Good post!

[yorkiesmiles]

I was thinking there was a thread somewhere on YT about this with a list of questions.... anyone know where?

[Sugar's Mom]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

I was thinking there was a thread somewhere on YT about this with a list of questions.... anyone know where?

There is a thread but some of the questions are not very intelligent at all. I think the list was written by a very immature person. Some of the stuff was just so unreasonable. Maybe do a search? there is also a bunch of stuff on AKC.org that tells how to select a breeder.

[MyFairLacy]

So funny...I actually started making a list of questions last night to save just so I won't forget in the future. It's just a rough list that might be added or taken away based on what I already know about a breeder. I personally will only buy from reputable show breeders so that's the starting place with me...I also REALLY prefer that the show breeder be a YTCA member. Being a show breeder & a YTCA member doesn't automatically mean the breeder is reputable though so that's where I start asking my questions to determine that or not... so far they are more about the BREEDER and not so much an individual puppy. I think it's most important to find a breeder you like first and then look for the puppy. so I'll share what questions I have on my list so far..


Why did you choose the Yorkshire Terrier as “your” breed?
Why do you breed them? Can you give me your breeding philosophy?
How long have you been involved with the breed?
Do you have any other animals (other than yorkies)?
Have you ever bred any other breeds?
Do/did you have a mentor?
What lines do you have in your breeding program? Why did you choose these lines?
Are you a member of any clubs involving the breed?
What do you do so far as health screening?
Do your dogs have certification from OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals?) for patellas, hips and elbows? Do you have certification for ears, heart, or thyroid through the OFA or eyes through CERF?
How well do you know the health history in your dogs’ pedigrees? How many generations back?
Have you ever had any genetic conditions arise? What did you do about it?
How many dogs do you own? How many females and how many males?
Where do you keep your dogs? Where do you keep the puppies?
How often do you breed your females?
How many litters do you have a year?
Do you require your puppies to be spayed/neutered? Do you give full registration or limited registration?
What is the minimum age you will let your puppies go to their new homes?
Have you ever been inspected by the AKC?
Have you stayed in touch with previous puppy buyers ?
Will you offer support (for questions/help) after the sale?
Have you ever have a dissatisfied buyer to your knowledge?
If one of your buyers can no longer keep the dog they bought from you, do you take the dog back? What are your policies regarding rehoming any puppies/dogs that were bought from you?
What is the price of your puppies?
What are the qualities that you look for in a new home for one of your puppies?
What is your health guarantee? What is your policy if a puppy develops a health problem?
What vaccinations/worming do you give puppies and what age?
What do you feed your puppies and adult dogs?
How do you socialize your puppies?
How do you start potty training your puppies?
What are the good and bad points of the parents? What titles to they have? How do you feel the two bloodlines compliment each other?
How would you describe the temperament of the sire and dam?
How much do the Sire and Dam weigh?
How old is the dam?
How many litters has she had?
Why are you not keeping this puppy for show? What faults does the puppy have?
What is the puppy’s personality like?

Hope that helps

[Sugar's Mom]

michelle, those are very reasonable and anyone should be able to answer them.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Sugar's Mom

michelle, those are very reasonable and anyone should be able to answer them.

thanks. I actually looked at that thread you were refering to last night and started with that. I deleted a lot of them and kept some of them and started adding my own. Of course, everyone has to make sure they ask what's important to them.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by MyFairLacy

So funny...I actually started making a list of questions last night to save just so I won't forget in the future. It's just a rough list that might be added or taken away based on what I already know about a breeder. I personally will only buy from reputable show breeders so that's the starting place with me...I also REALLY prefer that the show breeder be a YTCA member. Being a show breeder & a YTCA member doesn't automatically mean the breeder is reputable though so that's where I start asking my questions to determine that or not... so far they are more about the BREEDER and not so much an individual puppy. I think it's most important to find a breeder you like first and then look for the puppy. so I'll share what questions I have on my list so far..


Why did you choose the Yorkshire Terrier as “your” breed?
Why do you breed them? Can you give me your breeding philosophy?
How long have you been involved with the breed?
Do you have any other animals (other than yorkies)?
Have you ever bred any other breeds?
Do/did you have a mentor?
What lines do you have in your breeding program? Why did you choose these lines?
Are you a member of any clubs involving the breed?
What do you do so far as health screening?
Do your dogs have certification from OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals?) for patellas, hips and elbows? Do you have certification for ears, heart, or thyroid through the OFA or eyes through CERF?
How well do you know the health history in your dogs’ pedigrees? How many generations back?
Have you ever had any genetic conditions arise? What did you do about it?
How many dogs do you own? How many females and how many males?
Where do you keep your dogs? Where do you keep the puppies?
How often do you breed your females?
How many litters do you have a year?
Do you require your puppies to be spayed/neutered? Do you give full registration or limited registration?
What is the minimum age you will let your puppies go to their new homes?
Have you ever been inspected by the AKC?
Have you stayed in touch with previous puppy buyers ?
Will you offer support (for questions/help) after the sale?
Have you ever have a dissatisfied buyer to your knowledge?
If one of your buyers can no longer keep the dog they bought from you, do you take the dog back? What are your policies regarding rehoming any puppies/dogs that were bought from you?
What is the price of your puppies?
What are the qualities that you look for in a new home for one of your puppies?
What is your health guarantee? What is your policy if a puppy develops a health problem?
What vaccinations/worming do you give puppies and what age?
What do you feed your puppies and adult dogs?
How do you socialize your puppies?
How do you start potty training your puppies?
What are the good and bad points of the parents? What titles to they have? How do you feel the two bloodlines compliment each other?
How would you describe the temperament of the sire and dam?
How much do the Sire and Dam weigh?
How old is the dam?
How many litters has she had?
Why are you not keeping this puppy for show? What faults does the puppy have?
What is the puppy’s personality like?

Hope that helps

Great list, Joey's breeder answered most of those questions before I even asked them. The hard part was all the questions she had for me.

[MyFairLacy]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Great list, Joey's breeder answered most of those questions before I even asked them. The hard part was all the questions she had for me.

LOL Yeah, it's also very important that the breeder ask the potential buyer plenty of questions. If they aren't asking questions, that tells me they don't care where their puppy is going