AKC registered vs not

[ConnieandFrank]

Hey guys thank you all for your responses.
I have a few questions...what is the real difference between buying AKC registered puppy and one without papers? I have offers of 750.00 for registered and 500 for not. They both look cute and all but I'm just asking. How big do they get full grown. I saw pictures of the parents without papers and seemed a little bigger than the ones I've seen in books. Also I've read in this forum that the little ones can give you a heard time in trainnig. So what do you experts recommend? pad training when I get him home or crate train? thanks
Connie and Frank

[Nancy1999]

I'm not sure you could say much about the difference in puppies, if one is registered or one isn't. I think its really important to find a breeder you believe in, and find out how much they know about the breed, and if they've done important health screening on the dam and sire. When choosing a puppy, price is probably the least important factor, if you get too good of a bargain, it may be because the breeder skipped some important and costly tests. You have to decide what's important to you, Yorkies can live 16 years, and will be an important part of your family, choosing a breeder that is actually trying to improve the breed means choosing a breeder who breeds to standard, which is 7 pounds and under. It also means silky hair instead of cotton, which is 100 times easier to care for, and will save you many grooming hours. Adding a pet to your home should not be an impulse decision, it's one that takes time, much like adopting a child, I think. Here's a good link to finding a good breeder. http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Good_breeder.pdf

[RustysMom]

Ok, here is my personal thoughts on the paper issue... Hope no one gets offended.... I prefer AKC registered dogs and the reason why is that I am into genealogy and AKC registered dogs do have a verified family history that usually goes back to England around 1870. While papers may not mean anything to many people, it means alot to me. Sure, I have my problems with AKC and I do not approve of every rule they make, they are the best out there with the DNA and unannounced kennel visits. With AKC I can order pedigrees from my home if I want to research the parentage of my dog. I can do this online and have the pedigrees in minutes. For instance I wondered who imported a Yorkie from England and when, and I found I have 1969 as the oldest date in Rusty's pedigree so far. That is thrilling to me. ( I know, I'm strange) But to each his own they say.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by RustysMom

Ok, here is my personal thoughts on the paper issue... Hope no one gets offended.... I prefer AKC registered dogs and the reason why is that I am into genealogy and AKC registered dogs do have a verified family history that usually goes back to England around 1870. While papers may not mean anything to many people, it means alot to me. Sure, I have my problems with AKC and I do not approve of every rule they make, they are the best out there with the DNA and unannounced kennel visits. With AKC I can order pedigrees from my home if I want to research the parentage of my dog. I can do this online and have the pedigrees in minutes. For instance I wondered who imported a Yorkie from England and when, and I found I have 1969 as the oldest date in Rusty's pedigree so far. That is thrilling to me. ( I know, I'm strange) But to each his own they say.

Oh, I totally support the AKC too, mainly because they are the only registries that do routine unannounced inspections and DNA testing. It's just that I don't think one could say that and unregistered or registered dog would be any better or smaller, which the OP wanted to know. When choosing a breeder, the first step was an AKC breeder, but not all of them are great, and some even sell dogs from mixed registries, so you know it's not about improving the breed for them.

I think the pedigree research is pretty interesting too, and I don't think your strange.

[Philly]

All of the Yorkies I've had in the past had papers. But Bailey doesn't have them. I got her from a private home that had both parents. The couple didn't bother to get the papers for them. I wasn't concerned because I saw the parents and was satisfied, and I was not going to breed her anyway.

I only paid $350 for Bailey and she is one of the prettiest and good tempered dogs I've had.

[RebelBelle]

It really depends. Unless I was getting a puppy from a rescue situation, I would definitely want AKC registration as that is a sign of a good breeder. HOWEVER, that is not the only sign of a good breeder. So I think the most important thing to do is to research the breeder you are interested in purchasing from. Once you trust your breeder, then you should be able to let them know what you need and they should be able to let you know which puppy(ies) would best suit your family.