Reputable Yorkie Breeder?

[CareBear718]

Hi all, I'm new here. I'm looking to purchase a Yorkie puppy. I've been looking around several websites, including petfinder and nextdaypets.com. However, I'm a little wary of those websites seeing as how there's little to no info about the breeders on there. I came pretty close to purchasing a Yorkie from an apparent puppy mill type breeder - via a listing on petfinder.com - had it not been for finding some info about that person on a thread in this forum. Anyway, my budget is not too flexible. I can work with around $600. If anybody can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

I had a dog - my sweet, beloved pooch - for 14 years, more than half my life. He passed away two years ago this past Friday, however. At first I never thought I'd own another pet again. Just couldn't bear the thought of having to go through that pain again someday. But now, two years later, I find myself once again yearning for that unconditional love and companionship they offer you with nothing expected in return. My baby boy was a big fella. But this time around I've decided on a smaller pooch. It was down between a Poodle, a Yorkie, or a Maltese. I'm pretty much sold on the Yorkie now though. Just don't know where to find a reputable breeder for around my budget. I found this one shop in Queens, NY (I live in New York) that I thought was ok. Until I read some unfavorable reviews here. Though the good reviews outnumber the bad ones, it still makes me very wary. So in short, I'd definitely appreciate some guidance.

[Beamers Mom]

Check these sections out:

Yorkies For Sale or Wanted - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

Breeder, Vet, & Groomer Reviews - YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community

And remember check the breeder out even if it is a member of this forum.
Also beware that some may send you a private message with offers of Yorkies, still be sure to check them out.
Ask questions on here about them, so you can get reviews.

So glad you discovered about Connie Fahey before being saddled with a possibly sick puppy. Good you are doing the research before buying.

Just don't forget that the less expensive puppies can sometimes end up being the most expensive - vet bills if there are any genetic disorders etc. Buying from a reputable breeder may cost a little more in the beginning, but in the long run be more expensive.
So sorry you lost the companion you had for more than half your life.

Good luck in your quest for a new companion, although they will never replace the one you lost.

[MyBabyFynnlie]

You don't want to buy a dog from a pet store. 98% of the time, it's from a Puppy Mill. And when getting a dog from a breeder, you probably won't find one for $600. When it comes to a Yorkie, because of the issues that they are prone to, you want to buy your breeder before you buy the dog. You need a pup with a good, healthy line. Check ytca.org and see if you can find a breeder from your area. You might be able to find a rescue or a teen. Another thing, and please don't take this badly, if you can't afford the dog, how can you afford the vet bills? Because Yorkies come with nice little vet bills. Even if they're healthy. Fynn's puppy shots cost me about $100 each time. Getting him neutered will be another $200. Then, there's his food, his treats, his potty pads (because potty training them is hard.), his toys, his bully sticks, his beds, his kennel... It all adds up. Not including the amount of money that I paid for him, I have probably spent $3000 dollars on him.

This breed is wonderful and I'm not trying to discourage you, I just want you to know that they're expensive.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do. Stay on this forum and check things out. Hopefully you'll find some useful information.

[CareBear718]

Beamers Mom, thanks a lot for the info. I'm going to take it nice and slow and not rush into anything until I'm confident I know all I need to know about the pup and breeder and that it's the right situation for all involved. I agree with you wholeheartedly that a new dog will never replace my baby boy. But he or she will be loved, cared for and coddled to pieces nonetheless.

MyBabyFynnlie, I appreciate the input. However, I'm pretty sure I can handle the financial responsibilities that owning a Yorkie entail. After all, I owned a dog for 14+ years and I can assure you he was well taken care of until his last day on earth. In fact, I took better care of him than I did myself. That being said, if I can help it I wouldn't want to break the bank in purchasing a puppy either. If I can find a healthy pooch for around $600 to $800, I'm all for it. I'm not looking for champion bloodlines or anything. Just a happy healthy little dog to spoil to bits.

[Reese1]

Ditto on the info about breeders the other posters have already mentioned.

Have you considered an adult Yorkie?
You do have a tight budget, but perhaps an adult would work?
It's not that you can't find Yorkies in that range, but you would have to be VERY careful about the breeders.
I'm sure you will get PMs from breeders wanting to sell to you here on YT, don't hesitate to ask about them and check them out.
The last thing you want is to be out huge vet bills due to poor breeding!
Good luck!

[FidoTheYorkie]

I don't agree with that a yorkie is hard to potty train, where i live the yorkie is the healthies breed around here, no health problems, there are about 90-100 yorkies here in my country, there is 1 yorkie alive here with heart disease and i know of one who had loose patellas, nothing else.
If you find the right breeder you should not have to pay much money for vet bills
Yorkie's are for the most of the time very easy to potty train, Fido was maybe a month to be house clean, than just sometimes when i forgot to take him outside, he pee'd inside cause he does'nt know how to let me know that he has to go outside, but now he lets me know cause now i know his signal for going outside

Please , do NOT get a dog in a pet store/puppy shop, they are in the most cases puppy mill dogs !
I reccomand that you take a good time in finding a good breeder, i was 9 months finding my yorkie boy, so it takes time
Its better to take a good time finding the perfect healthy dog than just jump on the first dog you see for sale and buy him, please take a good time in finding a PERFECT breeder and a perfect pup !

Good luck finding your yorkie!

[Rhetts_mama]

Please avoid sites like puppyfinder.com and nextdaypets.com , and be careful with petfinder.com. Unless you know all the clues to look for, you are likely to end up with a heartache from them. Petfinder.com is great for locating rescue dogs, if you found one that you suspect is a puppy mill, let them know because that is a violation of their terms of service.

No matter where you end up going, please read these threads first:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ease-read.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...uch-thing.html

[cj125]

Originally Posted by CareBear718

Beamers Mom, thanks a lot for the info. I'm going to take it nice and slow and not rush into anything until I'm confident I know all I need to know about the pup and breeder and that it's the right situation for all involved. I agree with you wholeheartedly that a new dog will never replace my baby boy. But he or she will be loved, cared for and coddled to pieces nonetheless.

MyBabyFynnlie, I appreciate the input. However, I'm pretty sure I can handle the financial responsibilities that owning a Yorkie entail. After all, I owned a dog for 14+ years and I can assure you he was well taken care of until his last day on earth. In fact, I took better care of him than I did myself. That being said, if I can help it I wouldn't want to break the bank in purchasing a puppy either. If I can find a healthy pooch for around $600 to $800, I'm all for it. I'm not looking for champion bloodlines or anything. Just a happy healthy little dog to spoil to bits.

It sounds like your first dog was not a Yorkie - that it was a larger breed - am I correct? Because we, too, had a Lab for 12+ years and we spent no where near the money on him as we have our Yorkies - and he was well taken care, too.

Many people have no idea just how expensive these little ones are - even healthy ones. I just took my Max (3 yrs old) to the vet yesterday. He had 3 teeth removed and one other tooth that had broken off but left the roots. (total 4) By the time we left yesterday it was $567! That was not including the $145 for shots, fecal and a couple of supplements last week. And this was just for Max.

And really, Max is a healthy, happy boy. We brush his teeth, he eats good natural treats, very little table scraps (bad hubby) and kibble. We're doing everything right - stuff just happens and I think that's why you'll see members bring the financial aspect up. Nothing personal.

[MellyBelly Mom]

Originally Posted by cj125

It sounds like your first dog was not a Yorkie - that it was a larger breed - am I correct? Because we, too, had a Lab for 12+ years and we spent no where near the money on him as we have our Yorkies - and he was well taken care, too.

Many people have no idea just how expensive these little ones are - even healthy ones. I just took my Max (3 yrs old) to the vet yesterday. He had 3 teeth removed and one other tooth that had broken off but left the roots. (total 4) By the time we left yesterday it was $567! That was not including the $145 for shots, fecal and a couple of supplements last week. And this was just for Max.

And really, Max is a healthy, happy boy. We brush his teeth, he eats good natural treats, very little table scraps (bad hubby) and kibble. We're doing everything right - stuff just happens and I think that's why you'll see members bring the financial aspect up. Nothing personal.

Isn't that funny that the hubbies are always the villain by giving our fur babies little table scraps?? I NEVER do, but DH will always try to find a way to give Melanie a little something... I used to get sooo mad... those days I just pretend I didn't see, since I think is harmless and only happens once in a while... He told me once that one day when she is a senior, he will give her a piece of a steak... LOL

[Beamers Mom]

Originally Posted by MellyBelly Mom

Isn't that funny that the hubbies are always the villain by giving our fur babies little table scraps?? I NEVER do, but DH will always try to find a way to give Melanie a little something... I used to get sooo mad... those days I just pretend I didn't see, since I think is harmless and only happens once in a while... He told me once that one day when she is a senior, he will give her a piece of a steak... LOL

Oh That is so true about hubbies! Bruce is always sneaking tidbits to the Yorkies even when I have asked him not to.
I usually allow them a little of the roast beef on Sundays, or a little lamb or chicken when we have lamb or chicken. But I don't allow them too much. (they have their beef jerky and their chicken jerky for treats, so it really is not much different letting them have a little of the fresh, but I don't want them to have too many tidbits from the table or they may refuse to eat the dog food!)

[BamaFan121s]

Welcome to YT! I am very sorry to hear about the passing of you little one.

This is a great site for information. There are lots of breeders here. A strong word of caution though: Please keep in mind that being a member of YT does not automatically make one a "reputable" breeder. Please be cautious with ANY offer you get on here from any breeder with available pups. It's not at all uncommon for breeders, many times very shady ones, to contact people privately via PM in an effort to stay 'hidden' so to speak and to avoid having their questionable practices exposed to newer members.

As with ANY breeder, really do your research on them and the red flags associated with Yorkie breeders to help you avoid being taken advantage of.

Good luck in your search! I'm sure the perfect furbutt is out there for you.

[MellyBelly Mom]

Originally Posted by CareBear718

Hi all, I'm new here. I'm looking to purchase a Yorkie puppy. I've been looking around several websites, including petfinder and nextdaypets.com. However, I'm a little wary of those websites seeing as how there's little to no info about the breeders on there. I came pretty close to purchasing a Yorkie from an apparent puppy mill type breeder - via a listing on petfinder.com - had it not been for finding some info about that person on a thread in this forum. Anyway, my budget is not too flexible. I can work with around $600. If anybody can point me in the right direction, I'd really appreciate it.

I had a dog - my sweet, beloved pooch - for 14 years, more than half my life. He passed away two years ago this past Friday, however. At first I never thought I'd own another pet again. Just couldn't bear the thought of having to go through that pain again someday. But now, two years later, I find myself once again yearning for that unconditional love and companionship they offer you with nothing expected in return. My baby boy was a big fella. But this time around I've decided on a smaller pooch. It was down between a Poodle, a Yorkie, or a Maltese. I'm pretty much sold on the Yorkie now though. Just don't know where to find a reputable breeder for around my budget. I found this one shop in Queens, NY (I live in New York) that I thought was ok. Until I read some unfavorable reviews here. Though the good reviews outnumber the bad ones, it still makes me very wary. So in short, I'd definitely appreciate some guidance.

I agree with someone who posted that big dogs are less expensive... You are the only one that can decide whether you can financially support a small breed dog.

I grew up with mini poodles, they were my mom's and she still have 2, so I think I kind of knew how demanding and expensive it is to maintain and give a good life to these little ones...

When I got mine I had no clue... I was on vacation in Brazil and decided I wanted a little one to help me to cope with a loss I suffered at that time. My cousin is a vet and found me Melanie (from a breeder she knew) and I brought her with me to US. Well, long story short, my cousin (THE VET), didn't notice?? Melanie had ringworm in her right front paw (that later went to her butt) and earmites, she was 16 weeks old... Once we got home we had to go to the vet sometimes twice per week, I have no idea how much money I spent to get rid of the ringworm...

Then on top of that she had to have tons of baby teeth pulled and that with spaying her was about $800 alone... Now my vet tells me that yorkies are prone to early tartar, and that Melanie should get a teeth cleaning soon, which I'm delaying because I'm afraid of the anesthesia... She has VIP health insurance, but I soon found that they don't cover a lot...

I just want to show you how expenses can get crazy, I was lucky for being able to afford it, since I really did not do any research at all before getting Melanie, I did not know anything about the breed, just thought they were cute.. And even thou she is a pure breed has papers and all I only paid about $300 for her, but if I add up I think I spent close to 4-5K on her since I got her October last year...

Now I'm getting my second little buddy and even thou my mom and sis are coming from Brazil for Christmas and offered to bring me a pup, I decided that I rather pay top dollar here then risk dealing with health issues, Melanie is super healthy and happy, her issues were minor, but is not only a matter o money, is also a hassle, jeez at some point we were so lost!

Well, since you have limited budget, make sure you do research well, save a little money for emergencies and take very good care of your pup (feeding holistic food, brushing their teeth) so that it may help you to keep your costs under control... I read somewhere here that you can find rescue pups right after the holiday season... Maybe that could be a good option for you if you wanna a pup... Or even get an adult dog that is already spayed, has baby teeth removed, potty trained and all..

Good luck!!

[Reese1]

Originally Posted by cj125

It sounds like your first dog was not a Yorkie - that it was a larger breed - am I correct? Because we, too, had a Lab for 12+ years and we spent no where near the money on him as we have our Yorkies - and he was well taken care, too.

Many people have no idea just how expensive these little ones are - even healthy ones. I just took my Max (3 yrs old) to the vet yesterday. He had 3 teeth removed and one other tooth that had broken off but left the roots. (total 4) By the time we left yesterday it was $567! That was not including the $145 for shots, fecal and a couple of supplements last week. And this was just for Max.

And really, Max is a healthy, happy boy. We brush his teeth, he eats good natural treats, very little table scraps (bad hubby) and kibble. We're doing everything right - stuff just happens and I think that's why you'll see members bring the financial aspect up. Nothing personal.

I totally agree about the cost factor in larger breed dogs and we have always taken great care with every dog we have had!
Shoot, I had an American Eskimo for 16 1/2yrs that was 13lbs and he didn't cost me anywhere near the cost!

[Islandloverr]

First off let me say WELCOME to YT. This site is amazing, its like the Virtual Bible for yorkies.


I'm also in NY & looking for a yorkie. I was in almost the same situation you were in. I was going to buy a yorkie from a "breeder" in Cali....came to YT got some GREAT advice & left the breeder alone. I was looking for an older yorkie, but decided to wait until next summer to get a puppy. & I'm glad I made that decision, because now I have more time to research & get to know the breeder in interested in. So yeah don't rush into anything! Just like you wouldn't rush to have a baby with any-ol-body.....don't rush & get a yorkie from a stranger. Lol.

I also wanted to disagree on some comments that were made above. I was told the same thing " if you're on a budget then you CAN'T afford a yorkie". They don't know Crap about your finances but want to tell you what you can & can not get. Its perfectly understandable if you don't want to get an 1200-2500 dollar yorkie. & I must tell you, you CAN find reputable breeders that have puppies that are 800 & up. But from what I've noticed is that they're REALLY far away.....but if you don't mind traveling the distance...go for it. But like someone said earlier thoroughly check the breeder out 1st. There is a male puppy that is available right now in the wanted section that is 900 (if I'm not mistaken) & the members here rave over how beautiful the puppy is. & seems to know the breeder well too.

Once again it goes back to research......I've found a clean professional animal clinic that only charges $25 dollars a shot. A member here called "Wylie's mom" posted a thread about spay/neuturing certificates that you can get & you pay LESS than $100 for a spaying. (But you have to see if any clinics in your area accept theses certificates). The vet that I take my cat to did her spaying for FREE! & I love them they're location is convenient, they're connected to a ASPCA (that I want to volunteer at) & they're very affordable. If I ever have any problems with any of my animals.....I can literally RUN or take a 3 min bus ride there. So yeah, There are definately things out there that can work for you & most importantly your puppy. You just have to put in time ( a lot of time!! Lol ) and find them.

[Islandloverr]

& I just wanted to add that sometimes you have to pay what you just have to pay, it may break your pockets but its really what is best for ur yorkie. That's why I'm starting to save up all I can just in case something does come up.