buying a new puppy

[boquanzhu]

I am looking to buy a yorkie puppy for my gf, she wants one the really small and she can carry in her bag(T-cup), she wants the dog about 2lb to 3lb full grown, and we found some breeder in TX have them in a resonable price(not going to pay $8000 for a dog), We going to fly over from NY next week, and going to look at a 1/24 born male weights 1Lb8oz and another female, breeder told will be less than 2lb full grown.
I need some suggestion about how to tell if its a healthy/good puppy. and how big they can get. or any ohter things that important to bewared of. the trip+puppy gonna cost us about 5k so we want a healthy puppy.

[fasteddie]

Welcome to YorkieTalk, boquanzhu! A lot of the questions you asked are found in our FAQ at the link below:

http://yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6016

Personally, I would think you'd get a better price in Texas rather than NY for a smaller-sized Yorkie (there are no such things as teacup Yorkies). But do beware that there may be additional problems with their health due to the smaller size than a standard 4 to 7 pound Yorkie. Good luck on finding a new Yorkie!

[Bentley'sMom]

Like fasteddie said, there is a greater risk of problems when the puppy is smaller than the standard. 2-3 pounds is very small and vet bills could be quite high in the future if medical problems arise. I have a 4 and a 5 pound yorkie and they are both small enough to carry in a bag without a problem (heck, sometimes I carry both of them in one bag, although that gets heavy after a little while). You also should try finding one local as that will save you costs. check out the following websites for some breeders in your area. Good Luck! (Oh and be sure to avoid any breeder who advertises "teacups". These are just tiny yorkies that breeders have overpriced. A breeder should be very particular about the home they place a tiny yorkie in, not increase the price and try to sell it as a designer puppy).
http://www.ytca.org/breeder3.html
http://www.shooterdog.com/breeders.htm

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Hi and welcome to Yorkie Talk! You came to the right place to ask your questions! The tinies, or teacups as some refer to the smaller size, are becoming more expensive because they are not all that common and they are in demand. I am sure you ahve already figured that out! I saw my "dream puppy" this week but she was $10,000!! Mostly because she is so perfect that the breeder (a show breeder btw) doesn't really want to sell her.

I own three smaller yorkies and I love them, but it is hard to tell the smaller ones from the standard in a lot of ways, because they are all within a lb or two of each other. In my opinion, structure should be the determinant for adult size rather than weight. You can have 2 yorkies that are 5" high and 5" long and one can weigh 2 lbs and the other 4. It depends on whether they are delicately boned or densely boned, whether they are fat or thin, etc.

I think you can find a small baby doll faced 4 lb yorkie and be perfectly happy.

The most popular "pet look" right now is the shorter snout, smaller ears, thick coat, big eyes, dome head and wide face if all that makes sense. Some of these things aren't evident to an inexperienced person before 9-12 weeks of age so it is best not to purchase a puppy earlier than this. In my opinion, it is best for tinies to stay with the breeder until 16 weeks at least. You might want to find an experienced breeder or other disinterested, but knowledgeable person who will go with you and help you. You could offer to pay them for their time. This would be ideal. Afterall, you are choosing a dog who will be yours for 15 years most likely. Maybe someone from the local chapter of the YTCA would be willing to help you out.


Breed health problems to look for include luxating patellas (slippping kneecaps), open fontanels(growth plates in head not fully closed), overbites(upper jaw longer than lower jaw), hernias, liver shunts, etc. None of these can be prevented by the breeder necessarily but you can ask about the parents and the grandparents, however this is not a guarantee that the puppy won't have the condition.

Good luck in your search!

[Lyz517]

I would ask if the pups are being health checked by vet before sale, are u getting a vet health certificate, maybe even get the vets number and give them a call regarding the breeder. Make sure eyes and nose look clean and clear, hair silky.
If your getting a AKC registered dog, give AKC a call and make sure breeder is in good standing, maybe even type breeders name or kennel name if they have one in a internet search engine to make sure there have been no negative postings about the breeder. Also no breeder can guarantee you how much a dog will weigh as an adult..it is just an estimate by what their size currently is. Yorkies are small to me in general...the breed is a toy breed and dont usually get big. I believe breed standard is 4-7lbs. It really isnt much either way so be sure that what u want is a doggie that will weigh only 2-3lbs as adult. They are way more fragile, may get hypoglecimia often, their lifespan may be shorter. Goodluck

[lily24]

Hi and welcome! I agree with them. The smaller they are the bigger the vet bills are. Make you get some type of health guarentee also especially if your paying the price ive seen some go for.
Good luck!!!!

[Luvmypupster]

I have a feeling I know which breeder you are looking at and if by chance it is whom I have in mind you might wish to look elsewhere. The going rate for a male of female pet quality puppy from reputable breeders whom are active in the YTCA & local chapter of BluebonnetYTC, rescue, etc. about 18-24 months ago was 800. even for the smaller babies. I don't know what the going rate is at this time but I sure can't see it soaring to 10.000 Be very careful buying from Texas. There are known problems here. Do your research and find a good breeder here, we have good ones too! I paid 800.00 for Mia and have a lifetime guarantee against genetic problem, the breeder will replace the dog or pay half for any medical bills for things like luxating patella, etc. I would never relinquish her but I feel better knowing that should she ever develop bad knees or any other problems, I would have some help from the breeder. Mia (check out her album) http://www.yorkietalk.com/gallery/sh...500&ppuser=164 has a beautiful silky, glossy blue coat, is within the standard , weighs 5 lbs, has a great temperament, she was bred by a hobbyist/show breeder that has a very limited number of litters a year. Mia was sold as pet quality due to an under bite which is now very minimal. It's not noticeable at all. I couldn't be happier with her. I'm using her as an example that you can find a nice puppy for much less than 10.000 in Texas.
My post from another person thread looking for a puppy in Texas follows.

I have a yorkie named Mia, she's just a few weeks shy of being 2 years old and I have a Bentley (my maltese), he's almost 4. There are some very good breeders in North Texas but be very careful, we have our fair share of bad ones as well. Please stay away from the newspaper around the DFW area. There are people whom are acting as brokers for mill operations placing ads. They bring them in from mill alley Oklahoma, Nebraska, KS, MO, etc. Not to mention we have plenty of mill operations here in Texas as well and sure don't need to bring them in from other states. Also avoid pet shops. Stay far away from Traders Village, Canton's famed Dog Alley and any other flea markets. There are several well known puppy breeders in Texas that have notoriously bad reputations. They have great little websites that look wonderful but they are mill "fronts". Red flags for these are the number of puppies they always have, sometimes breeding several different breeds of dogs, the acceptance of credit cards, etc. The breeder always comes off as sounding knowledgeable & wonderful. I'm not saying you can't find a great little dog out of the paper or off the net but just realize the potential for stumbling across a bad situation is there. Can't tell you how many people I know or have heard of buying yorkies and maltese over the past 4 years that have ended up with extremely sick dogs, many of the pups have died. I feel terrible for the people whom are heartbroken over these sweet babies. Research whom you buy from and Trust you gut feeling. I have info on reaching the local chapter of YTCA whom has a list of good reputable breeders here in North Texas. She is very nice and helpful. I also know information on many of the breeders on her list. If you want the contact info send me a pm and I'll get it to you. About 2 years ago the going rate for yorkie puppies in the North Texas region from local YTCA members was 800. for pet quality male or female. Don't know if it has gone up since then but I thought it was very reasonable.

[tfc3rid]

Who is your breeder?

[red98vett]

I can't add to any advise ....Please read Luvmypupsters post very carefully before giving deposits.......but I CAN help a little with breeders - can you share who your looking at ?

[HeatherHamptons]

I got prince from www.coffeecreekkennel.com

Unfortunatly it seems that they upped their prices...DRASTICALLY. I paid $600 for Prince INCLUDING shipping and there is nothing wrong with him. He has a slight underbite but I dont mind. It's not really noticable at all. No medical probs though.

Now her prices are more then doubled. I can tell you though, that Prince is one happy boy here with us.

Im hoping they are not brokers but ofcourse I have no way of knowing and when I bought prince I knew NOTHING about puppy mills, brokers, and the scam that can and does happen.

I was lucky with Coffee Creek. I got exactly what I paid for.

You can always look on www.puppyfind.com you're bound to find one there that you adore.

Either way...good luck!

[boquanzhu]

Thanks for all the help I am intereted 1 at yorkieluv.com. the puupy we want is named bodie on the website.

[Ilovebaby]

What a doll...I don't know anything about the breeder, but her adults are beautiful and the pups are cute too....that's a lot of yorkies though..i don't think i would be able to handle 7 adults and 10 puppies...eeekk...1 is a lot for me.. lol
GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! Let us know how it goes!

[Missy's Mommy]

I just checked the site and it looks really nice, I dont see anything that would raise a red flag. All her adults are beautiful and the puppies are really cute, reasonably priced too.

[boquanzhu]

I am gonna fly there next week to check out the puppy, hope he worth the trip