[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by Naomi

Hi, im naomi and & im new yorkietalk and yorkies in general lol :P
Well im in HighSchool, I enjoy shopping, the beach & im completly addicted to cold stone icecream lol Well im exploring getting a yorkie. Im ready for a dog & i figure that this time around, i want a small one and hopefully a girl ive done a lil browsing online but i figured id join a forum and meet some of your yorkies
(oh & dont worry, my future college accepts dogs under 20 pounds, so im prepared)

Plz introduce yourselfs & your sweet lil yorkies. also, i was wondering, i saw a yorkie at petsmart, and usually yorkies are all spunky and happy, but this one was super super small and looked tired & sick, it was like the size of a baseball and its owner was carrying it and she said "thats just how teacups are", is that true? that all teacups are sickly? i would never want a dog that small, but i went to the petshop close to my house and they have normal healthy ones.. but they are like $3000+, is that a normal price? And should i be going to a petstore? But i couldnt find any breeders in miami

Lol sorry if im totally clueless

Welcome, Naomi. First of all, those are all EXCELLENT questions to be asking before getting a Yorkie. You should get lots of good advice. The 'teacup' question is one that always sparks debate. You will learn that there's no such thing as a 'teacup' Yorkie in the eyes of the American Kennel Club that registers them. A Yorkie is a Yorkie, and the 'standard' is 7 pounds and under. Many breeders today have taken to calling tiny ones 'teacups' because the Paris Hilton crowd thinks the tinier the better. Many -- and I won't say all -- YorkieTalkers think tiny is not better. They are prone to more illnesses, including liver shunt. There's another problem that I can't remember the name, but the skull does not fully develop and they can have a dangerous soft spot. I would advise that you look for a Yorkie whose breeder thinks she will grow to the 4 to 7 pound range. In my opinion, the bigger, the more durable they are. Mine are 9 pounds and 4 pounds, and I worry far less about the 9 pounder's safety.

I would encourage you not to buy from a Pet Store. They don't have good reputations for caring for their pups.

I'll let others tell you how to find a good breeder.

Again, welcome. Your college sounds like it rocks by allowing little dogs.