[poohchk25]

Hi everyone! My name is Pam and I am new to YT. My apologies for the long post but I really wanted some insight from more experienced buyers/breeders. I have been actively looking for a yorkie for the past couple weeks and came across a local breeder named Nikki M. from Arcadia, CA and wanted to know if anyone has had any experiences with her.

I can't remember where I found her from, maybe breeder.net but she told me she had 4 puppies available. I contacted her earlier in the week and expressed my interest and she called again today and I went to meet her at the house. She told me to call her when I got off the freeway. I called her twice on the way there - once because I was running late and the second time because I was lost. She did not pick up. I finally found the house and she opened the door and told me to give her a few minutes because someone else was picking up their dog. She asked me to wait in my car, which I thought was peculiar.

After she was done with the other family, I went inside the house and she asked me if I wanted a boy or a girl. I told her I wanted a boy and about 10 minutes later, she brought out a boy. He was simply adorable. I proceeded to ask her some questions and she answered them for the most part, although it seems that she did so hesitantly. I told her I have been doing some research and sometimes health problems don't surface until 5 or 6 years of age. Her dogs come with 1 year congenital guarantee, she hasn't had problems before (this is her second litter and she says she only breeds once a year), and told me that sometimes, health problems can't be found and there's nothing she could do about it. She said she spends a lot of money on the parents (whom she bought from a well known breeder) to make sure they are healthy.

She told me that another person was interested in the dog and that she would give them an answer once she knew mine. I asked her if that meant I had to make a decision right then and there. She said yes. She was asking $1400 for the dog, which I thought was a little steep since she didn't seem like a professional breeder to me, and it wasn't a decision I was ready to make at that instant. I told her I wanted to show my mom the pictures I took on my phone, she told me to email the pictures, and I told her that my mom doesn't use the computer. She then told me that I could put a deposit down on the dog to hold her and let her know later so that she can tell the other interested buyer that the dog was spoken for.

I have always grown up with dogs in the family but for the most part, we get them from friends or adopt them from the pound. This is the first time I am looking to buy from a breeder. I preferred that it was local because if there was a problem with the dog, I could bring it back directly to the breeder. I'm just wondering what I can do to protect myself as a buyer. This particular seller seemed awfully pushy to me, which is what led me not to buy the dog, among other things. Are breeders normally this pushy when they supposedly want their "dog to be put in a good home"? What questions and answers should I be looking for from sellers and what red flags should I be aware of. Any help would be awesome. Thanks!