[Woogie Man]

Wow!!!...what a charged topic. To me, the most important thing is health. A sick dog is never a bargain, no matter the price or pedigree. The thing about yorkies is that they change so much from puppy to adult. It's very hard to know what that cute puppy will turn out like so it's very easy to be misled about what you're actually getting. Looking at the parents only gets you so far and can be misleading. Health testing of the parents is no sure fire way to guarantee a healthy puppy. Liver shunt can skip many generations before being expressed in a pup. And just because a pup comes from show lines doesn't necessarily mean a better, healthier or cuter pup. Not all show line pups are show quality, some are far from it. The breed is less than 200 years old and many throwback traits are still being expressed. Line breeding to weed out undesirable traits can create set in health issues due to lack of genetic diversity. I think the best thing for the average buyer is to not buy a Yorkie pup less than 3 months old. By that time, you can get a fair idea of what the pup will look like as an adult. Of course, you must still find an honest breeder that is truthful about their dogs and doesn't just tell you what they think you want to hear. People without much experience with Yorkies are at such a disadvantage if they happen across a dishonest breeder. My experience has been that, with Yorkies, you get what you pay for, if you're lucky.