Quote:
Originally Posted by bchgirl  Well....you could break down the cost. Hopefully puppy lives to be 14 years old. So a 1400 dollar puppy is 100 bucks a year. 
I understand what you meant...truly I do...but in my case to get a puppy from a breeder whose goals and breeding program met my criteria...I was willing to spend the money to obtain that.
I could buy a yorkie puppy out of the newspaper here...any day of the week for 700 dollars, but honestly I doubt any of those breeders would meet my expections. |
Those "bargain" puppies can end up being much more expensive in the long run. Breeders who sell their puppies for $700 do not health test the parents nor do they do any genetic screening. As a result, they are much more likely to produce puppies with one or more of the inherited problems Yorkies are prone to like liver shunts or luxating patellas. Surgery for both those conditions run into the thousands.
My Lady is a poorly bred rescue and her vet bills are
$5,000 a year now.
Another thing to consider that if you want a Yorkie who looks like a Yorkie is supposed to look, you have to get a puppy from a breeder who is carefully breeding to the standard. "Bargain" puppies come from parents who are way off standard and the result is puppies who grow up to be pretty far from the standard, too. Many of those bargain puppies grow up to be much, much bigger than the standard calls for, often weighing in the teens.
This article is about Maltese, but is an excellent explanation of pet versus show quality:
Maltese Show Dog Versus Maltese Pet.....What is the difference?