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Originally Posted by RachelandSadie  |
I think you can get lots of great advise from Cesar, but one thing great about Yorkietalk, is the advice you get is breed specific. What is good advice for a larger breed dog is not good advice for the toy breeds for example, collars, a large dog can wear a collar with no problems. toy breeds do better in harness. Cesar's advice on the 8-week rule is actually longer than what some states require but these rules are the same for all breeds, and the toy breed is considered to have special needs by the experts in those breeds.
The Maltese breed is another toy breed and this is taken from a Maltese breeder website: I've substituted the word Yorkie for Maltese.
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Why is there a 12-week-old rule about selling a Yorkie puppy? Have you ever wondered why it is fine to place a large breed puppy at 8 weeks old as opposed to a small breed puppy? Why does the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America code of ethics require a Yorkie puppy be 12 weeks of age before they are placed in homes? There are many reasons!! I am going to compare lab puppies to Yorkie puppies because I have had experience with both breeds in hopes of making it more easily understandable as to why this "12-week-old" rule exists for Yorkie and many other "toy" breeds.
At birth there is not a lot of difference between Yorkie puppies and lab puppies.......both litters depend on their moms for food, comfort, and heat. Shortly there after the differences start to become very apparent. A litter of three week old lab puppies are up playing and maneuvering around pretty well and are usually 3 pounds or more in weight. They are also getting their teeth and starting to eat gruel. A litter of Yorkie puppies at three weeks of age have an average weight of 13.5 ounces and are just barely starting to get up on their legs and maneuver around readily....they have very little coordination at this point.
By four weeks old a lab litter is usually weaned from their mom. Yorkie puppies at 4 weeks old are still very dependant on their mom's for nourishment although at this point I have moved the water bowl down for them to lap and they do lick at mom's food.
By eight weeks there is a drastic difference between a litter of lab puppies and a litter of Yorkie puppies. Eight week old lab puppies usually have their teeth now and are eating puppy food. They are also much larger at this point with an average weight of between 20 to 25 pounds. They also seem to be mentally more mature at this point to me and are able to go to their new homes. In many cases, my Yorkie puppies do not even have teeth and are still nursing their moms at eight weeks old.
At eight weeks old my Yorkie puppies whose "average" weight is 1 pound 9 ounces usually start to get teeth and when those tiny needle sharp teeth start to come in is when Mom decides it is time to wean. This is a very important and scary time for Yorkie puppies. They are used to having a milk bar provided for them and many do not really want to eat that nasty old gruel. Since a Yorkie puppy is still very small, normally less than 2 pounds, they are also in danger of getting hypoglycemia which is caused by them not eating enough. This can be a very dangerous time for a Yorkie puppy since hypoglycemia can result in seizures and even death if not taken care of immediately. This is also the normal time when a Yorkie puppy starts to learn about puppy etiquette from it's mom and any other adults around and from playing with siblings, if there is more than one puppy in the litter. They learn about appropriate doggy behavior at this point. This is very important for the future well being and mental stability of this Yorkie puppy. Yorkie puppies learn some valuable lessons in the weeks after weaning, including how to get along with other dogs, and that biting hurts. These are lessons, all learned in puppy play, that no dog should be without. Some of the most important lessons in life, a puppy will learn from it's mom and siblings. They NEED this time with their mom and littermates!!
An eight week old Yorkie puppy may or may not be ready for it's first puppy shot. Resent studies on vaccination have proven that vaccinations given to a nursing puppy are basically worthless. They need to be weaned for that vaccination to do what it is supposed to do. My Yorkie puppies are usually just receiving their first puppy shot sometime between 8 and 10 weeks old." http://www.foxstonemaltese.com/12weekrule.htm |
I'm not saying that you shouldn't read Cesar, I just saying that he isn't giving breed specific information in this case, and we are trying to give you that.