Welcome Kristina! You are going about this the right way -- research first and then purchase the right pet for your family! An important factor will be finding the right breeder. You want to find someone that really cares about their dogs, raises them in their home where they can socialize from day one. A breeder that puts the health and temperment first and breeds within the Yorkshire Terrier standards. YTCA (Yorkshire Terrier Club of America) is the parent Club that establishes the standards and gives them to AKC. if you go to
Yorkshire Terrier Club of America you will find a list of recommended breeders. That is a great place to start. Once you pick a couple near you, go to their home and see where and how the puppies are being raised. You will see quickly if they are in this for the money or really care about the breed and individual puppies.
Once you have a breeder, ask here on YT for references. Usually someone has bouht a puppy or at least visited the breeder and can give more information. Stick with AKC breeders. Most offshoot registeries were established by puppymills after the AKC banned them or at least set regulations that puppymills were not willing to meet. Even AKC registered is not a guarantee of quality but it increases your odds.
Ensure you get a good health guarantee. Most reputable breeders will guarantee at least a year against genetic conditions. Check to see if they offer replacement or refund, or better offer to at least help pay the vet fees if you decide to keep a puppy with a health problem.
Make sure you see the mother and father. It is not a guarantee that the puppy will grow to look like either but again, the odds are increased that they will get most of their traits from mom and dad. Make sure they are not breeding females less than @ 5 pounds. The male should be a little smaller than the female. Females should not be bred until their second heat and no earlier than 18 months. Ask the breeder their philosophy. I like to know why they decided to breed the particular male and female. It lets you know if they had a goal in mind to produce quality pups, or if they just put together the most convenient pair available.
Breeders should keep puppies until they are at least 12 weeks old and at least 2 pounds. Some very small puppies may need to stay with mom and siblings a little longer to be safely rehomed. You want them to get a great start with lots of teaching from mom and siblings. It can make a world of difference to their personality as well as health.
Once you have picked out a breeder, decided on a puppy, then you need to really start getting ready for your new family member. There are "stickies" on this site that will help you know what you need to buy to be ready. If you do not have a sizeable savings in reserve, I recommend getting pet insurance or a CareCredit card to take care of any potential emergency vet bills. I will leave the food, supplies, training etc. for another post. I have already gone on longer than I had planned. I must be in a talkative mood today!
