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Originally Posted by momsdream  Hi, I'm new Yorkie Talk and need advice. My mother, who is in her 60's saw a gal in Beverly Hills with a very tiny Yorkie. The gal said the Yorkie was imported from Korea and was only 2 lbs at 9 months old and would not grow any bigger. This happened several months ago, and my mom still talks about that dog. My sister and I have been trying to find such a dog for our mom, who is widowed and a breast cancer survivor, so we are willing to go to extra expense to give her the surprise of her life. I joined Yorkie Talk after reading your recent posts about Posh Fairy Tail which was one of the places we were considering purchasing from. When I google the places we are considering (Luv Puppy in Seattle, T Cup Island in Canada , Lux Puppy in Canada, and Posh Fairy Tail in VA, no consumer complaints show up. If the puppies these places sell are so bad, wouldn't there be some consumer complaints that my sister or I would find? Thank you all in advance for the clarity I know you can bring to this situation. Maybe we need to use a different search method? |
Welcome to YT!!!!
Wow! Your mom sounds like a real tropper, and you sound like a caring daughter who wants to give her mom the best. You stumbled upon a great website!
Here are a few threads any new owner should consider:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...uch-thing.html http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ease-read.html
As for your question, some people don't rate breeders or pet shops, or importing breeders, unless a catastrophe happens. If the pup is sick and gets better with meds, it's generally kept quiet. If the dog has a congenital disease and gets sick later in life, ignorant owners chalk it up to a bad experience.
Why is importing puppies so bad? Same reason having puppies in the pet store is horrible. Since you have settled on this breed, I suggest you also read the YTCA website. It is the mother club that sets the standard for the breed and breeders. Two of the biggest rules that is often broken is breeding with one feature in mind (ex. tinies) and separating pups from their mother and siblings too soon. Let me explain.
When people breed for tiny, micro minnie, or "tea cup" yorkies, their only interest is producing small dogs without any consideration that a puppy that small will need special care for it's entire life. Smaller ones are more fragile and you need to have constant care for them. Also, when a breeder breeds for tiny dogs, all they see is two small dogs, put them together in hopes of producing more small dogs. They don't breed for soundness and you are in danger of purchasing a very sick puppy. No health or genetic tests are done in these cases. That does not mean that a tiny puppy can't be healthy, they are just more at risk. Some of the great breeders that breed to better the breed and for healthy puppies every once in a while get a tiny dog from their breedings. I also want to remind you that the Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog to begin with. The standard calls for a size 7 lbs and under. My boy is right at 7 lbs, and he is small. I buy him preemie clothes and then tailor them to fit him properly. 7 lbs is still small!!
On to separating pups from moms. YTCA calls for puppies to stay with mom a minimum of 12 weeks. This allows for puppies to gain important socializing skills. When dogs are shipped, they are torn from their mothers at 6-8 weeks of age. WAY TOO SOON!!!! If you search through the threads, owners with younger puppies often come here for help with sickness or behavior problems. There is a post from one of the most awesome breeders on YT that explains a puppy's development but I can't find it right now. I'll search for it for you to see.
There's a lot more information and all of it can be found here on YT. Feel free to browse around, and I hope my post is helpful!