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Originally Posted by aanjsmom  first, THANK-YOU to all who replied to my first post..... as I said, I am trying to learn everything BEFORE making a dog decision.....that being said, I have lots of questions , hoping for answers.... ; )
1. A lot of you have spoken on the concerns with small children and yorkies..... I am wondering if having the children first , then getting a puppy is better than having the dog for a few years, then having children. I would hope it makes more sense for training, to accustom children to having a small dog, rather than trying to teach a yorkie to "share" his owner( since the census is that they are VERY protective ) ????? does this make sense?
2. can someone explain the health issues that Yorkies have over other dogs....are they worse? that was mentioned more than once...and was it mentioned for expense purposes, or because I have children and that being a cause for concern??? I wasn't totally sure I understood why that was mentioned ( other than just General knowledge)....I have owned many dogs in my life growing up...all breeds have their own issues....but are Yorkies susceptible to far more etc????
3. There are 2 breeders here in my province that breed Yorshire Terriers....but I am not sure what the KEY words are that I should be looking for ....or the RED FLAGS that I need to know. could someone clarify to me what is good vs. bad???? thank -you!!!!! : )
looking forward to the responses.......  |
#1 - the thing about small children is just that they tend to play "roughly" with dogs -and tiny dogs, Yorkie's in particular, can be a bit "fragile". So as far as that goes, if you know that you can teach your kids to always be very gentle with the dog, you should be ok. It is definatly easier to have the kids first, then get a puppy, the only thing you have to consider is whether or not the breed you choose does well with children and is hearty enough to hold up to their playing. Like I said, the main issue there with Yorkies is more that they can very easily get injured by a young child who doesn't know any better or if a child is running around playing and doesn't see the dog and they step on him or something, a small Yorkie can get really injured, where a bigger, sturdier breed won't have an issue there. It really depends on the specific children's personalities IMO. It's more about whether the dog will be safe with young children and not be too scared by their rambunctious playing.
#2 - You're right, each breed has their own predisposed issues. I don't think Yorkies necessarily have a longer list, but since they are very common, their "breed issues" tend to happen more frequently. Luxating Patella (slipping knee) is common (and that one can go back to the young child issue too, if they were to drop the dog for example) - sometimes it's just hereditary, sometimes it's caused by too much jumping. They tend to have sensative stomachs, pancreatitis is common and they also tend to be very picky eaters. Liver shunts are also common. None of these things are going to cause any harm to your children, but treating some of them can be very expensive (I think those that had surgery for LP paid on average $2000, just for an example). Like you said though, these types of things can happen with any breed, Yorkies just seem to have their own "breed issues"
surface more frequently.
#3 - Red Flags are things like them advertising "teacup", "mini", "micro", not letting you meet the dog first or not meet it's parents, wanting to ship it to you, not being willing to answer any and all questions you have before hand. The main thing is that you get to meet both of the litter's parents and the puppies before you choose. You should get a health guarantee, vaccine records, high quality food recomendations etc. Here's a good link to learn about some "rules" in choosing a breeder :
Guide to Finding a Reputable Breeder
Good luck with your searching and research
, keep the questions coming if you have more