If you search on me, I am one of the people that said I believe that some people CAN cross breed dogs and be reputable, but in your case, I have my reservations.
The little blurb on their kennel is just that, a sound bite made to make everything seem as though everything is wonderful in La La Land.
I want you to note, not one word was said about what KIND of vet checks were done. Not one word was said about bile tests, OFA, CERF. Nothing was stated about the betterment of the pure breeds.
Just a couple feel good paragraphs.
As for what you have read on the net about what age puppies can be sent home. Yes, GENERALLY puppies can go to their new homes when they are 8 weeks old. However toy puppies have special needs far beyond 8 weeks. Hypoglycemia is the foremost concern, and any reputable kennel will state that they hold the puppies until X time just to be sure they're past the time when they are most susceptible to hypoglycemic events.
That is typically 12-14 weeks, and even as long as 16 weeks in the case of super tiny puppies.
And what about liver shunts? That is a big concern in little dogs. What kind of information do they have about testing for it, symptoms to look for?
What other genetic issues may be present in the breed? Does the site say anything about that? And that goes back to what I said before.. What kind of genetic and structural tests have been done on the breeding stock?
Also, you will find Yorkies can be a bit difficult to house train. This is one of the reasons leaving them with the mother helps. She helps to teach the babies, making it easier to complete the training, because the basics are there. She also helps teach the puppy other little things that you don't think about, like coming when called, and bite inhibitionamong other things.
One thing sticks out to me as well...
Our dogs live in air-conditioned / heated buildings with all ground runs.
In other words, the dogs are kennel raised and NOT house raised. THAT in of itself is a huge red flag to me. You can't get to know each puppy when they're in a kennel.
And how do they match each family to each puppy? Do they use, for example, the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test or similar temperament tests? What kind of questions are the buyers asked to insure that the family and puppy are actually matched?
As DvlshAngel985 said, yes, all dog breeds came from somewhere, but they were not made by just throwing dogs together. There must be a plan behind the specific cross breeding to create a breed. And this cross breeding must go on for generations. At some point, introduction of parent breed genetics must stop.
A one generation cross is NOT creating a breed. Again, understand that I wrote several posts IN DEFENSE of people that are cross breeding dogs and COULD be reputable, and that there ARE people crossing breeding with the intent to create a new breed. I consider myself open minded, and I don't condemn people just because they're cross breeding dogs. However in this case, it doesn't seem to be the case. In this case, it seems that this person IS a large scale back yard breeder, or small scale puppy mill, and I would be hesitant.
I understand ALL TOO WELL how the hunger for a puppy can make a normally rational person do things they would not usually do, based on that emotion of wanting and needing.
But I am in a financial position to be able to afford MOST of the health problems my puppy may have as a result of not being bred from a line of tested dogs.
Can YOU afford a $1,200 liver shunt operation? What about a $3,000 femoral head osteotomy to treat for legg-perthes?
These things while known in the yorkie breed as a whole (and in the poodle as well) are LESS common in reputable breeder stock because of the extensive tests done on breeding stock.
And on those lines, how much is the breeder willing to assist in the cost of these operations should your puppy prove to need one or even both? What kind of health guarantee does she have that also protects YOU, the buyer?
These are things that you have to think about rationally, without the I WANT hunger. I didn't, and I KNOW that there is a chance I'll have to deal with one or both of these problems in my puppy.
Buying a puppy IS an emotional thing, but it always helps to think logically, and critically when buying a puppy, so as to make the very BEST choice for you. |