[Belle Noir]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

My Jilly was 4 1/2 mos. when I got her and Tibbe was 9 mos. and I could not have been closer to either than I was with Jilly during her life and am with Tibbe. Neither of them turned out to be nippers or anything like that because they both had behavioral modification training and both became dream dogs as to their conduct and attitudes.

Personally, I would be scared to death to bring a 6 or 8 week old puppy home with all the risks plus knowing what it could be missing as to good old Mother Nature training by mom and littermates in the setting the pup was born into. I believe in giving the more natural way of letting the canine family structure educate and nurture a pup along with the input of the breeder until the baby has matured a bit into its own sense of self. That's when I can better tell what kind of a dog I am probably looking at as to temperament, plus, of course, conformity. Let momma dog keep her babies in her nest a while and let the pups grow and flourish under her care is my preference. I'll still have years and years to enjoy him.

I can understand and respect that. I guess having hand raised puppies, and done my research, I felt ready for anything Pixie could throw at me.
I admit, I wasn't prepared for how tiny she was, and I wasn't prepared for her not believing that Cesar's Puppy or Science Diet Dry Puppy was real food. I shouldn't have been surprised, though, when she started "stealing" my mother's cats' dry food about 3 days after I got her, when she was 9 weeks.
It was also about then....
Hmmmm.. I think I am having an epiphany. Pixie THINKS she's a cat because of the couple days at my mother's house with her cats!
She started eating dry food, stealing the cats food. She started eating wet food when Sweetie showed her it was really something GOOD (but not Cesar's I think it was Nutro puppy). When I'm on the floor and she jumps up on my back and perches on my shoulder, she is just emulating Cleo (or Chloe, I can't tell them apart).
Maybe she would have learned to use the litter box if she'd had more than 2 days with them, lol.
I'm only teasing a little. But Sweetie DID stick his nose in Pixie's canned food the second I opened it. But then the Nupro smelled like people food, and more appealing than the Cesar's puppy, so at the same time, while she could have started eating it, because Sweetie was trying to eat it, she could have wanted to eat it because it smelled so much better than what she was being offered.

So maybe at least another week with her mother would have helped with the food situation. I am willing to admit that. I am also going to go on record as saying that had her litter been offered food earlier then by 8 weeks she would have been if not fully weaned, at least capable of recognizing food on her own.

Originally Posted by Teresa Ford

Why 12 Weeks ? I follow the YTCA recommendations and guide lines. I have never seen any adverse effects because a puppy wasn't adopted until they were at least 12 weeks old. Do I believe that all puppies should be placed at 12 weeks ? No. I think some could be placed earlier and be fine and I think some benefit more by staying with the breeder an extra two or three weeks beyond the 12 week age. I feel strongly that every breeder should pay attention to their breed club's recommendations which are based on years and years of combined experience. I know I do not always have an answer. More often than not, I can find someone who has more experience, or can suggest research I can study. If I am in the minority about something, concerning Yorkies I would much rather be safe than sorry. If everyone is telling me the same thing, I pay attention.

I think we believe the same thing. I am not discounting the YTCA's vast experience and knowledge. But I am also not one to accept on say so. I want facts. Anecdotal information works as well. I am sure there has been no study done on puppies sent at 8 weeks vrs 9 weeks, vrs 10, 11, 12, and so on up to 16 weeks. Just as I am sure that breeders believe that for the most part Yorkie puppies do best when 12 weeks.
Now I am asking WHY, and explaining how the reasons given that I have seen, make no sense to me based on MY experience.

I am, once again, trying hard to differentiate MY personal experience with the experience of those with Yorkies.

You mean to tell me NO ONE has lost a mother, and had only a singleton puppy to hand raise? Obviously this has happened. And I am sure that in the end that puppy had no adverse reactions to being hand reared.
So no momma and no littermates.
What if this was an only dog? It's possible.
Granted the puppy in this case likely wouldn't leave the breeders possession, but where then is the beneficial presence of the mother and littermates? This puppy isn't broken or irreparably impaired by the lack of sibs and momma.
I can even see where this puppy may have to leave the breeders, if there was a puppy pick stud fee contact of live birth.
It's situations like this, that I KNOW have happened and unfortunately will happen again that make be question the REASONS given, OTHER than the HEALTH of the puppy.
But then as I have said, if someone is a professional yorkie person, then they know how to handle a younger than 12 week old puppy, and I don't see that it's wrong to let a puppy go before 12 weeks to that someone. They have the knowledge and ability to handle it.

I believe you said what I am thinking, but haven't yet put into words. This..
"Do I believe that all puppies should be placed at 12 weeks ? No. I think some could be placed earlier and be fine and I think some benefit more by staying with the breeder an extra two or three weeks beyond the 12 week age."
And also this..
"I know I do not always have an answer."

And that's why I ask the questions I ask. I am willing to listen, even if I don't come to agree with what's being said, especially when it is outside my experience, I respect what is being said.

Originally Posted by 1Ieisha

Well I think Belle Noir asked some good questions, and defended herself very well! I nean I don't see how she was stirring th pot, but if that's the way you see it then so be it. And I laughed because I could just imagine some of you getting all offended in front of your computer screens lol!! Like "how dare sge ask a question about something she doesn't understand!!" Haha!

But I agree with some of you, its recommended, the part about the shots, and teeth..
This really could be a good thread.

Thank you kindly. Sadly, I feel I have to walk a fine line between asking for information I haven't been able to find, and chance offending some people because I dared to ask a question about something I don't understand.
Gladly, as I have said, I have a thick skin, so I chose to possibly offend by asking a question, and thereby increase my own knowledge and edification at the risk of some ruffled feathers.

Making sure the teeth were in wasn't something I had thought of, so I LOVED that answer. As well as for shots. I guess I'm used to shots at 6 and 8 weeks, so it didn't occur to me that others may start the shots later, or use a longer spaced schedule.
Which actually makes sense with the little tinies (which includes ALL Yorkies).
Health should be the priority of every breeder and owner. Mental, emotional, and physical. And I guess because I have not seen with my own litters any difference between puppies that went to their new homes at 8 weeks, and ones that left at 10, or even 6 months, or 2 years... Because I would happily keep any puppy I had whose sale fell through, that didn't match anyone on my waiting list temperamentally.. I just didn't understand the socialization, bite inhibition thing that is the given reason.
Which is why I asked.

Not about the physical health, I agree with that 100% and that is reason enough for me... though some people don't seem to understand that I am agreeing that is a valid reason.
I am questioning the OTHER reasons given. And I think this is about the fourth time I have said that, lol.