Just a Thought. When in Rome.......
I have friends in UK, Ireland and New Zealand they all got their Yorkies before 12weeks of age. I understand all the benefits of keeping pups with the Mama dog in the best situation. But professional breeders do breed and raise pups for commerical sale and profit. The product is the puppy. (Here we would call them BYB or small scale Puppy Mills)
Sadly we can not change the world in a day. Breed clubs should set the rules for their breed. That is a good starting place. Our Yorkie Club says 12 weeks. To get their seal of approval we have to follow their rules. The state of Florida says 8 weeks is long enough. But Yorkie breeders should follow their club rules.
I don't have a prejudice against small scale private breeders. I used to be one. I did not breed exclusively to improve the breed or strive for bench show dogs. My goal was healthy well socialized Lab puppies that would become service dogs. We had 2 or 3 litters a year. Usually One or two pups from each litter was selected to be placed at 7 weeks old. They were the pups that had the best potential to become service dogs. So that left the rest of the pups to be sold as pets. Honestly I can not imagine keeping 20 Lab puppies in my tiny home until they are 12 weeks old. Most females come into heat and whelp with in a few days or weeks of each other.Two litters could yield up to 25 pups ! Potential service dogs were placed at 7 weeks with a trainer. The whole reason I am telling this ( rather long) story is to say: I believe that pups place before 12 weeks old can work out fine. It depends on how they are taught.
The PREMIE
ADOPTING A PUPPY UNDER 12 Weeks old
Congratulations on your new Puppy. A
Yorkie puppy should stay with his mother until he is about 12 weeks old. If Your puppy is younger, you have a premature puppy in a way. You will have to be his mommy and teach him like she would.
1. Umbilical Tethering
Is a wonderful way to bond with your puppy and keep him safe. Hook a leash to his harness and put the other end on your wrist. He will feel secure, he can see you, smell you, and hear your heart beat and breathing. When he is not hooked to you he should be safe in his crate or play pen. You should resist the urge to carry your puppy around. This is a human instinct for human babies. Doggie babies
need to walk and learn to follow the leader. Walking is much better for them, it makes their muscles strong and teaches them to look to you for directions. They learn by watching and doing what the leader does.
2.
Potty Prep
The mother dog begins to push the puppies out of the nest area to potty at 4 weeks, at 6 weeks they follow her to the potty place and copy her behavior. So you have to pick a place and take your baby about every 2 hours during the day. They really
do not know they can hold urine, when they feel the urge to pee they pee. When they are 8 to 10 weeks old, they begin to understand they can wait a few minutes, you can begin true potty training. Always
praise if they potty in the right place. Potty breaks should be short. Say your cue word ' POTTY NOW' give him 3 to 5 minutes to potty. If he goes, praise 'Good Potty' pet and maybe reward with off the leash play time in a fenced yard. You are teaching him potty first, then sniff and play is ok.
LOL I don't mean to write my book here. But puppy training is my passion. Everything they learn the first 24 weeks of life forms their basic outlook on life. So it is so important to set up a good foundation of training and social behavior.