[Lolasmom1211]

Originally Posted by KimInMD

Hi Jordan, Welcome to Yorkie Talk! Thank you for being so polite. We don't think you are trying to scam us. We believe there are real, live pups available for sale. The red flags I mentioned were because we strongly suspected these were not your pups, based on your answers to the questions. Most reputable breeders can tell you every little detail about their pups, like it's current pounds and oz. weight and exact birthday. Most won't ship a tiny pup, won't rehome before 12 weeks, and want to speak by phone to all prospective new homes to screen out the bad people from the good. The people you are dealing with here are very knowledgeable about all things Yorkie. Many are professional dog show people, and only breed to further their champion lines, and occasionally sell extra pups that are born non-show quality (like the wrong coat texture). They spend thousands of dollars in genetic testing and hundreds of hours studying their lines to make the best possible genetic matches for their dogs. While I'm sure your sister's dogs are wonderful and healthy, poor breeding practices have caused many genetic illnesses to creep into the breed. Your dog can be a carrier, and be perfectly healthy, but pass on a life ending illness to the puppies. Sadly, we see this happen every day here on Yorkie Talk, so people here are more leery about purchasing a dog who lacks the proper testing and pedigrees. It's so much more than just having a fancy piece of paper to put in a frame. A tested, pedigreed dog does not sell for much more here than what you are asking for your sister's pups. Since buyers here are more savvy, your ad may not generate much interest. An un-championed, un-pedigreed, non-tested dog may only go for a couple hundred dollars here on YT. I'm sure that your sister is basing her prices on ads she has seen in newspapers, but unfortunately, our poor economy has resulted in many people trying to breed their pets to make some extra Christmas or vacation money, all because they heard that cousin Suzy sold her puppies for a huge amount of money. I wish your sister luck in finding new homes for her (very cute) litter. By the way, I could be wrong, but it looks like your sister's female is a bit bigger than 5 pounds too. Others may know better than me. You're welcome to stick around to read and learn more about the breed we are all passionate about.

What a great post. You've explained it with understanding and class! Thanks for taking the time to write this.