[rjwalt]

I just got my first Yorkie from a breeder, he was about 9 weeks old. No health problems, he was practically housebroken when he came home and eating solid kibble very well. Of course he was a tiny bit bigger than a lot of these tiny Yorkies going around, he is charting to be around 6-7 lbs. His parents had no health issues and he adjusted and begin running around my house like he owned it on day one. I believe the main reason why many yorkie breeders and other toy breeders keep the pups till 12 weeks old or longer has more to do with the size and how fragile they can be when they only weigh a few ounces. They are also a lot easier to contain, feed, and take care of because the litters are relatively small. I see no difference in my Yorkie's level of maturity or independence, if anything, he was more ready. I never had a puppy that would sleep in a crate night one all night without a peep! Of course, maybe its just him

I have only had big dogs (Rottweilers, and an Afghan Hound) and they all came to me at 8 weeks which is pretty much normal for 95 percent of dog breeds. My family raised Rotties when I was a growing up and by the time they were 6 weeks old, trust me you were ready for them to go to their new homes but they always left after 8 weeks after they had first shots, wormings, and there was time enough to see if there were adverse reactions from the vaccines or questionable test results.