I think the reason most reputable breeders don't allow puppies to leave earlier than 12 weeks is that there are significant health issues that young, immature yorkies have that only an experienced breeder is capable of handling when they occur. Yorkies are still so fragile even at 12 weeks and they need constant 24/7 care. I can't imagine getting my babies before they were even eating solid food.
Of course, it's less expensive for the breeder the shorter time they have the puppies and have to care and feed them, but the socialization aspects are so important too. I make the analogy of being sent to a boarding school as an elementary school age child. You are away from your mother and your siblings and you don't really learn the things your mother is supposed to teach you. Having a puppy with it's mother and littter mates during those early weeks is crucial to proper socialization in my opinion.
Sometimes mothers die in child birth, or abandon their babies, and there is sometimes only one in a litter, so there are different circumstances that occur where taking the puppy away early is unavoidable. |