I looked for over 5 years for a yorkie pup. it took so incredibly long because I, too, wanted to steer clear of the puppy mills and such. It was so hard because every time I would go to the flea market they would have puppies there...several different breeds of puppies, including yorkies. and i would just cry because I wanted one so bad but refused to buy from what could be a puppy mill. I was so close to taking one home one time, but they didn't have any females so I passed. yes, it was a puppy mill but the wait was just becoming soooooooo long and I wanted a puppy so bad!! well, the wait paid off. I...once again....looked in the newspaper and called every number in there. the first question I asked was "do you have any females left". I usually got a NO and that would end the conversation. Nothing against males, I just have always had better luck with female dogs. my own personal preference. Anyway...if they did have females, I would say "what other breeds of dogs do you breed". if they went off on this loooooong list of breeds, forget it. If they only named one other breed, I would keep talking. Because some in home family breeders may have another type of dog in the house. example...a friend of mine breeds danes and pekinese (don't know how to spell that hehe). Anyway...I was determined that my puppy was going to come from a family that raised the puppies IN THEIR HOUSE. not out in a pen. My puppy will be socialized...meaning that when the breeder had company over, the puppies were around them. I did not want my puppy to come from a pen. I have found in the past that they are just harder to potty train if they came from living in a pen their whole lives. just my past experience, not a professional opinion. I am sure there are others out there who have not had the same experience, but this is just my personal experience in the past. ( I am trying not to tick anybody off, can you tell ??
) Anyway, if you are as picky as I am, I think that these are the things you should look for. Also, look for a breeder that can show you the mom and dad...as well as possess the previous qualities I mentioned. Make sure that when you go into their house, ask if you can use the bathroom
this way, you know they are not afraid for you to see anything they may have in another part of the house. when I got maggie, she kept me in the front room that she called the pupppies play room. and only brought the females out to see me since that is what i was looking for. Well, I wondered why she was coralling me in there, so I ased to use the restroom. she was more than happy to let me use the bathroom and then proceeded to show me where the mommy, daddy, and puppies were. They were in her bedroom...puppies in an xpen and parents laying on her bed. I felt really good about this. I was able to meet the parents and knew for a fact that they were raised inside their home.
I would also be sure to have a list of questions...ask about the parents health history, what the puppies have been eating and how much/how often, ask if they use the bathroom outside...or if they have ever been outside. I only mention this because maggie had never been outside. they were "paper training" the puppies. of course, at 11 weeks old, they were not trained but she had never taken them outside to potty. That was kinda difficult because when I first took maggie out to pee, she freaked out on me. but we are doing just fine now
she rings her bells and goes out
anyway, these are just the things I looked for. and no one gave me this advice, it is just the stuff that I found that I really wanted in a breeder after looking for more than 5 years and finding a lot of dead ends.
Good luck!!! it will be so worth the wait and dedication that you are taking to finding a good breeder. I hope you don't have to wait 5 years
Let me end this by saying that I really hope I am not ruffling anybodys feathers here. I know there are a million yorkie owners here on this site and I am sure that there are people here that breed more than one breed of dog and I am not bashing you at all...just saying what my own personal preference is. There are some people out there that breed 4 or 5 different breeds of dogs and they are not puppy mills...so I don't automatically jump to that conclusion. just thought i would let you know