*Please check for this*
 

I've been searching for a new stud for my breeding program and thought I found the right one.

I called a exhibitor/breeder here in Az. (one I thought I could trust) and asked her about a male, she said she did not have any of hers available but had a 7 month old boy that she had bought along with his sister to show from another exhibitor/breeder in Ok. she said he would be too small to show but would make an excellent stud. He had a very nice pedigree so I was very excited. We ended up buying him and a couple days later when I went to change his topknot I noticed an open fontanel (soft spot) about 1/2 inch in diameter.

I took him to my vet and she said I should not breed him because they cannot disprove that he won't pass it on to his offspring. She said he would be more suseptible to siezures and hyrocephalus. She also said the font wil not close if it hasn't by 7 months. I was heart broken and already falling in love with him. I spent a ton of money on this pup and my husband was furious. We suspect the breeder knew about the font because of how far his topknot was placed back on his head.

I learned a valuable lesson. I cried for 2 days after finding this out and decided we needed to return him. We needed a good sound representaion of the breed for our new stud. We took him to the vet in the 3 day time per the contract so she did refund the money.

Most of us know the basic questions and things to check for when buying a dog, it never occured to me to look for an open font in a 7 month old. So please don't forget to check for that soft spot.

I'm sure she will turn right around and sell him to some unsuspecting person. So beware Az.

Wow ! Thank you for info on this .. I will check for this in my next baby!

Good info :thumbup: Not always something we think to check for in yorkies. And its a reminder to be extremely cautious when buying a puppy

How horrible!!! At least you were able to get your $$ back!!!!!!!!

Wow Iam sorry you were deceived, thats awful, Thanks for letting eveyone know about this, I for one would have never gave it a thought.

Is this the same kind of thing that chihuahuas get?

Yes, but it is common in Chihuahuas, Not in Yorkies.

My 5 1/2 months old Mochi also has an open font on her head. The vet said there is still some time to grow. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

when we went to look at sassy a person my daughter knows told her several things we needed to check for and that was one of the most important things
i felt the top of her head and felt the soft spot just as if it were a babies soft spot. when we took sassy to the vets for her check up approval i told him about this and he said if the head still had the soft spot when we bought her then we bought a premature puppy, that the soft spot should be gone when they are ready to be taken away from their moms. we bought sassy when she was 8 weeks old
the vet did say we had taken very good care of her and that she was very healthy

Georgia has a slight open fontanel. The breeders were honest about it when we got her, and both they and the vet said that it would probably close up within a few months, but if it didn't, it wouldn't put her at risk for any health problems. If they classified it as "slight", do you think she's still at risk for seizures and hyrocephalus?

I'm sorry you had to go through this but thanks for posting. I didn't know this is something to check for.

I'm not a vet so I can't answer that. But my vet told me there is a reason it did not close. Maybe check back with your vet in a couple months.
Being a young pup I wouldn't worry too much, wait and see. In my situation it was a 7 month old whose should have been closed already.

am sorry girl. That is heartbreaking after thinking you have a nice little stud coming.
Shame on them knowingly doing this to make a profit!! And a good breeder hmmmm ?
Some are just in it for the profit and they knock down the small breeders who they say are in it for money hmmm seems so are some of them:rolleyes:
I have those bloodlines in my pedigree with my little guy too bad it did not work out.
I do hope you can find another nice little stud for yourself. Keep looking.

i have never heard that an open fontanal was a genetic defect???? some very small yorkies will have this and it is frequent for any very small dog. most will close by a year of age.
this is the first i have ever heard this. i will have to do some research on this.

you are right, this is genetic. i spelled fontanel wrong in the above post.
in all my studies, this subject has never come up.
but like any genetic defect, it can HIDE for years before ever rearing its ugle head.