Please explain why?
 

Why do yorkies leave there mom at 12 weeks when other dogs do it at 8 or even 6 weeks? Ive been told its better for the pup and im not exactly sure why. My neighbor is all excited to get her new girl and is planning on bringing her home at 6 weeks. For the sake of the pup Id like to be able to explain the risks clearly. Thanks guys

Getting a yorkie baby at 6 weeks????:eek::eek: OMG, that is way to early! My pups were probably not even fully weaned from their mom at that age & still just learning to eat puppy mush. I can't even imagine letting a pup from a bigger breed go that soon.

The first obvious reason would be their size. Look at a 6-8 week old yorkie pup compared to a 6-8 week old lab pup. Big difference! Puppies of all breeds need to stay with thier mom & siblings longer also to learn socialization skills; all that play fighting siblings do and that the pups do with mom is not just playing, it's learning. I remember when my female seemed to be being mean to her pups; yet I learned she was actually teaching them or correcting them in what was acceptable in the pack & what was not. If a pup is taken from it's family too soon, it will not have enough time to learn those things & have socialization issues later on. Yorkie pups are also prone to getting low blood suger (hypoglycemia). If this is not caught & treated right away a young pup (or even not so young) could actually die from it.

These are just a few of MY reasons not to let a yorkie puppy go. IMO, adopting a yorkie puppy out a 6 weeks of age is unthinkable. If my pups were at a good weight & the family they were going to had experiance taking care of yorkies, I might let one go at 10 weeks. But never, NEVER, at 6 weeks. JMO

I hope your neighbor re-thinks about taking in a yorkie puppy so young. I wish her & her puppy good luck.

Many people sell puppies at 6 weeks of age just because that is what they have been taught. They just don't know any better. A 6 week old puppy should still be nursing it's momma at least a little. Most are not completely weaned at 6 weeks. The puppies need more time with their litter mates and mom to learn social skills. Weaning is a very stressful time for puppies and often that is when problems like hypoglycemia and coccidia show up. If you sell a puppy that young and the new owner is not knowledgeable about caring for a puppy that young then the puppy could possibly die. Also, it is not recommended to start puppy shots until the puppies are at least 8 weeks old. I see no problems with some of the bigger puppies being sold at 9 or 10 weeks, if they are over 2 lbs, but I think it is best to keep the tiny ones until they are at least 12 weeks old.

I totally agree, I've never let one of my puppies leave my house before 10 weeks. With me it is usually between 10 and 12 weeks. I just feel they are too small, not completely weaned from their mommy, haven't learned all their socialization skills, need to be more mature so they can handle being away from mommy and littermates. I wouldn't even buy one for myself that young. A couple of years ago I did buy a male and was told he was 9 weeks, but I swear he looked and acted like a 6 week old, he ended up dying a week after I got him, I think he was just too young to be taken away from mommy and his little body was stressed out from being taken away so young. I hope your friend will ask the breeders if she can hold the puppy until at least 10 weeks, if not I'd buy elsewhere. In my opinion, a breeder that sells that young, doesn't really care about the welfare of the puppy, just wanted to quickly get them sold.

Cheryl
:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork:aimeeyork

I agree with everything that has been said so far.

I have to wonder why she would even purchase a puppy from a "breeder" letting them go so young. I hope she's done her homework and gets a good guarantee on that puppy. The choice is pretty simple to me, does she want a healthy puppy or does she want one that she will have to keep a constant vigil over and even then, could still have some pretty severe problems?

Six is weeks is way too early. The pup still needs his/her mom for nursing, and socializing skills. There are a lot more risks in taking such a young pup.

This thread is a great example of what can happen when you take a baby away from it's mother too soon.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...tch-break.html

I got one of my dogs at 6 weeks one time all I have to say is that she was alot of work everything was more difficult she was barely cutting teeth she could barely even eat I had to figure alot of things for myself about how going to survive. I was under the understanding that she was 9 weeks when I picked her up and when I received her papers it would have only been 6 weeks when I got her shes a great dog I just think that it would have been much easier on her if she left her family a couple weeks later

Although this article was written by a Maltese breeder, it also applies to Yorkies since both are toy breeds and similar in size:

Why do Maltese puppies need to be 12 weeks old before going to a new home??

Very good article, thanks for sharing.

thanks guy. I going to show my neighbor this site and let her read your responses herself so I dont come off to pushy. Im under the impression shes getting the pup from her moms friend and the pick up date was determinded by when shell be in the area visiting her mom. Quite a long raod trip from what I understand. Maybe shell reschedule. For the babies sake I hope she does.

Maybe the breeder of the yorkies will let your friend just pick her puppy at 6 weeks and hopefully the breeder would keep them a least few more weeks.

Not only is 6 weeks too young but it is against most state and federal regulations. Although it is hard to enforce regulations on someone unless they are licensed. I have seen some states don't even allow you to offer your puppies for sale until they are 8 weeks old. I know a lot of people here don't like USDA breeders but that is federal that would apply to every state and their regulations state 56 days old.

Unfortunately, only fifteen states have laws regulating the minimum age a puppy can be sold. Texas is not one of them. :(

Age to Sell Puppy Table

The Animal Welfare Act which is enforced by the USDA only applies to wholesale breeders so backyard breeders, etc. fly under the radar.