Im sorry but I looked at their websites 'celeb customers' page and nearly peed myself laughing.
AS IF! :headspin:

That's a good recommendation -- a bunch of people I've never heard of, and most of whom look like thugs or prostitutes. I think I recognized two of them...

Innacurate
 

Hi. I read you post and thought you all should know you are spreading FALSE information. Not only do I HAVE a 3 year old Yorkie form Gina and Ben, I have been to their house and seen the parents of my female puppy. The home and facility for the dogs is wonderful, they were great and I LOVE my dog, Sophie. They even contacted me after I adopted her to see how she was doing.

While I can appreciate your concern for animals, you should really be more careful about the information you spread. I can verify without any doubt that Staryorkie is a reputable and caring, incredible, breeder.

Wow, someone who just joined and their first post is defending a questionable breeder, not suspicious at all. :rolleyes:
This breeder breeds several breeds, breeds mixes, advertises "teacups" not to mention all the posts in this thread. Wouldn't touch a breeder like this for anything. :thumbdown:thumbdown:mad:

:thumbup:

LOL :rolleyes:
So.. just because you checked out their 'breeding facility' and it looked clean this makes them a good breeder? You really need to do some more research if that is your definition of a reputable breeder.

HAHAH they did a good job trying to fool people...oh, they also do "puppy birthday party" where they bring puppies to children bdays and let them pet and play with them for a certain amount of time (charged per hour). DISGUSTING! hmm...if they have so many celebs buying from them...why would they need to find other techniques to suck in money. :thumbdown:thumbdown

Hello, I have been reading this thread with great interest. First I would like to ask how you know their pups have hydrocephalus. That is a very serious disease that I would think would be obvious. Your post about this came out of the blue from what everyone else has been saying.
My second question is about finding a reputable breeder in the Los Angeles area. I have been searching online and have found a couple of breeders; reputable or not is a question that I don't know how to find out if they are. Can someone tell me how to find this out?
And lastly, you have been saying a lot about Star stating their dogs for sale are Teacup of which there is no such thing. This I knew, but while looking for a Yorkie I have found many, many places that say their Yorkies, etc are Teacups. Could it be that it is just considered now a way to say they are a bit smaller?
Thank you for your time.

Welcome to YT. I'll let Cpt Noonie answer your first question, but I will second the observation that the heads of the Yorkies on that site are not "right" and definitely not in line with AKC Standards.

As for finding a reputable breeder. First rule of thumb is "NO Petstores". Period. They get their puppies from mills. Some will use the line that the get them only from pirvate breeders, but no reputable breeder would sell to a store. To locate a reputable breeder, start by going to the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America's website:

Yorkshire Terrier Club of America

There is a breeder referral section. If those breeders do not have pups, they can help you locate another reputable breeder in the area.

Now for the teacups. No, it's not a new way to just say "small". It's a marketing term used by people trying to separate a fool from his money. The AKC recognizes only one category of Yorkies, Toy. This is a statement from the YTCA on "teacup", "doll faced", etc...

thank you Rhett's MaMa. You have provided me with a lot of good info and I appreciate it. No I would Never buy from a petstore. Never have, never will. this will be my first Yorkie and I have been doing a lot of research and talking to other people who have Yorkies.
I'm really curious about the Hydrocephalus. I actually had not heard about that in dogs. My father had it and I know of a child who has it. It is very serious. I read about it in dogs after your post and I went to Star's website and I did not see any indication that would lead Noone(?) to make that statement. so his response would be important as to why he feels that. Anything more I can learn to be on the lookout for on my search for my first little Yorkie. I am very excited about it and certainly want to avoid as many problems as I can.

Thank you again.:)

I said they LOOK like they have hydrocephalus, I didn't say I KNEW they had it. Take a look at the puppy at 0:07 sec, 0:32 secs, and also the one at 0:40 sec. (notice how they try to hide the whites of the eyes with their watermark, plus the fluffy puppy fur) A symptom of hydro is bulging eyes and you can clearly see the whites of the eyes towards the nose. Accumulation of too much cerebrial fluid causes the soft skull in puppies to bulge out and push out the eyes. To many people this looks "cuter", but they don't know any better.

The fact that they compare a puppy up again a hand, dwarfed by a hand infact, tells me they strive to get this tiny size. Look at the other pup compared with the hand at 0:48 sec, if that is a puppy, there is no way it is a full yorkie, the face is too white. At this age it should be black and tan still. Looks mixed with maltese to me. Don't get me started on breeders who breed mixed breeds. If that is a young adult or full grown, god please help that poor thing.

These people advertise teacup, and multiple breeds. Also boasting about their celebrity clientele. I will say this again. Leonardo DiCaprio is an animal and environmental activist, he would never buy a puppy from people like these. What else are they lying about?

Breeders who advertise teacup, micro, baby face, baby doll, hello kitty face are all trying to scam you out of more money. Just remember this, no breeder would call themselves disreputable, and of course they will be super nice to you before they get your money. It is how they treat you after they get your money that shows what kind of breeder they are.

Customer of Star Yorkie and Very Happy with Ben and Gina
 

I wanted to contribute my review of Star Yorkie as a person who bought a healthy, bouncing baby pomeranian from them.

I bought my Pomeranian "Otis" from Ben and Gina in 2007. When I went to their home, in the first room was a healthy mama yorkie feeding her puppies that were to be sold by them. They took me out back to their separate nursery where I walked into a very clean environment. They had a separate space for new born dogs they were bottle feeding and another room for dogs ready for adoption in clean little playpens. They had me use purell sanitizer before I picked up any of the dogs.

I walked over to Otis who was in a clean, dry and comfy playpen. He jumped into my arms and he's been my best friend ever since.

He's had no health problems then or since.

Now, I can't confirm his origin from Korea. I was told he came from Gina's mom over there and I was provided KDF Papers.

I can't confirm what the conditions are in Korea with Gina's mom, I can confirm their business is clean and I was sold a happy wonderful dog.

Also, these dogs are super expensive. So if you saw repeated listings of the same dogs it could be due to people putting down a deposit online which removes the dog, but they defaulted on the rest of the payment which relists the dog. Doesn't mean the dog was defective.

I think more homework needs to be done before congressman are called. Alot of this forum's discussion has been based on critique of celebrity mention and pictures of puppies in a hand to make the dog look small.
Look, marketing is a tool.

As far as the people who reported a sick dog with Star, I'm so sorry about your dog. Ben and Gina pay for the first vet visit which you need to do within the first week. Did you do that and have feces and blood test?

I'm grateful for breeders, because I wanted a dog and the first 2 rescues I fostered at home were overwhelming as a new dog owner.

Ben and Gina provided me a mentally/physically sound dog, pee pad trained and ready for this novice mommy.

Hi. Well I have finally read all of the posts against Star Yorkies. The only thing I have not found is where the information came from and the proof they are a puppy mill. I also looked at the pictures and compared them to other pictures on other sites as to their eyes as was recommended in another post. I see the same everywhere. If the dog is looking to the side, yes there is white. The dogs have a little light in their eyes from the camera, but I could not see anything remarkable that would cause concern. Of course I am not the expert as several of you seem to be. And wherever I go I will certainly keep this in mind when looking at any dog.
I very much would like to know this. As I said I have found them as local breeders in my area. I googled their name and the only bad reviews that I found were on this site and this was discovered a month after starting my research. I found on Google a lot of good reviews. could someone direct me to whatever started this thread of them being a puppy mill?
Thank you

Nope, not at all suspicious.

well that's not exactly what I would call a well founded response. In fact I have not seen one negative comment with any kind of proof. The person who started this thread retracted it and several other people have tried to provide positive proof which was either completely ignored or some kind of smart ass remark was made against the person. And now all you have to say is "Nope, not at all suspicious." No information, just another negative comment that means nothing.
All I am trying to do is learn and be careful about who I choose my dog from. Anyone can have a sick puppy. They are delicate creatures. I got 2 dogs at 2 different times from the ASPCA and both had distemper! I spent $1,000's in treating them only to lose both of them. So if you don't think I'm careful well you have another thing coming. I still have not found one piece of solid proof these people are using puppy mills. I certainly hope they are not and if I knew they were and had proof I would be trying to do something about it instead of just saying nasty childish things.
And Rhett's mama, I am shocked at your response to my questions. you were one of the first to provide me with some solid info. I didn't notice your name in these convo's as I was reading the content. But frankly had I noticed I would have thought since you seemed so willing to help you would have provided the info I was seeking.
I hope to enjoy other aspects of this site, but getting real solid info seems impossible. I can only hope the nice people who have contacted me privately will continue to be different from this groupl
GET SOLID PROOF PEOPLE B/4 YOU RUIN PEOPLE'S LIVES. I HAVE SEEN TOO MANY PEOPLE'S LIVES RUINED BECAUSE OF GOSSIP ALL MHY LIFE. IT SICKENS ME.

Try stepping off your high horse for a minute and read up a post. I wasn't responding to you. Nothing at all suspicious about someone who comes on defending a breeder in their first post only to never be heard from again.

Now on to your post, it was amply pointed out by others in this thread just what the red flags were. These are people who have seen it all in the bad breeder business. You were also told point blank that the dogs on the site fell so far out of breed standards that they might as well be called something else entirely.

Good luck with the ones who contacted you privately. Just know that there are quite a few scammers and bad breeders here on YT, too. Go to the looking for a yorkie thread and check out the stickies before you settle on your breeder.

Hey there! If you're serious about finding out what a good Reputable breeder is, here are some links of things you should read. And to answer your question about teacups, no reputable breeder would sell a tiny dog for a higher price. Instead, they place them in a qualified home where their special needs would be met.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ease-read.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ead-first.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...uch-thing.html

Hello mambolady. Please be aware that many comments are made to posts that people read earlier. They do not necessarily refer to the post that was just made. That said I did some quick research here are two sites
http://www.yelp.com/biz/star-yorkie-kennel-reseda
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/613669830
that are local and review Star yorkies. The first has 1 positive review and 2 discussing their sick puppies. The other has 24 reviews there are positive and negative reviews. Maybe the question is how lucky do you feel. You could go ahead a buy a puppy from them and get lucky and not have any health issues....or you could be very unlucky and have it be sick and have it cost you a lot of money. Just because people are nice and their facilities clean does not mean that they are good breeders. They could be breeding for size and cuteness and not for a healthy puppy without genetic defects. People on here get very emotional over these issues because they have been helping owners with sick puppies for years and come to recognize warning signs of a questionable breeder. I do not know about Star Yorkies so I will not offer my opinion on his practices. But I also wonder why every time the owner posted there was a picture of a different yorkie that was available. It was marketing under the guise of defending himself. The ultimate decision will be up to you as with any choice we make in life.

You are absolutely 100% wrong about this post and this is exactly what I was talking about. I know this person. I found her after locating StarYorkies looking for someone who had purchased a dog from them. Star did not give me the name, in fact I came across it quite by accident and proceeded to make contact. Information was given quite freely and all of it was good. Since then we have become friends. I told this person what I had found out when I found this site, YorkieTalk. After she posted I just knew someone would post exactly as you did. Just assumed Star had another person post in their favor as you all assumed before. Instead of providing me with the information requested, proof they are a puppy mill, you tell me to get off my high horse. Well yes I do have a horse that's pretty tall, thank you. As far as being told point blank the breed is so far off standard I must have missed that post. I truly did not see it. However I did say that I would take into account all the good information as to what to look for as symptons of hydrocephalus, but that was it. Your remark both to her and to me was something I would consider as well I can't say it here so I will just call it ridiculous. I will stay off this thread and hopefully find help on other threads. But when you do have the proof, I would really like to see it and so would my friend. We both are against buying dogs from pet stores and puppy mills.

Thank you for your info and for responding DvlshAngel985. I have read these articles and found them very informative. And thank you Buster Brown. yes I had seen the one that says there are 24 reviews. Apparetnly their computer is a bit off. There are only 10. 9 of which are good reviews and one is a bad review. I also read the other link with the 3 reviews. Thank you for providing this information. Yesterday I found another breeeder in Burbank I will be posting a request for info on this breeder. I also found on CaliforniaBreeder.com a cute looking female and when talking with the organization they advised the owner is in Okla, which I just read has a lot of puppy millers, so now If I decided I'm interested I need to find out about them when I get their name. CallifYorkie, etc says they do background checks on all breeders tho.

If I were you, I would stay away from a site like that. It doesn't change the fact that the breeders are not placing their pups themselves. If they can't be bothered to place the pups, screen the homes, and put in the effort, it's a sign they are cutting corners somewhere else. It

I clicked on the web link from another post and scrolled down looking at some of the pups. For only $3500 you can have "Micro Dave" who is going to be 2 - 2.5 pounds as an adult. Are you kidding?!

I hate to see puppies pictured next to soda bottles, hands and actually tucked into purses, but what really made me sick is the photo at the bottom of "Paris" a Maltese puppy. Am I the only one that noticed the verbiage on her little announcement? "This PRODUCT has sold out." Ugh, my stomach just flipped over.:mad:

RUN......from anyone that is selling pups in California they are getting from Oklahoma! With almost 100 percent certainty, the pup will be from a either a puppymill or large scale back yard breeder....neither of which you want to buy from, if you want a healthy puppy from a reputable breeder.

I don't care what kind of story the breeder/broker is giving you, if the pups are from Oklahoma .....DO NOT BUY!!!

Most of the posts here are regarding RED FLAGS. These indicate warning signs that the breeder may not be someone you want to buy from. These come from the websites themselves. I find red flags to be proof enough for me personally and I run far away from them.

I would never buy a pup from a site that allows me to "buy it now." That's just a bad sign. It means they aren't even bothering to screen homes. Look I can just add it to my cart!!! :thumbdown That's absolutely disgusting and deplorable in my book.

Good luck in your search. We can only educate people and hope they listen. If you choose not to that is your choice. No one here is forcing anyone to do anything. You are free to make your own decisions. However, buyer beware.

Thank you JenCarr. As it turned out I spoke earlier today after I posted this with someone whose friend bought a put thru them. And yes you are right! Thank you again.

Is there any chance you would go to a dog show, if I could find one near you and coming soon (within the next month)?

I had tears in my eyes... That is horrible, and just wrong!

Well I was just trying to go to the Rottie agility tomorrow and something personal happened that I can't go anywhere. Thank you Jencar98.

As far as Macro Dave's price...the first person I called who was a breeder and showed for 30 years told me Yorkies go for anywhere between $1500 and $3500. I said "you're kidding" and she said "no, Yorkies are very expensive." So seeing that price I didn't think anything of it after she said that. She didn't have any puppies and was retiring so none in the future. Turned out she was too far away anyway.

I came across another site selling different breeds of dog like the one we talked about where the dog came from Okla. This page even showed people with their headsets on waiting for your call. Like QVC. I thought that would scream puppy mill.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: mm hmmm

I will tell you why I am not wrong about the poster's statements. If she got a healthy pup, then she needs to consider herself exceedingly lucky. Nothing about the description of the place she saw the pup says anything except petstore/puppy mill.

How clean a place is does not guarantee a good breeder. It's important, but not the be all and end all.

Next comes the comment about the new born dogs being bottle fed. Unless the health of the mother is at stake, there is no reason for them to be doing that. It's absolutely not in the best interest of the pups. All pups should be with their mother for the first months of life. Not only does she provide nourishment, she provides essential social skills in their development. For larger dogs, they should be with mom a minimum of 8 weeks. Toy breeds should be with them at least 12.

Then, she said that the dam came from a Korean line. That again is another HUGE red flag. Korean dogs are puppy mill dogs. So the person here breeding them is doing nothing more than breeding puppy mill pups by extension.

The next thing she mentions is the price of the dogs. That one almost made me pee my pants with laughter. Price does NOT determine quality. And these dogs are proof positive of that. They are extremely off-standard. They are breeding really poor representatives of the breed.

Going back to the site it's self. They mix breeds. NO reputable breeders will breed mixes. Period. Reputable breeders strive to maintain the integrity of the breeds, not diluting them.

Look at the 2 yorkies on their front page right now. They are estimating the adult weights to be LESS THAN 3 POUNDS. That means, if they are correct, that they are breeding females who are far too small to be breeding safely. These extremely tiny dogs are prone to a myriad of health problems ON TOP OF the ones already endemic in the breed.



Then let’s look at the fact that they offer “puppy parties”. Holy cow! What reputable breeder allows pups to be out and about in the community before they are fully vaccinated? That’s a minimum of 18 weeks, but preferably 6 months if the rabies vaccine is held off as recommended for toys. That doesn't exactly scream "I've only got the best interest for the health of my dogs in mind."

Again, if this friend of yours got lucky and didn’t get a sick pup, then she should be thanking her lucky stars. But without a doubt, no matter how nicely you dress up the place and no matter how much someone charges, it’s still a front for a puppy mill and bad breeding practices.