Looking to purchase a small Yorkie
 

Hello,

First off I am glad to see such a large forum for these beautiful animals.

Anyway, my husband and I are looking into adopting a small Yorkie. Just doing some initial research I have found that it seems like there is no such thing as a teacup and anyone specializing in teacups is a bad breeder to go to. :confused: I understand I do not want a Yorkie smaller than 4 lbs at full grown and there is a long list of questions that should be asked before going to adopt one as far as health, but doing initial research on the internet seems to be confusing me more than I thought. I am not sure what is fact vs fiction. So I figureed the best place to come to is to families who actually adopted. I guess my initial questions are...

:animal-pa Is there such thing as a teacup size dog?

:animal-pa Do teacups (or the smaller Yorkies) pass on sooner (Some sites were saying they do not live longer then 5 years)?

:animal-pa What are the warning signs of a bad breeder?

:animal-pa I have also seen the smaller Yorkies have much worse health conditions that require constant trips to the vet and they are overall more sickly. Is this true?

Thanks for any help. :aimeeyork

Hi and welcome to YT. There are a lot of very knowledgeable people here that can give great advice.

My advice is to do your homework and really check out anyone that you are considering buying from. If you can find someone in your area that you can visit and see their dogs that is even better.

I bought my fur baby from a lady that I was able to visit her house for several times before I brought Onni home.

As for small, teacup is just a term and has nothing official attached to it. Many people use that term to charge huge amounts of money.

My Onni is tiny; 3lbs. She is in great health and has a wonderful little spoiled rotten personality. I think she just happens to be a runt and that is why she is so small. I will say this, being so small I worry wart about her much more than any of my other bigger dogs.

I believe the size issue is not as important as finding someone who breeds healthy happy dogs. There are many great breeders here on YT that can answer the more technical questions you might have.

I hope you find the perfect Yorkie fur baby! :)

Hi! :wavey: Welcome! :welcome4:

First off let me just say, thank you for doing research and being dedicated to only buying from a reputable breeder or rescue. You can find a lot of info in the Health & Breeder sections too.

:animal-pa Is there such thing as a teacup size dog?

:animal36 There is no such thing as a teacup. The breed standard size is from 4 - 7 lbs. However, purebred Yorkies do come in all different sizes. The term 'teacup' is used to entice uneducated buyers into paying more for something they are lead to believe is 'rare'.

:animal-pa Do teacups (or the smaller Yorkies) pass on sooner

:animal36 I've never heard that they pass on any quicker, but I do believe they have a higher chance of having medical conditions that may contribute to a shorter life span.

:animal-pa What are the warning signs of a bad breeder?

:animal36 There are many, some of the most obvious is using the terms, teacup or rare over and over on their websites. Advertising that they breed multiple breeds of dogs, large number of puppies always available, not allowing you to come to their home to see the parents and puppies, etc.

:animal-pa I have also seen the smaller Yorkies have much worse health conditions that require constant trips to the vet and they are overall more sickly. Is this true?

:animal36 Again, I think that medical conditions in the extremely small Yorkies may lead to their health struggles. You have to realize how these extremely small ones come about. It can come by irrepatable breeders inbreeding to focus on the 1 trait of 'size' or breeding dogs that shouldn't be simply because the are small.

I don't think that size alone indicates the health of the dog, but it can be a factor if improper breeding was used to obtain that size.

Please anyone, correct me if I've said something wrong as I am also learning about this wonderful breed.

The AKC website has a list of breeders. That would be a good place to start. There are also several on this site that you could contact too, just check in some of the other sections.

Good luck in your search. Keep asking questions and be sure to keep us updated on your progress!!

what a good post TeresaM

:thumbup: Good post.

Excellent post!! I do need to correct this statement however::animal-pa Is there such thing as a teacup size dog?

:animal36 There is no such thing as a teacup. The breed standard size is from 4 - 7 lbs. However, purebred Yorkies do come in all different sizes. The term 'teacup' is used to entice uneducated buyers into paying more for something they are lead to believe is 'rare'.

Breed standard is anything under 7 lbs. per akc guidelines. American Kennel Club - Yorkshire Terrier
Weight
Must not exceed seven pounds.

Thanks, like I said, I'm still learning too. I appreciate any and all help to learn the proper facts. :)

Your very welcome!! I saw you were learning too so I thought I'd post the link so you can see it. Your post was wonderful by the way!

I sent you a PM :) WELCOME to Yorkie Talk! You will love it here and LEARN alot!!!!

This is a great forum to learn and ask before you buy.......WELCOME! you are in good hands, and hopefully you'll have your baby soon. Good Luck! :)