Question about Size, and a What would you do?

[MollysMum54]

ps...you wont be able to join the official teapot club if your pup is too small!!

[ellykay72]

Originally Posted by MollysMum54

ps...you wont be able to join the official teapot club if your pup is too small!!

Good point. I need to join!

I told my mom that, not only did we not end up with a teacup Yorkie, we didn't even end up with a Thermos Yorkie. But, that's okay. She's in a house full of kiddos.

[luvfla]

Ok...I just gotta ask...if one of your skinkids wasn't fitting in the height chart as it pertains to you & hubby's size...would you be upset.....YUP, didn't think so....point made!
Give it a couple of weeks, you'll love your furkid as much as your skinkids!

[Dreamer74]

The puppy growth chart is just a reference. If you got her from an experianced breeder I would trust the breeder before the growth chart. You will find that if you chart thier weight every week the estimated ending weight can be all over the place, because they grow at different rates. Buddy who was just over 3 lbs at 8 weeks now weighs between 5-6 lbs at a year and a half. He has maintained this weight since he was 8 months old.

[ellykay72]

Originally Posted by Dreamer74

The puppy growth chart is just a reference. If you got her from an experianced breeder I would trust the breeder before the growth chart. You will find that if you chart thier weight every week the estimated ending weight can be all over the place, because they grow at different rates. Buddy who was just over 3 lbs at 8 weeks now weighs between 5-6 lbs at a year and a half. He has maintained this weight since he was 8 months old.

I'll be honest with you that I'm not sure how reputable the breeder is. I would say she is knowledgeable about the breed and tries to breed good lines. But, after doing months of research, I let my guard down too much because she was one of the ones I actually liked, especially after looking so long.

The puppy is great! Her personality fits right in with our family, and she has been a breeze about training and nights have gone well......so far. I hope I am not coming across too negative about size. I was trying to buy a 6-7 pound Yorkie and was just surprised to see that she weighed so much this young.

Thanks for the info about your little guy.

[ellykay72]

Official weight: 3 pounds, 1 ounce (My scale was oh so close.)
Vet's adult weight prediction: 10 pounds

She is perfectly healthy, and the vet said that the yorkies they see are between 3 and 17 pounds. So, she will be right in the middle.

[cliffick]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

$1,000 is the minimum price you should expect to pay for a well bred Yorkie from a reputable breeder, more for a female. Since you bought a "bargain" puppy, you shouldn't expect to get one that is a good representative of the Yorkie standard in looks or temperament. She will most likely be at least ten pounds full grown.

I paid $600 for my Maggie May. She will be 2 years old on March 10th. I only saw the mother because the breeder took her to a breeder to have her bred. My Magggie weighs 4.3 pounds and is gorgeous!! It's not ALWAYS about price.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by ellykay72

Official weight: 3 pounds, 1 ounce (My scale was oh so close.)
Vet's adult weight prediction: 10 pounds

She is perfectly healthy, and the vet said that the yorkies they see are between 3 and 17 pounds. So, she will be right in the middle.

All the backyard breeders breeding Yorkies have produced Yorkies that are very far from the standard. It's such a shame.

If your girl stays healthy, that's all that's important in the long run.

[ellykay72]

I agree about backyard breeders, but at the same time, my vet's opinion is that this is just one of those things that happens. He said that we all know someone with a 5'4 mom and a 5'8 dad that grew up to be 6'5". He said Yorkies are no different.

And, while I do agree that standards need to be adhered to, I don't think that breeders are all to blame. I think natural occurrences happen, and those Yorkies deserve a great home as all other dogs do.

And, regarding the money issue, it is not that we couldn't afford an expensive Yorkie. We just chose not to. The value of a pet cannot be based on the amount of money paid for them....or, in our case, his/her size. With kids and the economy, we just couldn't justify it.

[Ladymom]

Your analogy doesn't work because purebred dogs are very different than humans. Humans reproduce randomly like mixed breed dogs do, not purebred dogs. Breeding purebred dogs correctly should produce a predictable result.

Every breed has a blueprint that breeders should follow to make sure that Yorkies continue to look like Yorkies and Dalmations continue to look like Dalmations, etc. Reputable breeders strive to produce puppies who are representative of the breed standard. It takes a lot of knowledge and commitment. Of course, the most important thing is to start with parents who are excellent examples of the breed.

Backyard breeders just put two dogs together randomly. Many don't even know what the Yorkie standard is. They are breeding dogs from other backyard breeders so they are starting with dogs that are pretty far off the standard.

This is an excellent explanation written by a Maltese breeder:

Maltese Show Dog Versus Maltese Pet.....What is the difference?

[QuickSilver]

That would imply that every puppy from show-quality parents would also be show quality.

I would imagine that yorkie size is especially unpredictable since the average yorkie was considerably larger than what is considered standard now.

Don't want to start a fight, but I just finished a book that was talking about often unexpected traits pop up when breeders of any animal try too hard to fit a physical ideal.

I kind of wonder if yorkies are especially hard to potty train because of some unexpected twist in the gene pool... could just be my poor training techniques, of course.

Anyway, In My Opinion, the breeder's most important jobs are: health; ensuring all the pups get good homes; and preventing pet overpopulation.

[ellykay72]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

That would imply that every puppy from show-quality parents would also be show quality.

I would imagine that yorkie size is especially unpredictable since the average yorkie was considerably larger than what is considered standard now.

Don't want to start a fight, but I just finished a book that was talking about often unexpected traits pop up when breeders of any animal try too hard to fit a physical ideal.

I kind of wonder if yorkies are especially hard to potty train because of some unexpected twist in the gene pool... could just be my poor training techniques, of course.

Anyway, In My Opinion, the breeder's most important jobs are: health; ensuring all the pups get good homes; and preventing pet overpopulation.

Good post. I completely agree.

And, to clarify a comment made earlier about the analogy, the vet made it, not me.

[piptickle]

Mika was 3lbs at 8 weeks! To me she was tiny, and still is! She hovers between 7 and 8lbs now at 11 months(has been since 5/6 months old), I'm pretty sure she is done but really would'nt mind if she gained a pound or two! We have 4 kids and she is great with them-she has never snapped or growled and she chooses to curl up with our 3 year old son every night on the couch!!!

[SweetViolet]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Breeding purebred dogs correctly should produce a predictable result...the most important thing is to start with parents who are excellent examples of the breed.

Backyard breeders just put two dogs together randomly. Many don't even know what the Yorkie standard is. They are breeding dogs from other backyard breeders so they are starting with dogs that are pretty far off the standard.

This is not necessarily true.

First of all, starting with parents that are excellent examples of the breed does not guarantee equally excellent pups. The sire of a champion, for example, is a better choice, genetically speaking, because you already know the sire throws championship offspring. There is no guarantee that the champion will throw good pups until he is tested (i.e., sired a few litters).

Secondly, genetics is not something that comes with guarantees. Even in carefully bred lines, there are things called "throwbacks." Plus, if the pup gets a recessive gene from each parent, it can be dominant in the pup. So you can get a big Yorkie from small parents if each parent has a big ancestor. Genetics is a bit too complex to go into here, but it is NOT predictable. At best you have probabilities and educated guesses.

Certainly some BYB know nothing about their breed standards, but it's grossly unfair to say that about all of them. I don't breed Yorkies, for example, but I know the breed standard. I don't know if I will breed Puddin' or not...it will depend on how closely she conforms to breed standard when she is old enough to be bred. If she's a good example of the breed and I can find a stud of equal quality, then I might. But if she doesn't measure up, she'll be spayed.

It is good to be cautious, but be careful of generalizations. I, for example, will probably end up being categorized as a BYB because I won't be showing Puddin'---her tail isn't docked and I won't get it done---but I would use the very same criteria for breeding her as she were a show dog. Those of us who choose to breed but not to show are not all ignorant and greedy.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by SweetViolet

This is not necessarily true.

First of all, starting with parents that are excellent examples of the breed does not guarantee equally excellent pups. The sire of a champion, for example, is a better choice, genetically speaking, because you already know the sire throws championship offspring. There is no guarantee that the champion will throw good pups until he is tested (i.e., sired a few litters).

Secondly, genetics is not something that comes with guarantees. Even in carefully bred lines, there are things called "throwbacks." Plus, if the pup gets a recessive gene from each parent, it can be dominant in the pup. So you can get a big Yorkie from small parents if each parent has a big ancestor. Genetics is a bit too complex to go into here, but it is NOT predictable. At best you have probabilities and educated guesses.

Certainly some BYB know nothing about their breed standards, but it's grossly unfair to say that about all of them. I don't breed Yorkies, for example, but I know the breed standard. I don't know if I will breed Puddin' or not...it will depend on how closely she conforms to breed standard when she is old enough to be bred. If she's a good example of the breed and I can find a stud of equal quality, then I might. But if she doesn't measure up, she'll be spayed.

It is good to be cautious, but be careful of generalizations. I, for example, will probably end up being categorized as a BYB because I won't be showing Puddin'---her tail isn't docked and I won't get it done---but I would use the very same criteria for breeding her as she were a show dog. Those of us who choose to breed but not to show are not all ignorant and greedy.

I agree there are alot of good hobby breeders that dont show. If we all had to get our yorkies from show breeders we would all be paying super high prices because they dont tend to breed as often and they keep some of their pups for show