Question about Size, and a What would you do?
 

I know everyone asks how big their Yorkie is going to be, and there is no exact science. But, I am sitting here shocked. When I posted earlier about her legs, we were out of town getting our puppy. We have just returned, and I weighed her. She is 3 lbs. and will only be 8 weeks tomorrow. Other than the very long legs, she seems awfully tiny. Very small face and features. But, 3 lbs. is huge. She doesn't seem anywhere close to that, but I've double and triple check with different scales. That means she could be around 9 lbs. full grown, right?

The breeder was one of the only ones I liked. I kept running into puppy mills where Yorkies were kept in cages, one on top of the other, even ones with a good AKC history. It was nice to find someone who I could actually tell loved the dogs. And, honestly, we chose not to pay $1,000 considering the economy. The breeder told me that dad is 3.5 lbs. and mom is 5.5 lbs. I did not see them because we worked out an arrangement to meet at a more convenient town. I know that was a mistake. But, it was a gift for one of my children. And, I KNEW we would be leaving with a Yorkie, regardless of where we went to see her or what she looked like. :)

Would you call the breeder? There is nothing to do now, other than let her know that I am surprised and disappointed in her weight. We already love her and will keep her forever regardless. She is a real sweetheart. But, we have wanted a Yorkie for a long time, and I finally thought I found 'the one'. I did not want a tiny Yorkie, but I did want one within the standard of 7 lbs. or less.

Having already decided to keep her, then calling the breeder will just bring on unwanted anxiety. Now is the time to direct all your attention and positive energy to the new baby!!! Welcome to YT - we're glad to have ya!!!

Good luck!!!

If you wanted a yorkie for a pet and had no plans to breed or show her having her not be within standard should be okay.

You can not always go by what a breeder says, thru correspondance. It is always better to see the sire and dam with your own eyes, in person so that way you know what to expect in your puppy. You could have asked for the breeder to bring them along.

When I deel with perspective buyers I prefer that they come to my home to meet the puppies and the parents to let them see how they interact with people and they are also welcome to bring their other pets along if they choose. If they want to meet half way I bring the parents along also.

$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.

From someone who has 2 yorkies that outgrew their estimation of weight by quite a bit I can understand your frustration. However I have grown to love mine for everything they are including their weight. I wouldnt focus on her weight anymore. Also even if she does get to 9 lbs that is still a very small dog when compared to other breeds. I dont know if you have children but I have found my Chachi who is 11 lbs is a good size for children

Are you sure you got a correct weight, i.e., she is indeed 3 lbs? What kind of a scale did you use?

I know each of you is right. And, I asked every person I corresponded with to send me pictures of the parents. Some did; some didn't. I let my guard down with this one because I liked her, and she said the right things on the phone when so many before her didn't. But, I do not think she intentionally misled me. I may be naive in that, but I really don't think so.

Yes, the larger size will be great for our children, and I definitely didn't want a really small one. I wanted one that my children can get down and play with. But, I also wanted her small enough to carry around and be representative of her breed......or we would have picked something else, if that makes sense.

Around here, most AKC Yorkie females sell for around $700 or $850. There are some that are offered for $500, but they are usually older, and there are some for $1,500 that are really tiny.

And, no, she will not be bred. She will be spayed.

Hi there and welcome to YT !
I need to tell you that i brought my Suzi home when she was going on 9 weeks old. I took her to the vet two days later, she was 3lbs too. She was tiny and so adorable, It did not dawn on me at all about her weight.
Suzi is 11 months old and she is a 7lber. no kidding. my point is that it is hard to tell what there weight will be full grown! Suzi is happy, healthy and full of energy. If she were even bigger I'd love her just as much! She is a great eater and into everything! :aimeeyork

Small. Medium & Large
 

Take it from me, I have 3 Yorkies and I have the pleasure of owning one that is small @ 5 lbs., Abigail medium @ 7 lbs. and Artie large @ 10 lbs. Size does not matter I LOVE each one of them to Death, regardless of their "Size or Weight". I can definetely understand your Frustration though.....Breeders say what you want to hear. Even if you saw the so-called "Parents"? How could you even be sure that they were it's Parents? As a matter of fact one of my Breeders that I am still Friends with recently went to Florida for the Holidays.
While she was down there she purchased a Yorkie Puppy for $700.00 and re-sold it here (South Carolina) for $1,200.00, strictly to make a profit! I've heard so may stories and I personally had a bad experience w/purchasing a Yorkie from the Internet. Basically there is nothing that you could do? Except
enjoy your New member of your Family!

A lot of times....a puppy longer in the leg usually means a bigger dog as an adult. Genetically... size goes beyond just the sire and dam.

I don't really see any reason to contact the breeder unless you want to return the dog.

Was the breeder aware that you wanted a dog that would grow to < 7 lbs as an adult? Did she tell you that your dog unlikely to be > 7 lbs?

Basically, if you feel that you were explicitly misled, I would call the breeder or write her a letter to express your disappointment. I think it's always better to complain (does that say something about my personality? ;) ) because maybe this person will think twice before pulling a fast one next time.

I can understand that you may feel a bit of "buyers remorse" because these puppies are so expensive. It's a big purchase, and commitment. However, I think everyone is right that you will end up adoring her even if she ends up weighing TWENTY pounds. :)

We don't have buyer's remorse. :) And, I don't expect it to come. I do have disappointment because I have researched this breed and put it off for a long time to find the 'right' puppy. And, yes, the breeder knew what I was looking for. I made it very clear.

I guess you could say I'm upset with myself. I had just run into MANY puppy-mill type operations and jumped when I found someone with knowledge about the breed (and the truth about registries, the so-called teacup, etc.) who didn't have 10 dames and 3 sires of five different breeds.

No matter how big your baby gets.. you will have a baby full of love. It is amazing how much love these babies have in their hearts..... and they just keep giving and giving.

TJ's mom was 4.3lbs and his dad was 3.4lbs. None of their babies in prior litters reached more than 5lbs. But my little TJ is now between 7-8 lbs. He is 14 months old and I love him so much. He is just the right size for me. I don't know if it was because he was an only baby or what. But to me he is perfect. He is healthy, happy and loves everyone. Be happy with your wonderful little gift. Hugs to you, Bobbi

I'm glad you don't have "Buyers Remorse". I think your puppy found a great home.

Please don't be upset with yourself. I think, you trusted this breeder. I can understand, why, after all your previous experiences with millers.
If you ever get another Yorkie, please, visit the breeders home, see both Sire and Dam. It's the only way, to truly ascertain, that you are not buying from a BYB.

Unless, of course, you are buying from a reputable, (emphasis) on 'reputable', show breeder.

Even though your puppy is 3#s right now, she may not get beyond breed standard. Some lines stop growing at different ages.

If you are interested in knowing if this breeders lines do stop growing early, maybe give the breeder a call, and politely mention that you were surprised to weigh your puppy and find that she is 3#s already, and ask her, if her lines stop growing at a certain age.

Sheila

As the proud owner of a 14lbs yorkie,can i reassure you that is still quite small, and hopefully in time, you will be glad you had a slightly bigger pup.
When big dogs come running up to us, i am worried anyway, but would be a nervous wreck if Molly was smaller. Even at 14lbs, i can still carry her when i need to, but she can walk for miles and plays for ages which would probably be good as you have children.
Its a shame if you were mislead, but i wouldnt spend too much time thinking about it now.
I look forward to seeing lots of photos of your little one.

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.

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! :p
Give it a couple of weeks, you'll love your furkid as much as your skinkids!

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.

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. :)

I disagree
 

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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!!!

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