Bringing "baby" home at 8 weeks as opposed to 12?
 

Ive been talking to LOTS of breeders... most are 12 weeks (one even 20 weeks). Obviously I want my puppy to the healthiest (even my info books recommends 12 weeks). Im going to go see a puppy this weekend that im about 99% sure i want get... She had this as a one time litter (from family dogs) and akc.. etc... So I dont think she knows much on keeping them 12 weeks?? Right now they are 5 weeks... so she will keep them til 8.... but 8??

WWYD?

You will get a lot of different answers, lol. I have a little Shorkie that I got at 9 weeks and she was shipped too. The breeder gave her nutrical before the trip. I took a jar of pure chicken baby food with me to the airport as well. Plus the breeder sent a little bottle of nutircal with a eye dropper in case it was needd or I needed it after we got home. She explained about the hypoglycemia and all. She lapped it right up and has been happy since. :) And so am I. Guess a lot might have to do with weight. Some with Socialization as well. Guess it's a matter of what people believe. If the breeder told me 12 weeks, that would have been ok too. She was what I wanted and I would have waited. It's a shot either way. Some might do well, others really must wait.

You must be excited!!

Carol and Jemma

If they don't know enough to keep the pup for 12 weeks, they probably don't know enough to do the right pre breed testing. If tehy just don't agree with keeping them til 12 weeks, there should be a very good reason because the YTCA should not be ignored...

So WWID?
I'd keep looking.

:goodpost:

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Ellie May pretty much nailed it.

If you are aware that 12 weeks is the recommended release age and that is what you believe, then there should be no reason why you'd accept anything else. I have to agree w/ EM, if the breeder thinks that releasing them at that age is acceptable, then she clearly is not on the up and up and I would question what else she may be uninformed about. Releasing them that age is a common red flag that people are warned to look for.

I would keep looking too.

I'd listen more to the ladies above. I've never had Yorkies, they know best. I'm just lucky I guess.

You gave advice based on your experience. There is certainly NOTHING wrong with that. :) Many people bring pups home earlier and never have a problem. On the other hand, however, many people do. Why chance it when certain issues could easily be avoided by waiting until the appropriate age to bring a little one home, ya know?

Thank you for the response. I appreciate that. :)

:goodpost:

This article by a Maltese show breeder explains why it is so important for toy breed puppies to stay with their mom and littermates until they are 12 weeks old:

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

The breeder I got my Pixie off of did not want to keep her past 6 weeks. It was way too soon for her to leave her mom but the breeder insisted I take her at 6 weeks. If I didnt want her she said that she was gonna give her to another lady. So, I took her and she is now 10 weeks old and healthy. It was a lot of work and still continues to be. My advice is to try and insist that the breeder keep the pup for as long as she can. Even until the pup is 10 weeks. The breeder may end up being irresponsible like mine but it is worth a try.
When u get the pup just make sure that u take it to the vet a.s.a.p!!

thank you so much for all your responses! You guys are SOOO Incredibly helpful and i feel so blessed to have found this site with you guys ;)

How do you think i should go about saying to keep them till 12?? Im gonna go this sat anyways to see her... but wether i take her or not... i really feel I should mention for her to keep them til 12 weeks... (i mean even the NON akc lady knew 12 weeks, her puppy was 14 now)...

Thank you for letting me know its a red flag... after so many problems with our last dog I cant go through that again and want a healthy pup! (although i know ANY dog is a chance)

Twelve weeks is the right time to bring them home. I brought mine home before then and it worked out but they missed out on socialization time with the mother dog

As Ellie May wisely said, I'd keep looking.

You can be sure that a breeder who lets her puppies go that young is not doing the proper health testing and genetic screening.

With Yorkies being 36 times more likely to be born with a liver shunt than all other breeds combined, it's just too risky to get a puppy from a breeder who doesn't bile acid test the parents and know her lines generations back.

she said she has the generations on paper... she had bought the parents from a breeder in Arkansa (traveling to get them)... would seeing papers help when looking? ROFL gosh im so new at this. HAHA

What is the YTCA?

I got my Answer sorry I googled it :)

The "generations on paper" is called a pedigree. All purebred dogs have a pedigree. It's their family tree. The pedigree won't tell you anything about their health.

You want to get a puppy from a breeder who knows all the dogs in the parents' background nine or ten generations back. By "knowing" them, I mean she has worked on her breeding program for years, seen what the dogs she's bred have produced, culled any dogs who produced any health issues, etc.

Yorkies should all have bile acids tests prior to breeding to make sure they are free of liver disease. Unfortunately, healthy dogs can still be carriers which is why it is so important to know your lines generations back.

Good breeders have the knees of the parents cleared for luxating patellas. Yorkies are ranked #4 in cases of LP's by the Orthopedic Foundation of America.

Both liver shunts and LP's costs thousands of dollars to diagnose and surgically repair.

Reputable breeder also have eyes CERF'ed, thyroid panels, heart clearances, etc. They should be able to produce proof that all these clearances were done prior to breeding.

I can guarantee that a breeder who does not follow the YTCA's rule about keeping Yorkie puppies until they are 12 weeks old also does not get the required health clearances done.