I agree with this, and just wanted to add, that the main downside of buying from a show breeder is that they are picky about where they are placing their pups. Much like a rescue, they want to ensure that these dogs will never have to be rehomed. So if a person does meet that particular breeder's requirements, buying from a show breeder is one of the best deals out there.

I can't believe you offer free grooming and boarding for life, that's really wonderful!

Thank you - thank you Lorraine for writing/starting this post!!

I think a lot of people had things wrong for so long! Here are my thoughts and what I have learned over time...many of the posters have already stated what I have to say.

Pups from show breeders do Not cost more. What you do need to know is that we have done testing on the parents and the pups before they leave and these tests are not cheap. Not to mention boosters - the pups usually have all their boosters, except rabies before leaving. I know of some pet breeders that actually charge more than what show breeders sold their pups for. So you have to check around. Also you may have to wait for a litter to be born from a show breeder. Many do not breed a lot, nor have a lot of yorkies. I have found that there are many people looking for a yorkie pup are spotanous buyers - they have to have everything now. I have known some people that did not want to wait and they bought any pup they were able to buy at the soonest moment. They did not check out the breeder, nor did their research and just bought the first pup they could get. Then I get the calls later from these people of what a mistake they made by buying quickly - that something is wrong with the pup or it does not look like a yorkie now that it is growing up. People need to realize this is a lifetime commitment and should never buy on a whim!

Show breeders show to prove the quality of their dogs. Yes, it can be fun, but it is also a lot of work, money, and dedication to our breed. They are very serious in what we are doing! And breeding should be taken very serious!

When show breeders make a match it is after great thought and research. Learning the faults of all the dogs and knowing the lines. No dog is perfect so they try the best they can to produce the best they can, especially since they are wanting to keep a pup for themself from this match. They are not fortune tellers and do not have a crystal ball, even though they wish they did. So not all litters may turn out as they hope, but at least they are not just playing Russian Roulette and putting any two dogs together.

I have found too that the longer the pup stays with its breeder the more socialized it is. This is from my own experience. So the show breeder gets to see how the pups are developing and how the match is working out - and the pet buyer gets a well socialized and sometimes well trained pet puppy. Show breeders Cannot keep every pup in the litter. Usually they are keeping only one to hold on to for show. I have seen many of a Good Looking pup go to good pet homes.

Yes... I will babysit for free any of my pups I have sold - but never thought about grooming too. That is great Mardelin! I do get a lot of photos or stop overs to show me. I love seeing my babies come back to visit! I feel like a grandma!! Love it!

Yes, show breeders are very picky!! But we need to be. We love our babies and we take this very, very serious. We are totally responsible for our babies, since they cannot speak for themself. So we have to be careful for where they go and we want to make sure it is a lifetime commitment. :-)

T.

Now, let me say it hasn't happened to me yet! Has it happened to others? Maybe. I'm not a person that can see into the future, I can just hope that I've made the right choice. Now that being said, every litter doesn't have a show dog in it. We're lucky if we get 1 out of every 3 litters.

It's easy for me to provide this perk, just because I don't ship my puppies so, their new homes are close by. The lifetime grooming and boarding is purely selfish on my part.

Great post! 2 of my girls are from a reputable show breeder and one is from a BYB. While I was lucky in that Cali looks close to the standardm she had huge health and vet bills and still does. By finding YT I was able to learn so much and in fact I thought that it was close to impossible to get a show breeder to sell e a dog. A show breeder on here recommended I try the show breeder in my area and I called her that night and after a very long phone conversation she told me she had a little 13 month old female that was too small for showing or breeding and I could come look at her. That night I brought Pixie home. We are beyond thrilled with her.Roxie is also from her but she was not the quality of Pixie and the breeder was very upfront about that and was priced accordingly.
Both of them are healthy (knock on wood) and I am so thankful for show breeders!! My breeder still keeps in touch every few months and loves to get updated pics of the girls.

I would also like to mention that if you do buy from a reputable show breeder, any problems, questions, concerns, you are welcome to get in touch with the breeder. They are not going to be selling them extra young you won't have to worry so much about hypoglycemia or having them taken from their moms and sibs at too young an age.
Many many of the posts I see on this forum should be questions and concerns that the breeder the pup came from should be addressing, not this forum. i would be appalled and mortified if someone got a dog or pup from me and then had to come to this forum for information and advice for whatever they want to know.
I expect anyone who bought from me to ask me. If I don't know something I have an answer within the day, sometimes hours as I have resources to ask that do know.
As an example, I had a call early yesterday morning from a dog owner that got her dog from me a few years ago now. She described the symptoms, I knew she had to see a Vet and also knew who to send her to on a Sunday, excellent Vet open on Sundays. The little dog had a throat infection and is doing fine;she got her into my Vet that afternoon as I had called them and they got her in for me.

Truer words were never spoken. My new families know that they are not only getting a pup, they are getting a relationship with me. They also know that I'm available to them 7x24.

Heaven forbid that my families posted their questions on an forum instead of calling me.

Mine go mostly all locally too. I am in the country and many are in the surrounding city areas. I guess most are about 45 min. or so away. Not too bad. I will not do cargo either.
T.

There's a couple of people I know that work for the airlines and on their off time and for a fee that's what they do. Hand carry dogs in cabin. Now there is that new pet airline that is suppose to begin operations this month. It only flies pets in cabin with qualified personnel on board with them. Either choice isn't good for me anyway, I want to meet my families face to face.

So true Lorraine!
I had one of my moms call me last month after she had my baby spayed and was not acting right a day after it. I could tell something was wrong and I had her take her back in to get rechecked. She was running a fever and they had to give her fluids and antiobiotic! She has thanked me so much for giving her the advice, but I thanked her back for calling me. Even though our babies leave our home - they are still our babies. It's like when your own children grow up and move out - you still want them to call and visit! We are still their first mom!!:thumbup:
T.

i got him at twelve weeks because I saw his pedigree and all his ancestors and went wild over it and he was the prettiest "little" puppy ever. I was very naive back then Tina. I hope I have learned a lot since then.

I have done that. Sold mine too early and months later see it and i could have easily taken it into the show ring while the one I kept to show just didn't make the grade and had to be petted out eventually. i let one go at 18 months once because his head was too white. I saw him at 26 months and he had a solid gold head. Butt kickin went on here at my house. i saw one of my boys just over the weekend and I kicked myself for letting him go too. i have determined to hold on to my pups longer now since I am showing also. But I do agree with Mary about attitude. if they ain't got it, they ain't showing.

I know that's got to be a little heartbreaking, but you got to admit, it something to be very proud of, even though you aren't showing them, you did produce them!

I need to comment on this thread . It has been very educational to me . I have learned so much by what you have brought here and shared. Next time I am ready to look for a new Yorkie pup, I now know excatly where and what to do . I hope I can find one near my area when the time is right. :thumbup:

Lorraine,
Thank you so much for posting this. I don't comment much on alot of post for 2 reasons. The first being as I am still a novice at showing and I don't think i have enough experience to be giving advice and the second being Some of these posts I have been reading are very upsetting and have me wanting to reach through the computer screen and smack the OP. I was a fortunate person to be able to get a really nice girl from Catherine Johnson. Once again thank you.

We All go through the learning curve. I remember mine. Sometimes you can get all the advice in the world, but experience is the best lesson. I am still learning and this is after being around yorkies for almost 30 years. Yikes!

Who was it ??- one of the top yorkies, winner of multiple Best In Shows - his breeder almost or did sell him as a pet and later the owner brought him back for a view and the breeder said - let's show him. She sure did not know he would turn out so nice. (I forget the exact story, but went something like this. Does anyone else remember who the dog was?)

Yep, Dee 12 weeks is way too early to tell. We have hopes at this age, but so much can go wrong. I am still looking at yorkies at even 1 to 1.5 years and still hoping and keeping fingers crossed. Yorkies are one of the hardest breeds to predict. I am getting pretty good at this, but it is more less a feeling and not so much anything else. I have one female I will be holding on to because of her pedigree, outgoing personality, and her all together package (gait, looks, structure, etc..). I like everything about her, but her size. She is just one year now and the sire's breeder adviced me to wait till she was 2 years old to see if she could make size. So still hoping and keeping fingers crossed. She is up to just about 4 pounds now. So we are slowly gettting there. :D I just have my doubts, but the sire's breeder knows her line and she is an expert. She says she has had some really surprise her and came through in the end.
T.

I have question for those that show Yorkies
 

I have question for those that show Yorkies. I was talking to a groomer who said he grooms knows a show Yorkie (not sure if he grooms her) who spends all her time in a crate with her hair rolled up to protect her coat. I doubt, from the way you talk about your dogs, that you keep them in a crate all the time. What do you do to protect their coats? Do their coats need 'protecting' anyway?

Just curious.

Mine are in my house always near me. They are like my shadows. I can't even go hmmm you know, little girls room, without them following me. LOL My hubby calls me the Pide Pipper! LOL
Infact they are all under feet right now as I type. One is curled up on the bottom shelf of my book self, since it touches the carpet, another laying at my feet and several playing together. Here comes Cha-Cha to play with Trey now from the living room. So as you can see - they are my pets first and foremost!
I protect their hair by placing them in oil and wraps. Trey's side hairs are just pony-tailed to the side. Then several have the puppy cuts, since they are finished champions. ..And Cha-Cha is just a puppy (6 months), so her hair is still growing out.

The only time mine are crated is when we're traveling and when they sleep. Or when I'm not at home. Mine are kept in wraps and allowed to be dogs, they play outside with the non show dogs.

My dogs are in the familyroom/kitchen with me. Show dogs over a year of age are in oil and wraps. They run with the rest and I have a double fenced back yard they can run in and out from the house. Dogs that i am no longer showing are cut down into cute pet clips. They are at my feet, on my lap when i am home.
i would never keep them in pens and crates all the time to grow coat; I don't have to. They need the exercise and socialization just as any other dog would.
They sleep in large crates each to their own bed at night with plenty of room and travel in travel crates when they are in the car. At night for sleeping youngsters have a dog bed in a smaller pen with a wee wee pad, each in their own pen.

Thank you for starting this thread. I learned a lot. I thought buying from a show breeder would cost more. And to think boarding and grooming too? wow! i wish I lived closer to you! I am hoping to get another pup in a few years. : )

This has been the best thread yet!! Very imformative for the experienced and the novice! As, I don't breed much Lorraine couldn't have said it any better than she has!!! I, myself, would rather be in the show ring LOL...
My show dogs are my pets first and show dogs second. They are in oil and wraps and run in and out a doggie door, chase the dog next door along the fence ect...mine are only crated when I'm gone and on the road ( or when I have a bitch in season and the males drive me crazy LOL) but are switched out often so no one is in their Xpen longer than 30 minutes at a time.
Seriously, this is one of the best threads I've read in a VERY LONG time!
BTW...I offer free grooming also if the new family live close enough and I do NOT ship my puppies either ( when I have puppies )
Thanks Lorraine!!

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

Donna, would you ever consider grooming by Yorkies, I would be honored...Lissette

by yorkies? LOL...I'm assuming your yorkies? LOL.....if you don't mind driving all the way to where I live LOL...I do grooming on the side after my full time job at the schools, and now starting my handling career LOL...Thank goodness school is almost out so I can go to more dog shows LOL

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

Hey! I use to live in Garden Grove. Could see the fireworks from Disneyland from my backyard. I have pups in Texas that I groom when I get back there. I also have pups in Lake Elsinore that I groom.

Wylie is a bit of a drive from you.

Hey Donna, showing out here is really different. I've got to reoutfit my whole set-up. Most shows are outdoors, so you can't leave set-ups overnight. Everything is on wheels on a hand cart.

Ewwwwww better you than me LOL...I couldn't imagine loading up everything every night LOL...I bring way too much stuff LOL

Yup, Wylie is about 45 minutes I'm assuming....but I do groom someone's yorkie that lives just about that far from me LOL

Take a look at this...Home of the Original SMART-CARTS : Most Practical Wheels Ever Designed This is what they're using. Carries everything crate with a grooming table on top, arm, chair, grooming bag, umbrella, etc. Nothing comes off just wheeled from ring to ring.