Why would anyone choose to bring a yorkie into their unstable home?
 

I've been reading some threads about someone who wants to get (or maybe has already gotten) a 6 week old yorkie, and is clearly not prepared, nor informed about the breed.
Points to consider:
1. Read the comments from the knowledgeable yorkie owners here on YT. Everyone wants to help...we all love dogs, especially yorkies. No one is going to intentionally mislead you.
2. If you have to leave a newborn alone while you work, don't get him/her. There will be a better time.
3. If you are overly concerned about the cost of a petsitter, don't get him/her. Yorkies are very expensive to upkeep. The only thing that is cheap is their food, because it lasts a long time. (The food that most of the members here use is top quality and expensive, but will last a while since our babies are so little.)
4. What if your baby has something like CT or LP, and requires several vet visits, emergency hospital visits, and expensive medication. If you are concerned about a petsitter, will you be able to take care of the monetary needs of their health care?????
5. Why get a dog if you are not ready? :confused:
Just wondering...

Such a great post!!! I agree. We waited to get our yorkie when i could be home. Yorkies get lonely and even when I go to the gym for 1-2 hrs Pixie has Daisy but I just feel awful leaving......... I don;t understand how some people think that they are going to housebreak a dog when they are not going to be home for 8 hrs. ugh I feel so sorry for the puppy when it has to leave its litter mates and then be left alone all day in a crate. Why Why................ is exactly right!

Why? We all know why.... :mad: selfishness.

Same reason why some ppl have children. They just aren't thinking it thru. The magnitude of the situation doesn't hit them until it's too late, unfortunately. You can never be too informed. Pure ignorance. And if you know better have you absolutely no reason in the world not to do the right thing. The public isn't informed. Educate the masses.
I enjoy telling ppl what I learned here at YT. They may look at me weird or think I must be in Vet school, but I feel like I'm doing my part. I feel as though if we all did something along those lines we could raise awareness.
Do it because you love your pet(s).

Immaturity!!! the sad thing is, it is the puppy that will suffer.

But the ultimate issue still lies with a breeder that would let a puppy go at such a young age into a home that is ill prepared. It is the breeders responsibility to make sure the puppies go to good homes that have the resources to care for them.

Maybe instead of gettring on the impulsive, uninformed buyers, we should be emailing the irresponsibile breeders, and try to educate them.

Thanks for this thread. One more link that I'll be posting when I come across a Newbie that want a puppy. ~Joanne~

Another thing I've seen is someone saying they want a Yorkie, but can only afford to pay "X amount," where X is an unrealistically low number.

If that is all they can pay for a dog, then they certainly won't have enough money for things that are required to properly care for the dog -- ordinary stuff like veterinary care, heartworm / flea / worming meds, beds, collars, harnesses, leashes, kennels, x-pens or pet gates, toys, teething chews, etc.

Then, God forbid, if the dogs needs special medical attention above the ordinary preventative care, there is no way they are able to afford that. Or worse, they can't afford a spay and their dog ends up "accidentally" pregnant ... but, of course, they can't afford a spay after the dog gets pregnant either. Then the poor dog has to go through a pregnancy/whelping that they are too young/too small to handle, and no money is available for all the supplies needed for that, much less vet bills for the possible complications of going through with the pregnancy.

Makes my head spin.

I completely agree! This is how so many pets are left abandoned, killed or just outright neglected like my poor baby was. If you can't afford the pets needs then don't bother getting one. I was raised not to get into something I couldn't afford but I guess a lot of people these days aren't and the animal suffers in the end. Sad!

I agree with most of what you guys are saying, but I wonder the age of some of the people are that are getting them so young. We all know, you learn by experience. My daughter was (an immature) 19yr old that went to GA with her boyfriend, his sister, and his mother. They stopped at a flea market and she bought a minature pom that was 6 weeks old for $600.. Didn't have enough sence about her to get up and feed the dog through out the night, I got a call at 3am with her screeming. Tiffy had a seizure. I went down with kayo corn syrup. And you know the rest!!! She has been raised knowing how to take care of animals. But yet, she did this... I think alot of it is due to being young. All the breeder cared about was getting the money or that poor puppy would still have been with her mom. They did at least give her some nutra-cal that was left in the van. I have never liked his mom due to her letting her get an animal so young and small and so far away from home. She never got the papers on her. Just wanted to throw in another view. Can't explain why anyone that is mature would do something like that. Most of us get smarter as we age and know what the concequences can be to do this, guess we just have to learn our own lesson, but the poor doggies don't get a say in it. That is a shame!

Some People
 

Some people have no clue as to what it takes to raise animals. IMMATURE!

i know i did the same thing this person probably is doing by wanting to raise a puppy from the beginning and teach it all my own personal ways. i'm glad we got Sadie as a pup and did bring her up well, someone was home almost all the time and still is. BUT...i think unless you are well prepared for a lot of MONEY to go bye-bye and until you are prepared for a lot of work, you should either NOT get a dog at all, or get a grown up rescue dog from a shelter that is ready to go to a new family.

This is a great thread. I hope that it can help people realize BEFORE they get that new young puppy. Thank you to the OP for starting this thread:)

I don't agree that it's age-that's an unfair characterization. I'm fairly young, but am very responsible and mature, and have been for a while. I am a pet owner, as well as a parent. It's not fair to say that I must be immature because of my age or lack of "experience". Some people I know are in their 60's and have not had the experience to make them mature, where some that I know are in their 20's and have more experience and maturity than the first group. You can't use age as a scapegoat.

Well said , :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I agree!! I have made and will continue to make mistakes (in the future), but so do older people. I mean, have you not made any mistakes after a certain age? Everyone continue to learn new things until they die and sometimes to learn something you inevitably make mistakes. I did not have the most ideal childhood and it had made me tougher and more mature than people my age. I take care of my dogs the best way I can. I admit I made several mistakes here and there. However, I think as long as the person has the desire to learn and to improve to become a better owner then it is fine.

I'll add my 2 cents. Yorkies are now popular. Yorkies are cute. Some just see them as a tiny dogs to dress up and show off

We're in a ME society...Pet ownership is something that people SHOULD think through - but along with other things people 'WANT' and maybe can't afford or need ......small breeds are now part of that instant gratification

You are welcome! I am so glad that a lot of people are contributing to this, hopefully it will make a difference.

I believe that red98vett encapsulated the thought of this age; "ME"!
It is truly the" all about me" society. Whatever makes me happy, No matter the consequences, is ok. It does not just apply to the youth, it extends its nasty tentacles throughout all ages of our society, affecting all in its path.

It applies to so much within our "American" societies programming. We buy dogs without knowing the hell from where they came. We consistently have to buy the latest technologies, irresponsibly disposing of the old technology without realizing that it is being dumped in small villages like Guiyu, China, toxifying all who live there. We support companies like Occidental petroleum who have destroyed the entre environment in the Achuar territory, the native inhabitants now, are all dying from cancer.
It is endless, but where do we draw the line in the sand? When is enough, enough?


Great thread idea, thanks

Ever since I started teaching I thought parents should have to take a test to have kids...I think that about dog owners too! We all know this is not going to have a positive outcome for the poor little puppy involved:confused: Even after all the great advise given.

Ya I agree bc some people get a dog for selfish reasons and then they create a bad dog bc they don't want to train and give it the love and attention and physical care it needs and the dog ends up in a shelter with a bad rap. Sooooooo sad!!! I once read a poem about a puppy and it's life and how it ended up in a shelter it's last days and it made me bawl.

My heart goes out to all those people who rescue dogs.......They are angels and will be blessed bc of their love for animals:)

These are not *practice* babies
 

I remember when we got Maddie, people would say, "She will get you ready for a baby." I was totally upset by this and made sure to tell them She is our baby! I usually got the eyeroll and a smile. I can't understand people's thinking on using these babies to practice for human ones:confused:

She was not bought as "practice". When we brought her home I was bringing home a LIFE to be taken care of to the fullest of my ability and beyond if the need arrises. We choose to bring them into our lives and *must* realize we are also bringing home the responsibilities that come with bringing another LIFE into our own.

LOL. I literally just told my coworker yesterday that after having my furbutts. I am ready to have real kids :p To me, they are my babies. Carmel throws s tantrums (crying/whining) if I don't roll the window down for him. I have now learned to be a REAL mommy and teach him No is No because my heart always melts when he cries or whines so it's hard for me to do :( my bf and everyone else say I spoil my furbutts TOO much. Really though, it's never too much because if I had more...I'd give them MORE. :D

I didn't buy my babies to "practice", but I know what you mean. I see on CL a lot now with people who bought a dog for their kids to "practice" responsibility and the kid ended up not taking care of the dog so they are now rehoming it. It's really unfair for the dog! It's disturbing to see this kind of things happening. I also have seen dogs being used to prove a point!! To prove to their teens or children that they are NOT ready, responsible, etc. These parents are NOT ready to have kids themselves because they are IRRESPONSIBLE and everything else they're trying to prove to their kids that they're not.

what bothers me is when they want a dog especially one that requires as much attention as a baby, and they have no time to care for it. work scedules and school when they come down to it they only have an hour or two in the evening to be with it. what good is that?
the woman I got Karma from was in that boat, sadly her purchase was a me want purchase. She was fresh out of highschool i believe, and probably said oh i want a yorkie mommy, and mommy bought, mommy also paid all the bills and also bought the food and mommy came home at her lunch to let the dog out. the woman had a baby a year ago and i am guessing mommy went into over time taking care of karma. When I picked up karma I asked what food she eats brand wise..she didnt know! she said her mom gets it at the vets "i think" ugh! AND i asked if any of her items came with her.. she looked at me confused and said "oh like if you want her food bowl i guess you can have it" and shrugged! ugh! so frustrating..no wonder Karma has attached me so quickly!

I am 21 and i can say from experience dogs are harder then children in a lot of ways i gained custody of my 10 year old sister and 5 year old bother at 15 (long story special circumstances) and having had Gatsby for a year i would say he went from newborn to 2 year old and stayed there.
how many of us have not rushed to the vet for something small and silly.
or feed them junk food because they like it.
or stayed up with them because they wear teething and could not get comfortable to sleep.
worried about them when we are apart. or spent time just watching them sleep amazed by how much we love them
i have done all these things.(i might be a little bit extreme) i have even paced in a emergency waiting room hoping my baby would make it threw the night,i cried and prayed i wondered if i would make it if he did not.
yorkie owners are special because we dress our dogs and buy them things like strollers taking the dog/child thing a step further.
Sorry but the idea of buying a liveing ,breathing, feeling, understanding being to teach your child responsibility is sick and it make me cry to think of it.

well said misslissa!
I have three kids (2 years to 9 years old) and I can say without a doubt they are similiar in many ways. but i can say i wish i could give my 2 year old a chewy and know she will be happy for an hour! lol Only thing that girl does for an hour straight is sleep at night! ha!
but they both (children and dogs) add sooo much joy to our lives. I have to say though i have told young people get a puppy before you have kids lol

I hear ya! It is so hard to sit back and watch someone, who is clearly being irresponsible, take on the responsibility of a yorkie puppy (that is too young to be off to it's new home). Yorkies are SO fragile. It is almost inevitable that this puppy will have hypoglycemic episodes. It is so scarey when your little ones blood sugar levels drop, and it can even cause death. I got Missy when she was 7.5 weeks old, and she literally COULD NOT leave my side for the first few weeks that she was home. I had to keep such a close eye on her, I hardly slept. It was hard. And then, I got a second dose of the reality of how fragile yorkies are. Missy broke her leg (lateral humeral condyle) jumping only about 4-5 inches down to the ground. She landed wrong, and that was all it took. How much did it cost to fix the leg? Well, seeing as she was SO tiny, she had to see a specialist to have a pin and screw put in place. The total bill was 5000 dollars. I have posted the bills on here before to show people what "unknown costs" may arise when you purchase a new puppy. Yes, we could have bought pet insurance, but Missy was still just new at that point. She'd only had one vet exam and her vaccines done.

Anyways, point being...a new puppy, particulary a toy breed puppy is a HUGE responsibility, not one to be taken lightly. You can get off to a good start by being sure to buy from reputable breeders, whom always have your puppy's best interest at heart.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Also too many of them watch celebrities who have personal assistants, grinning in photos with a small breed in their arms and think "I want to be like them" clueless of the fact that most of these celebrities DO NOT attend to their own pets. They have personal assistants who do all the hard work.

This is why I am so glad YT is here, hopefully it will pop up in a google search when someone with no experience is looking to buy a yorkie and all these posts by experienced owners will make them all the wiser.

i know when i looked up "teacup yorkie" this forum popped up! and then when i looked up "yorkie vs silkie" this forum popped up i finally gave up and just came here ha ha!