Just wondering, how many of you have Yorkie Rescue Shelters in your state (or shelters that have an abundance of Yorkies)? I'm from NC, and we have one Yorkie Rescue Shelter, but they are wonderful about getting them adopting out quickly; extremely quickly. I hear FL shelters have Yorkies all the time. The only few reasons [in my opinion] that would lead a sweet Furbaby to a shelter would be if it was rescued from a puppy mill, and/or if it had pre-existing medical conditions, and the medical expenses were getting out of control. I know this is off of the subject slightly, but I think society knows that small dogs get adopted quickly from shelters, but if you go with the shelter approach, at least if the person has bad motives, they will presume the dog has no papers.

I was raised in Atlanta, and my sweet Westie, Max was stolen out of my fenced in backyard while I was at work and school. Someone cut the chain and everything (at first, I thought I forgot to lock it properly). He was a week away from being neutered, so I would speculate that he was stolen as a stud dog. He had a microchip, which I red flagged, and I never got any notification on him. I pray he is safe, where ever he is.

I want to see the good in people and I hope it is simply an innocent question (even though it is annoying at times), but going through that previous experience, it is tough at times.

Yea but alot of people who steal small dogs just want them as a pet and they wouldnt care where they come from. I can see why you would be skeptical of people and yorkies are a breed you cant leave outside or someone would steal them because they are high priced

What I find is rude is when you tell them they go crazy and tell you how they would never pay that for a dog.

I tell people Sam was free, and then needed a $3000 knee surgery. It's true. :D

A lot of people asking about cost see your little dog and think they want one. If they are genuinely interested and not creepy or rude or clueless, I use it as an educational opportunity to caution them against puppy mills, encourage rescue or suggest how they find a reputable breeder (mom on site, pups stay with mom until 10-12 weeks, NO PET STORES, etc. - you all know the drill.) I give them a quick pro/con on Yorkies and explain how Sam is 6 pounds, let them hold her and see just how tiny 6 pounds is and caution them against the under-5 pound dogs if they have kids or have never had a dog before. I explain how Loki came from a quasi-puppy mill (we think) and even though I paid full price for him, has mega health issues that need expensive meds. Except for her knees, Sam is healthy. So, it's NOT get what you pay for UNLESS you do your homework and you must be prepared for anything!

If they ask if I'm going to breed them because they are oh-so-cute then I give them THAT lecture as well. :D

I figure they are either actually interested, or they will think twice about asking next time!!

:thumbup:
That drives me insane and ticks me off too. I get it all the time.

I'm so sorry about your Westie! We have one too and that would be absolutely heartbreaking. Right now, we have a large yard with a 8 ft privacy fence; but we are moving to a new house (new state) with an underground fence. I hope to get a regular fence right away but understand this can still happen.

I usually hand them my breeder's card and ask them to call her and she'll tell them if they're interested in obtaining a pup from her. Yes, it's a rude answer, but if they're rude enough to ask a rude question.....oh well.

That's a good idea. I actually can't recommend the breeders mine came from Loki's because of his issues, and Sam's because I never met her. That's difficult to explain to people, especially since I don't have an alternative to recommend...

Has anyone thought about handing out pre-made "baseball card" type cards? With all of their stats? My mom's friend did that because she has a teeeny tiny one and can't go anywhere without getting bombarded so she just hands out cards.

Passing out cards is a great idea. Another good thing to put on there would be yorkietalks web address

There a couple of reasons I will not divulge what I paid for my dogs, is because m dogs are show dogs. My breeder and I have two prices. One for pet and one for show. However, I also think it's very rude to divulge my breeder's prices, that should be kept between her and her clients. Her prices may have changed since I obtained my dogs from her.

Giving people a list of reputable breeders is a great idea.

I carry my breeders business cards with me, as well as my own.

Im asked this quite often and I just say "not enough".

Whats it matter. I only ever asked this question to someone (a good friend) because i was interested in the boxer breeder she got her Boxer from!

Your Westie is so sweet; reminds me of my Max. I miss him everyday. I never give up on someone scanning his microchip and getting notified. Does your Westie and Yorkie get along well?

I know how you feel. Everywhere my hubby and I go everyone will ask us how much we paid for out yorkies. What get me so mad is, we have a male yorkie we got first who is almost 9 pounds then we got his sister that was supposed to be around the same size but to our surprise she never grew:pshe is only 2 pounds. So people will come up to us and just pet our little girl and say how cute she is but just ignore my boy yorkie because he is bigger, and here he is just crying and wagging his tail too just to get petted and loved by these rude people. We get so mad:mad:BJ seems like his poor heart gets broken when no one says anything about him nor do they even look his way. I makes us sooooo angry. And get this we was at my sister in law's house yesterday who was having this multi family yard sale and this woman came up to us (like everyone else seems to do) and started talking about how cute Lil' Ann is and then ask us if we was going to BREED HER:eek: A 2 pound yorkie:eek::mad: She continue to say that their was big money in it. Before I could speak my husband stood up and just started telling her how it was. He said no we love her too much to kill her just to sell her pups for money. And he just went on and on and she finally looked at him and said, I don't have to take this and walked away.:D I just can't believe the nerve of some people. She was saying where she knew someone probally her, that they breed 2 pounds dogs and they get big dollars out the pups. I think that is so sad:( Why are some people so cruel :confused: But I am proud to say I have both of mine fixed and beside they are brother and sister anyways.lol.. I don't think I would be doing any of that.lol... But I am no professional at breeding nor do I want to be. I know it takes alot of dedication and love and most of all experience and knowledge. Ok, sorry so long:rolleyes:I just can go on and on about this.lol...

That is sad but people do that with my two also and they are 6 and 11 lbs. People are just in love withy small animals and they are valued greater

LOL i totally agree with this, some people have no manors, its them who need the obedience training lol xxx

I agree !!!!
I have had people come up to me and say they know I paid a bundle for my pets...I always correct them and say they came from a friend, a gift etc...

Yes, it is rude, imho :)

Boy that was RUDE. Maybe your reply should be "Why do you ask?"

Oh that is so sad. I just sold a bigger boy and he is hands down, the most affectionate puppy I have ever had. He went to a family that thought he was so tiny, LOL Their previous yorkie was 17 pounds. So you see it's all relative.

Yes it is. lol... :rolleyes:

I think it's super rude. My boyfriend asked someone else that the other day and I was pissed. Haha.

I would guess so too because yorkies are so 'fine boned' compared to a Westie. Westie's have very sturdy bodies - very strong and with those big strong jaws. None of the largers yorkies I've seen still look as big or as strong as a Westie.

I'm so curious to see a larger one. And in pictures it is so hard to tell; a lot of members on YT say their Yorkies are 14 lbs.+, and I've never seen one that big. I bet that they are just as gorgeous. Max was about 24 lbs. (a lot bigger than 14 lbs.), but I want to see a large Yorkie. Around here, the largest one that I have seen was 9 lbs. I may be wrong, but is a Yorkie only supposed to be 7 lbs. and under, or is that only by AKC standards? Are CKC standards for larger ones? Or perhaps it is past genetics from the larger breeds in the past showing back up?

I was at a flea market with my mother and Kelsey, and some guy asked "how much?"
My mother immediately said "$100,000!" Then she proceeded to tell him how long I had been looking for a yorkie and how precious my dog is to me. She was a little defensive, yes, but the guy walked away and didn't say anything else. He was rude anyways.