EEEEEP going to look at a puppy today
 

the girl being held by the person in the blue tank top by the yellow flower. What should I ask? Mom and dad are on site. She said the mom is more skiddish around new people. Is this an ok/normal thing?


ETA link http://s2.webstarts.com/PICKMEYORKIES/

I have a 2 year old and 4 year old w/autism (who's dog this will be).

Welcome to YT :D The one thing I would say is, I see you have young children and sometimes little dogs and children don't get along well. Also you said the mom is shy I would look for a larger dog. A bigger Yorkie??

this is the biggest puppy from the litter, at 13 weeks I think she said she was about 4.5 lbs

I hope you have put alot of thought into getting a yorkie for a young child who is only 4 years old. I personally do not agree with getting a dog for a child as they are not toys and need ALOT of care and attention and cost alot of money to look after.

I hope today goes well and you find your little puppy you are looking for. :D Its such an exciting time getting a puppy. My Poppy is 6weeks old and she is ALOT of work and i have spent sooooo much on her. She is worth every second tho. Kepp us all updated on how it goes today

Good luck :D xxx

Why are the puppies priced by size?

I would definitely be leary about getting a yorkie with a 2 year old around, even 4 is too young, IMO. Temperament can be passed down, so if you have a skittish mom, you can have a skittish pup, too.

Aside from that, there is a sticky somewhere on questions you should be asking of a potential breeder. I'm having a hard time finding it right now, but I'll keep looking.

You are going to want to see exactly what her health guarantee covers, some have holes big enough to drive trucks through.

If the pup is 4.5 lbs @ 13 weeks, she's probably going to be in the 8-10 lb range- over breed standard, but (again, IMHO) better for someone with kids.

I wish her site offered more information, but it is what it is. Have you tried google searching her name or the name of her business to see if you can find any good or bad reviews?

I would take a pass for at least a few more years. You have your hands full with 2 young kids, and a Yorkie is a very small, fragile Puppy. It could get hurt, and they are a lot of work, and take a lot of time. I wish you the best.

well it will be my dog, but my 4 year old talks alot more when she is around dogs, so it will in a sense be a therapy dog for her. I will be the one responsible for it. :)

I found nothing when googling her (good or bad). We will be asking about the health guarantee, etc.

Here is the link I was looking for earlier:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...uy-yorkie.html

no clue. I got the breeders name from a local vet, and she only breeds yorkies.

thanks!

I don't see anything wrong with owning a small dog and young respectful kids. You say at 13 weeks she is already 4.5lbs, so it's not like she's going to be a 'tiny'. Just because you have young children, doesn't automatically make you not able to get the dog of your choice, I would just think alot on it. Puppies are like having a baby all over again. You can't take your eyes off them, they are up in the night, they are needing to be potty trained, etc. Your children need to be taught as well to not just pick the puppy up whenever, watch their footsteps, be gentle, etc.

However, if you say the mom is skiddish around new people, you may want to find another breeder with parents with different temperaments. Jackson is very shy and leary around new people. He won't let a strange person just come up and pet him, and strange children make him nervous too. He has been socialized with them all of his life, this is just how he is. He's 15lbs and bigger too. He's gotten extremely better, I just give our guests a treat to give him and then he's fine.

But we live with a 2 1/2 year old little girl and they've grown up together and love each other sooo much. My half brother is also 6 years old and Jackson just LOVES him. A few of my cousins, Jackson is crazy over as well and totally loves. I love to let children come up and greet Jackson because he's learning they are good and 'treat' givers, LOL. It's great socialization, I don't want him to ever be unfriendly to a child or any person or dog and he never has been.

I think it's an amazing thing for a child to grow up living with a dog. I got "my" first dog at the age of 4, her name was Daisy. Of course she was technically my dads dog, as he took care of her. But she taught me SO much. She passed when I turned 14 and I still talk about Daisy. Dogs w/ children can be GREAT! I think it teaches the child about respect, trust, and unconditional love at an early age. My 6 year old brother just LOVES "his" dogs Lily and Buddy (both under 12lbs) and loves to cuddle them, make sure they are okay, and take good care of them. He's alot more respectful than half the other little kids that he plays with.

First pic is Jackson and Emma in December '08, Jackson was around 10 weeks old.
Second pic is just recently, Jackson at almost 2 years old and Emma at almost 3. :)

so, if the puppy isn't shy now, will it turn shy/skiddish as it grows up?

No one can really guess. I got Jackson from a non reputable breeder before I knew better. I had never went to get a puppy before, so didn't know what to expect. When I first held Jackson, he was really scared acting. It wasn't a bunch of puppies wagging their tails happily at the guests like I've seen in videos now from reputable breeders... but I thought it was normal that he was scared, etc. So he was very shy when I very first met him, and he's remained that way the rest of his life. (Not with the family members and me of course. Even my aunts and uncles who he only sees once every few weeks or even months, he LOVES! but he's not the type of dog that's gonna wanna go up to a stranger and get lovin' or anything). I think in general a puppy keeps their basic personality.

It's the old "smaller dogs are worth more" scam.

While I understand the reasoning behind the general idea of not having small kids and small dogs....I also disagree with it. I have a 4 1/2 year old and a almost 3 year old. I also have a 105 pound great dane and a 3 pound 2 ounce maltese/yorkie mix. Both dogs are great with my kids and vice versa. Obviously they are my responsibility but the kids help too.

Under the right circumstances small kids can mesh well with small dogs.

This, unfortunately, is one of the reasons I had to skip the rescue route to get my little one.

I don't know anything about the breeder, but I had a yorkie when my dtr was born and have had one or more ever since. As long as you know your children will not harm the pup and be supervised when with her, I don't see a problem.

I think small children and dogs CAN mix well if it is thought about VERY carefully and parents know what they are about to take on. ALOT of research has to be done about the breed they are welcoming into their home with small children. Also they have to make sure their children would be able to behave around the puppy and be gentle, if the parents dont think their child can not do this then it probs aint a good idea. I dont agree with getting a yorkie for a child... but the OP cleared that up.

I dont really understand why a smaller puppy is a different price to the others.... as Rhetts Mama said this sounds a bit like a scam to me trying to make more money on the smaller puppies (i might be wrong) The website does not give you much information which also makes me wonder. If i was you i would make sure when you go today you ask all of the relevant questions, remember buy the breeder first.

I don't agree with pricing smaller puppies for more money at all... but I've seen it a lot! Even with YT members who are breeders. I don't really get it, tbh.

Congrats on deciding to get a dog for you and for your kids!

As already mentioned and IMHO it would be easier on you AND the kids AND the dog if you could choose a somewhat older dog in a small but not fragile size. Just imagine to have another baby there b/c that's what it's going to be like only that this baby can be fast in pooping and peeing on the carpet and in places where you really can't get to easily... :eek:

Maye you could look into rescuing a dog that lives now in a foster home where you could be sure that he/she gets along with kids, walks nicely on a leash, is potty trained, does not throw up in the car, doesn't chew up your furniture, shoes, your kids toys, isn't allergic to certain foods, is already spayed/neutered, has all the necessary shots, a clean bill of health (no LP, Liver Shunt etc.) and has all excess puppy teeth already removed. Those first 2 years of a Yorkie puppy can be quite expensive and you would need to keep an eye on the puppy and the kids all the time and when you think that you get a quiet moment b/c the kids are asleep then for sure the puppy needs you for something...

Good luck!

I have a son who has autism... He just turned 17 yrs old. We have had our Yorkie for 2 1/5 yrs now. I honestly would not reccomend a yorkie to a family with 2 young children who have developmental disabilites. It is hard enough dealing with that , then adding a fragile little puppy in the mix is IMO, quite unrealistic.
Their are other breeds that are so much better and suitable for therapy dogs and young children. Labs , for example would be a far better choice given the circumstances. I am all for having a dog for therapy reasons. However, careful thought has to be top priority. Adding a tiny bred Yorkie puppy is like having a infant in the home. I do not think people realise just how much work it really is unless experienced it.
It is not just about having young children in the house , autistic kids have more chalenges , and the understanding is not there. This is putting a very small puppy in danger, and not fair to the dog.
I am very glad I waited to get a puppy until my son was older.

Well, we are thinking about it (still undecided about a dog over all). She was a sweetie. She is a bigger yorkie. about 5lb and 14 weeks. Not fragile at all. My dd1 is very high functioning w/Autism most people don't know she has it. She loves animals and comes out of her shell with them. We, as a family are looking for a small breed dog to fit our needs and have had a yorkie cross before so we are familiar w/temperment. And we are not looking at a rescue this time because we want a puppy/to be able to train it properly from the get go. Our last dog (yorkie cross) we had doing obediance and flyball.

You are doing the right thing. You are thinking about it, and asking for thoughts, suggestions and opinions. Ultimately it will be your choice. No doubt, whatever you decide, will be the best for you, your kids, and the new pup. You have your ducks lined up in a row, and you know that they are special, fragile, little dogs. WHatever you decide, Golden Retriever or Yorkie, best of luck.

Just remember that a yorkie cross and a pure yorkie "could" be a lot different. And 5lbs is still small, yes she will grow but you will have to watch every minute.
As far as a rescue I don't think you will find a rescue that would give you a yorkie because you have 2 young children. But I feel that any dog puppy or older can be trained.
You will be adding another member into your family and as we all know if you have kids you will be the person taking care of this dog, the kids, the house,.....ext,ext,ext it just goes on and on. Good luck :)

I am very glad that you are taking careful consideration on choosing a puppy. My yorkie was my first puppy as a mom. It is really great that you already have some knowledge about dogs. my son is high functioning too. We did have cats in the house before getting a puppy.
I hope that your next puppy works out well for your family and can be very theraputic for your children:)

I think it's a shame alot of rescues won't adopt to families with children because more often than not, they are missing out on giving a yorkie a GREAT home. So many dogs sit in these rescues forever because they are too picky on what homes they go to. I respect and love what they do, and understand they want to give these dogs the best home possible but I don't like when rescues write out specific "No kids under 10 PERIOD" rules, I think each situation should be dealt with separately. Alot of yorkies LOVE children and would prefer to share a home w/ them. And because of this, alot of people will look to other means to get a dog or puppy which is a total shame. :( But anyways that's a whole different rant, I shouldn't go off topic. I just don't see why so many are against having small dogs with kids. Life happens, people have children and want to have dogs too at the same time, there is nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to totally wish you well in your search and you sound like you'd be a GREAT yorkie owner!

I agree with you Brit. I think kids can be wonderful with dogs and vice versa. I think kids really miss out by not having pets when they are young but not all kids are good with dogs and not all dogs are good with kids. I think I would be a little leary about a dog who was skittish. Some dogs are really outgoing and adaptive and others just can't tolerate the high energy level kids have. I have an almost 7 year old and we have had Zoe for over 3 years so he was 3 1/2 when we got her. At 7, my puppies just love him. They play tag together, he throws the ball for them to fetch and he loves giving them treats. But it is important for parents to teach kids the appropriate way to handle dogs.
I with the OP luck with whatever decision they make.

I totally agree- especially on the skittish thing. I definitely think you wanna search for a more outgoing puppy!

that is so true. My youngest daughter has 5 children, the youngest will be 2 in November. They visit once a month and they are fine with Beamer and Lil Bit. Beamer always barks at the youngest - but it is "please come and play with me bark"
But there is a little girl lives almost across the street from us, the family is wonderful, best neighbours you could want. I adore the little girl (she is 5 years old) - however Beamer is afraid of her. When I was incapacitated last November the family were great, bringing me meals and taking care of me (Bruce was in the hospital at the time, it was a real bad period of time for us). However the little girl would pick Beamer up even though I told her not to, and she didn't hold him right. Got to where when she came over he would run under the bed out of the way, and she would go to get him out from under the bed. Even now he stays out of the way if she comes over to visit me.