The Cost of Yorkies !
 

A friend of mine is thinking of getting a Yorkie but is not to sure because of the price. I got mine for an excellent price and so she would really love to do the same. The prices are through the roof! Does anyone have any idea why the prices all seem to be $1000 or more? Until my baby I had never paid more than $500 for a dog. I ended up driving 3 hours just to get below the $1000 mark. It is insane! No offense to anyone but for those of us who just want pets this is a little pricey. I even asked if they would lower the price if the puppy was sold with no papers and was a male! They wouldn't hear of it. It took me a long time but I finally got my baby WITH papers UNDER $1000. He is very healthy and will be about 4.5 or 5 pounds full grown. Talk about an expensive baby LOL But I love mine to pieces and would do it again in a heartbeat!


Emms :lovewings

if you think thats expensive, they wanted $2000.00 for lexi and i got her
$ 1800.00... shes all worth it........ love her to pieces and would do it again..

Here the prices go well up to $2000. If you have the money to pay that much and don't mind then have at it. But there are a lot of us that don't have that kind of money. I thought I would never get one because of the price. I was lucky to get mine for the price I did.

The price is usually higher if you get a female rather than a male. I paid 600 for my male and 1200 for my female.

I got Max 5 years ago and paid $450.00 for him. I had purchased a pup male in the fall for $300 with no papers but I didnt keep him. I took him back due to the fact that he didnt get along with the other dogs(dallys) and he didnt seem to fit in with our family. I thought it would be best for him. I bought a female last fall for $1200.00. I saw some cheaper but they were so far away. I figured it was woth it.

Yep. That is one reason I always asked for a little boy. I paid $700 for mine.

Emms

The cost is very high, but you can find some Breeders who will
sell their litters at a lower price. It's not easy, but they are out
there. Most of the high price litters are Show & Breeding.
If your friend wants a Pet, well she needs to find a Good Breeder,
and let him/her know she wants a pet, not a Show or Breeding pup.
I hope your friend finds the furbaby of her dreams soon. ;)

If someone wants "just a pet," not a show dog or a dog to breed, I would suggest looking into a Yorkie rescue organization. There are lots of good Yorkies there looking for a home for alot less.

You might have your friend consider a rescue and saving a life. :D There are over 292 Yorkies/Yorkie Mix's available at www.petfinder.com or you can google a search for Yorkie Rescue as there are many out them. Not usually a young puppy but all ages and conditions. Each rescue has different adoption fee's but it certainly is under the costs you are talking about. I am not sure where you are on the East Coast but there are many rescued Yorkie's available on the east coast.

Cindy & The Gang :aimeeyork

I paid $800 for mine. I thought that was terrible! She is a little girl, and worth every bit of it, but never thought I would pay that much for a dog! The most I paid before that was $300 for a Peke.
Pat

I think it goes down to this...yorkie's are now very popular and breeders know they can sell one for that much. They are very expensive dogs....

believe me, i didnt want to spend that kind of money, but when i saw lexi,
i just had to have her...and let me tell you, the timing was sowrong.. i was
it the midst of have major construction on my kitchen, had no kitchen at all for 2 months at least, but when its right you will know it.

I had thought about getting a rescue yorkie. They wouldn't let me hvae one because of my other dog. He is a German Shepherd. Would you believe it if I told you that the two of them are like long lost brothers! lol It is so cute to seem them play. They even nap together. LIke me my friend also has a big dog. So getting a rescue Yorkie will be hard. I am in Virginia by the way.

Emms

Well, I am getting one for just a pet..And he will cost me $1200. I think it is worth it, he is coming from a very good Champion breeder.

I actually came into some extra cash, so that is why I got to buy my Bia. If it wasnt for that then I wouldn't have her. There is no way I could just drop another 1000 like that again, I dont live that lavishly, but It all happened for the good, and I got my baby. But believe me the upfront cost is nothing, I think I have spent around 2500 on vet bills, and food and daily up keep since I have had her. I swear they are expensive all the way around. More people have to take that into consideration, which I think they really never do, and thats why the shelters are so full. Oh and ppl that know how much I spent think I am insane :eek: , but I tell them they are going for a whole lot more, and they just think it is ridiculous.

I think it also has something with the hype. Yorkies are just "in" right now. Terrible I know but that's what it is. Fact is that pure bred dogs are more expensive than mutts.

Sometimes I get a little frustrated when I see people on Craigslist wanting a purebred Yorkie, preferrable female, under 4 pound, 12 weeks old, with papers but can "only afford $300". I feel that they have no idea that getting a dog this young means multiple visits to the vets for shots, etc, potty training, obedience...all things that cost money. The list just goes on and on.

When I got my Yorkie, $1000 with papers, seemed like a real bargain to me compared to some of the prices I saw. In the two month following though, I must have spend half or the same amount for all the things that come with having such a young puppy. It is totally worth it though when you come home and those little ones jump up on you...wouldn't give that up for the world. Hell, I would pay much more for my little piggie...

Check out this thread http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...t=cost+raising and it will give you some idea of what it costs a good breeder to raise a yorkie puppy until it is old enough to be adopted. Most breeders will tell you, if you don't figure their time at all, not even at minimum wage, it costs at least $1000 if your provide the mom and litter with the best vet care and you keep the puppies to 12 weeks and it is even more for a tiny who needs 24/7 care from birth and usually stays with the breeder to 16 weeks. I have no problem with the fact that tinies are more money for this reason.

The initial cost of the puppy is nothing if you look at it over the lifetime of the dog and the unconditional love and joy you will receive. If you pay $2000 to get the puppy of your dreams and it lives to be ten years old (most live longer but I am using a hypothetical example for illustrative purposes only) that is $200 a year or 54 cents a day for that dog!!

I gave up a vacation and delayed a new car for a year or two because I wanted my yorkies and I have never regretted it. My life is so enriched as a result, so much more than a vacation or a new car. You also have to realize that the initial cost is just that, only the beginning, as these little dogs can be expensive and you cannot be so afraid of the vet bill that you delay or hesitate taking them in when they need to go.

I think you get what you pay for and I am not trying to offend anyone but when you ask a breeder to accept only $500 for a puppy you are asking them to lose money imo. I feel that I want to fully compensate my breeder for giving my puppy and its litter mates and mother the very best start in life. $500 means no vet checks for mom, breeder does own dew claws and tails, puppies leave mom and littermates at 6 or 8 weeks so breeder incurs no extra costs, etc.

Yorkies are difficult to breed and it is hard on the moms and not all females are suitable for breeding. Breeding is tough and i give a lot of credit to those who choose to do it because I never could!

One lastthing...if you ask anyone what they would take for their dog, most would tell you they are "priceless" and they wouldn't let them go for any amount of money. :)

Yep they are a lot of money , but worth every penny.

here we go again anyway :rolleyes: emmsmom, my advise is to tell your friend to pay what she can afford and what she feels is fair.

:) :) I agree

I was going to not say a word on this but I think the prices are NUTS too...there are MANY yorkies out there for a reasonable price - tell your friend not to fall for the hype & to be patient...there are many reasonable GOOD breeders still left in the world :) :) :)

I believe that a lot of it depends on your geographical location. Males are around $600-700 in my area and females start around $800. Good luck in your friend's search.

I paid 1,400 for my Gus and worth every dime!!! I'm in awe with the breeders I got him from. They are sisters who are in the biz together. Spending that kind of money was crazy,,,,, so I thought. But after wanting one so badly as I had, it was so worth it. We are getting a Chi in about 3 months. (keeping our fingers crossed for a female to be born with this litter) but I still will not give up hope on finding my red or cherry blond Yorkie. I just hope I can aford her when I do find her!

I agree, the price is rather high. My first thought was to refer your friend to one of the rescue organizations, but a word of caution: I ran into one who thought I was some kind of monster because I had two Yorkies. A spayed female and an :eek: UNNEUTERED male that I had someday hoped to use as a stud. She sent me the most nasty e-mails accusing me of being one of THOSE breeders who produced all the unwanted and undesireable pups that wind up being in her rescue. :eyeballpc She vowed she would send my name to all the rescue organizations and have me blacklisted. It was the most horrific experience I had ever had with someone I had never met.

BE CAREFUL with the rescue organizations is all I have to say. I agree there are pups there that need homes and love, but the organizations themselves seem to jump to conclusions about the prospective homes.

Dawn

I am only speaking about what I'm comfortable doing:

I own 12 so off the bat take the routine vet care you pay for one yorkie (dentals, shots, food, toys, vitamins, pee pads, grooming supplies, flea prevention, heartworm prevention and any other unexpect vet bills that may come up) per year and multiply that by 12 and that's what I pay; mabye a little more because my vet specializes in canine reproduction. Then add to that the xtras I do because I want so badly to make sure that i don't breed one with hereditary defect that can take away from the quality of life or be life threatening. I have all my Yorkies BA tested, my females have vaginal swabs and progestrone tests done prior to matitng to make sure I breed them at peak. I dont' just breed them for days and hope they take. Once bred, I have my female ultra sounded and then xrayed a copule days before due date. Because I work full have my moms-to-be stay with a mid-wife that my clinic has. She has a set up at her home to keep expecting moms on labor watch for 24 hrs round the clock. I send my mom's there 2 days before they are due so taht they can be monitored and watched by someone experience who can handle any situation in my absense. That alone costs me $80 a day. Then a c-section if there was a problem. Once the puppies are here I pay to have tails and dews done, all shots are done by my vet they have at least 2 sets before leaving. Stools are checked, they are on flea prevention, and will have a full blood panel to clear them of LS any other health problems that can be seen in the blood. I aslo alter my puppies before placing them now. I also have a VERY nice pupppy kit I send home. I offer a full guarantee for 1 yr for hereditary defects but lifetime support, you can call me any time. My Yorkies range from $1200-$2500 females are more expensive becuase the spay is done by Laparscopy which costs twice as much as the traditional spay. If i have a tiny puppy I do charge more becuse I have to keep them longer which is more money I have to pay. the money i make covers expenses for my Yorkies. I COULD charge more but that means I would have a smaller selection of homes and I wouldnt be able to be as picky. I try to be fair but I need to recoup my expenses too.

I get a lot of grief from some breeders because I do all this. :confused: But it's my choice, I'll tell ya, I can sleep better at night doing it this way. It's just how I am. I'm not saying this is the only way or that anyone that doesn't do things the same as me is a puppymill or byb or disreputable..it's all personal preference.

Hugs,
Wini and da' million dollar gang :D

I agreed the prices are insane. I paid for Gucci $900. I guess that price is great considering the outrageous prices you can find out there. Tell your friend to keep looking she might be lucky and find a great pet at a reasonable price.

I have to say have your friend to into rescue organizations, there are sooo many sweet yorkies that need a second chance. If they have health issues she will know what they are upfront.

Best of luck to your friend!

Hugs,
Wini

Rini! You are one of the GREAT ones!! I commend you for your high standards! Your babies are worth every penny you charge and then some imo!

Thanks to celebs such as Paris Hilton... :rolleyes:

:confused: I thought she only had chis. Did she get a yorkie?

The breeder I went with charged me $1200.00 for her female. She has one female left and she told me is going to charge $1500.00 for the last one. The males are going for $1000.00. Thank god I had to only pay $600.00 when she was first born (deposit), then the next half when I pick her up in 12 weeks. I pick her up in January right after the holiday.