Found a puppy we want....but he's ACA registered...
 

not AKC

Everything I'm reading online says to avoid the ACA because it's not a good registry. My problem is that I have 2 younger children (6.5 & 9.5) and I can't find any AKC reputable breeders (have found sketchy ones who aren't any better than ACA IMO) who will sell a yorkie to anyone with kids under 10.

BUT I raised my older kids (now 18, 15 & 12) with 2 yorkies and everything was fine. Those dogs have now passed away and I'd like another puppy.

My children have had hamsters and have been gentle with them, I'm not worried about them with a puppy. We have allergies so we are limited to certain dogs and so far yorkies have been the least allergy inducing breed we;ve found for us (plus I just adore them :) ). Bichons are AWFUL for us oddly

Anyway, should I go for the ACA puppy or keep looking? Any thoughts? thanks

I would avoid that registry. People who use it usually were not able to obtain decent breeding stock and are using dogs that probably should not be bred. There is no guarantee of their being purebred either.

I know there are good reputable breeders in your state. Have you done a search for conformation clubs in your state? I can understand a breeder being hesitant about selling to someone with kids but some breeders will allow you to bring your kids to be observed with the dogs and then decide if they feel they can trust them with a puppy. I think kids the age of yours could be fine with a small dog IF they are calm well mannered. But I'm not a breeder and that is who you need to convince.

You could take your chances with the ACA puppy. Look into it very closely. Make sure you see both parents in person and observe how the dogs are kept. You also want to know how and where the puppies are raised. Hopefully, the breeder keeps the pups until they are 12 weeks old.

Well there is no real way to know that the puppy is actually a full yorkie because any registry other then AKC can pretty much register any dog and say it is what you want it to be.

Check out the YTCA website. There is a wonderful group of reputable breeders

I too would check out the YTCA website... I personally would not adopt a dog from that registry....

The AKC is the only registry that you can be confident in. I'm sure there are breeders out there that will let you have a yorkie. I mean, your kids are not all that young really.

I agree with the above, just take a look at the breeders listed on the YTCA website and start making some calls. Happy hunting! You'll find the right Yorkie for your family..hang in there :)

thanks

Originally was looking at a rescue but they require no children under 10 and a fenced in yard. We have a large townhouse (3000+sq ft) but not a fenced in yard. I wouldn't leave my yorkie outside alone anyway, we have foxes around here and I don't want to take any chances.

While some good breeders choose not to sell to families with small children, some make exceptions, and in your case, I can understand why they would. Tell them your story and how you've owned a Yorkie before with small children. I don't think a fenced yard is important with many breeders, and in fact Joey’s breeder won’t sell to anyone who has a doggy door! She doesn't believe that Yorkies should be allowed outside unsupervised.

Many Yorkies develop a bad habit of darting out the door. so be careful of that too. (but you probably know that already!):D

Mine wouldn't really dart out the door, but my girlie did like to chase geese, ducks, big dogs etc so I knew to be careful especially with her. She had no fear at all (unlike my chicken boy lol) and she'd give me the stink eye if I halted her fun haha. She was such a great dog, miss that personality! :)

Gotta love the stink eye. How do they get so good at doing that? :confused::confused::D

Just because someone has AKC registered dogs, doesn't mean that the dog is guaranteed to be pure. The only guarantee is the integrity of the breeder.. After all, where did those AKCF registered merle chihuahuas and long coat whippets come from?

My issue with the ACA is that even if the dog is registered correctly with decent bloodlines, somewhere along the way there was a breach of trust, somewhere along the way, someone broke with their integrity and registered a dog that the breeder decided wasn't breeding stock, be it wrong color, wrong coat, wrong ear set or whatever.

This is why I would avoid the ACA. Even if you find the most adorable, close to perfect puppy... you're supporting a lie, you're supporting a breech of trust, you're supporting a lack of integrity. And yes, ACA pedigrees should be considered suspect because of this.

This is not to say you can't find a good ACA registered puppy. This is not to say the breeder of your puppy is the one that should be suspect.. But by registering with the ACA, they have marked their breeding stock as substandard, regardless of whether it is or not, as the ACA, APRI and the like is known to be "puppymill" registries.

So like a pet store bred puppy, I would be triple careful of the source. This is when I would say a physical home check is a MUST, so you can see the source of your puppy, and there MUST be health checks on the parents. If the breeder is doing everything that a CoE breeder is doing concerning health checks, and health guarantees, then you should be alright. If the health guarantee only protects the breeder, watch out.

I guess I don't understand the fence requirement either. Yes, some dogs do try to dart out the door but if you don't have your front yard fenced and the pup tries to get out that door, what then? A fenced yard is nice but it does not protect from everything. I know many responsible owners that do not have fenced yards who walk their dogs on a regular basis. A dog that gets regular walks is probably getting more exercise than many who sit in a fenced yard. I do not believe a dog should be left unattended in a fenced yard anyway.
There are ways to prevent a pup from getting out the door. I had to find ways to do it with Gracie as she was a darter as a puppy. She is fully trained not to go near the door now.
I would keep looking for a good breeder that is willing to meet your kids and decide that they are responsible enough to be around a small puppy.

I don't understand the fence thing too. I did not have any breeder require a fence. I did have a few rescues require one.