Mrs. Thomas, I'd like to welcome you and Dino to YorkieTalk. I sincerely hope that you will become a regular contributor to our growing family of yorkie lovers. We would love to hear stories about Dino and see pics of him growing up.

To answer your question, it is a good thing to give the breeder a blanket or snuggly toy to the breeder so that your new baby will go home with the scent of his mom and brother.

It would also be a good thing if your breeder would keep your Dino until he is 12 weeks old (minimum). The time between six and 12 weeks is a very important time for social development. The pup learns from mom and siblings many things that we, as humans have a very difficult time teaching such as discipline, social hierarchy, and how to be a dog.

Good luck! Can't wait to see pics...

I live near Lancaster County PA, which is home to the LARGEST AMISH COMMUNITY in the country. I have been there 100's and 100's and 100's of times. I have been blamed for corrupting one or two back in the day:eek: (one of which is married to my sister in laws brother). In Lancaster County there are close to 400 registered breeders (puppy mills) and estimates are that in reality there are more than 900 unregistered...most of those being Amish....however, we know there are even more than what is statistically projected/estimated.

I would never condemn a whole for the sins of the few. I am an advocate for people as well as animals and I know for certain there are some Amish who would never stand for such treatment of animals; however, with that said I stand by what I said and know to be true in PA. It is not a secret that the Amish are greatly responsible for a large number of puppymills and largely "feel" differently about animals than some others.

As far as your comment about dogs outside, NO I don't believe in "outside" dogs, I believe that all animals that are in your family (not talking about livestock) should be treated like family, but that is just my opinion and my belief. My big dogs had a doggy door and spent more time outside than inside but when they were inside they were treated like family members. Heck we put a 28ft long by 18 ft wide addition on our house for the "outside" dogs, turned out we ended up spending more time in the "dog room" with them then in the main part of the house!


I genuinely want to know if their were Amish who were small hobby breeders who were breeding ethically and soundly like real reputable breeders because sadly, I've not met one yet.

What was your breeding program like when you were breeding Labs? Did you adhere to the practices of the breed club or AKC? I love learning about these things.

As far as the OP, I do want her to be aware of what she might be getting in to and wondering if she checked her breeders out thoroughly? I have a puppymill dog, I know what I don't wish upon anyone....

I intended absolutely no offense to you personally.

Here is a link to for informational purposes:
Amish Country's Dark Puppy Mill Secret - PawNation