Yorkies Snouts

[acalusa2000]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I've noticed a thread regarding this subject back from 2005 so I wanted to see some recent comments. I will be getting my yorkie mid-June, once old enough to travel. Since the puppies are so small you have no idea what they will look like but the mother has a longer snout and I wonder if the babies will too. I'm from CT and was hoping to find a breeder locally (CT/NY/PA) but either they were trying to scam me or way out of my price range. I found a very legit breeder but the puppies are coming from AL and like I said, I'm not sure what they will look like. Does anyone know how old puppies are when they start to show their true characteristics?

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and WELCOME to YT ! Yorkie puppies will change a lot over the first year, though they tend to reach their adult weight around 6 months. If the mother has a long snout, there is a good chance the pups will too. But honestly, it can be hard to tell. Are you looking for the shorter snout? If so, I'd definitely hold out for that specific characteristic if that's what you're in love with bc some yorkies really do have that longer snout appearance. My Marcel (in my avatar) has a short snout - and you can see in his picture what he looked like as a puppy...it looked short as a puppy too.

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by acalusa2000

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I've noticed a thread regarding this subject back from 2005 so I wanted to see some recent comments. I will be getting my yorkie mid-June, once old enough to travel. Since the puppies are so small you have no idea what they will look like but the mother has a longer snout and I wonder if the babies will too. I'm from CT and was hoping to find a breeder locally (CT/NY/PA) but either they were trying to scam me or way out of my price range. I found a very legit breeder but the puppies are coming from AL and like I said, I'm not sure what they will look like. Does anyone know how old puppies are when they start to show their true characteristics?

Could you post a photo of the mother, or give a link to a photo of her? Depending on hair length and how a Yorkie is groomed, snouts can appear longer or shorter. Puffy hair on the face that is not pulled back or clipped short will make the snout look shorter. Our Bella appears to have a short snout, but when she is wet from her bath, her snout looks longer. So maybe even if your puppy does end up having a longer snout, an appropriate hair cut will make him or her look cute as a button

[DBlain]

sorry you are having such a hard time finding one locally. A yorkie should have a mid to smaller length type snout, while the long ones are not preferred the almost no snout that some breeders refer to as baby doll faces are not a sign of good breeding and often internet sellers will photo shop dogs to look like the snout is almost pushed in with what they call apple cheeks. They also will "borrow" photos from other sites to give you the impression that is what you pup will look like. For some reason people seem to like that persian cat look, but often those pups wind up with health issues.

I probably should shut my mouth and you don't have to answer but I was curious on how you know you found a good breeder, hopefully you know people that have been there. The south is full of puppy mills and they often have the best designed web sites going. I have a neighbor that wanted a very small Maltese she thought she was working with some high end breeder in GA, turns out the dog she got was brought in from Asia, it has really bad runny eyes that has stained the dog face brown and it grew to be 10 lbs and my friend paid $2,500.00 for ! There are a lot of people here that know a lot about getting though the fluff on a web site and figuring out if the seller is on the up and up, it's up to you if you want to say who your breeder is or not, but if it was me and I was buying long distance I would ask anyone I could to help me check out the breeder.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Could you post a photo of the mother, or give a link to a photo of her? Depending on hair length and how a Yorkie is groomed, snouts can appear longer or shorter. Puffy hair on the face that is not pulled back or clipped short will make the snout look shorter. Our Bella appears to have a short snout, but when she is wet from her bath, her snout looks longer. So maybe even if your puppy does end up having a longer snout, an appropriate hair cut will make him or her look cute as a button

Exhibitors often use the poof of a topknot to disguise a longer snout or taller ears. My boys' hair does affect the way their snouts/faces will look on particular days, but there is still a clear difference between say Max and Ann's Marcel.

Acalusa2000, it can be hard to tell looking at a puppy how long the snout will be as an adult. You can look at the parents and get an idea, but characteristics from previous generations can also pop up.

Here is Max at 10 weeks and as an adult (his topknot is flat, so it shows the length of his snout):

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by DBlain

sorry you are having such a hard time finding one locally. A yorkie should have a mid to smaller length type snout, while the long ones are not preferred the almost no snout that some breeders refer to as baby doll faces are not a sign of good breeding and often internet sellers will photo shop dogs to look like the snout is almost pushed in with what they call apple cheeks.

The 'no snout' Yorkies have problems like short snouted breeds, but I think the OP is looking for one like Ann's Marcel, or Patti's Pixie, or Lisa's Katie.

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Exhibitors often use the poof of a topknot to disguise a longer snout or taller ears. My boys' hair does affect the way their snouts/faces will look on particular days, but there is still a clear difference between say Max and Ann's Marcel.

Acalusa2000, it can be hard to tell looking at a puppy how long the snout will be as an adult. You can look at the parents and get an idea, but characteristics from previous generations can also pop up.

Here is Max at 10 weeks and as an adult (his topknot is flat, so it shows the length of his snout):

Attachment 398556

Attachment 398557

Your photos are kind of what I was getting at. We keep Bella in a puppy cut, so she looks much more like the photo of Max as a pup, and appears to have a shorter snout.

[DBlain]

Originally Posted by Maximo

The 'no snout' Yorkies have problems like short snouted breeds, but I think the OP is looking for one like Ann's Marcel, or Patti's Pixie, or Lisa's Katie.

hopefully that is what she is after, it's just buying long distance often worries me, because of so many people that get tricked by these slick websites.

[acalusa2000]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Could you post a photo of the mother, or give a link to a photo of her? Depending on hair length and how a Yorkie is groomed, snouts can appear longer or shorter. Puffy hair on the face that is not pulled back or clipped short will make the snout look shorter. Our Bella appears to have a short snout, but when she is wet from her bath, her snout looks longer. So maybe even if your puppy does end up having a longer snout, an appropriate hair cut will make him or her look cute as a button

Here is Rocky as a puppy and a recent. I wouldn't have know his nose was to grow this long. I love, love, love him but am looking for a smaller snout on our next one. [ATTACH]398558

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by DBlain

hopefully that is what she is after, it's just buying long distance often worries me, because of so many people that get tricked by these slick websites.

Definitely. I chose Max long distance, without seeing him in person/visiting, but I didn't rely on the breeder's website alone. It did help that her website had photos of her with Max and Teddy's sire in the show ring, but I still researched her on the internet for more evidence that everything was legitimate. Researching a breeder who does not exhibit is probably more challenging.

[acalusa2000]

I took this to FB, listing that I was ISO.....6 breeders (i'm being nice) reached out to me. Three of them when I questioned them on their low, low pricing and how shipping costs, had sick kids, dying husbands (god-forbid, but that was the stories they were telling). I actually reached out to this person. She immediately gave me her number, as well as her vets, multiple references. I have spoken to each and every one, saw pictures of past litters from the now owners. Once you do all this research, you have to go with your gut. Now the only issue i'm having, her puppies are adorable but their snouts are a little on the longer side. Nothing like my other yorkie.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by acalusa2000

I took this to FB, listing that I was ISO.....6 breeders (i'm being nice) reached out to me. Three of them when I questioned them on their low, low pricing and how shipping costs, had sick kids, dying husbands (god-forbid, but that was the stories they were telling). I actually reached out to this person. She immediately gave me her number, as well as her vets, multiple references. I have spoken to each and every one, saw pictures of past litters from the now owners. Once you do all this research, you have to go with your gut. Now the only issue i'm having, her puppies are adorable but their snouts are a little on the longer side. Nothing like my other yorkie.

Rocky is adorable.

To be honest, if a breeder was eager to tell me about sick kids, a dying husband, or any other story of hardship, I would move along and keep looking. Sadly, too many bad breeders use sympathy to lure buyers and distract them from assessing a puppy realistically. They also often use religion to create an illusion of trustworthiness.

If the price is really low, sounds too good to be true, I guarantee you that the breeder is not a good one and you are taking a substantial risk of getting an unhealthy puppy or genetic ticking time bomb. The cost of good breeding practices means that for a breeder to break even, they have to charge a certain amount.

On the flip side, if someone is asking thousands for a puppy, a pet, they likely are brokers.

[Maximo]

Also, for the references, there are plenty of vets out there willing to vouch for bad breeders. Other references -- some of the worst breeders exposed in this forum have people stand up for them.

There is a thread in the library here about how to choose a breeder. Are the pups AKC registered? Not a perfect system, but helpful. What kind of health guarantee does the breeder offer?