Purchasing puppy today, then stumbled on an old thread here..... What to do?
 

The wife and I have been looking for a puppy for quite some time and finally decided to go with a Yorkshire Terrier. After looking around awhile I found a man/woman who had one available. They are called fancypups. Seem genuinely nice and the photos of the puppy are adorable. But after looking them up, I came across a thread in here blasting them to pieces. It is an older thread.

I'm wondering what to do now. We really had our hearts set on picking her up but now were worried about it. Does anyone have any recent dealings with them?

Any recommendations outside of them?

I would definitely not support these folks. www.ytca.org does have a listing of breeder members by state.


I think there are some fairly recent (one yr old posts on here) about this fancypups.

Yeah, we went ahead and cancelled our appointment with them. It saddens us, but it's probably for the best.

On another note, do you know if Texas Yorkie Breeders is legit?
Texas Yorkie Breeders - Puppies for Sale

not sure where spring is. I would try my best to find a pup locally, where is Spring?

I just looked at their web site, first off their dogs cost to much money, second they look like they breed "teacups" Which means the breeder is mostly concerned with size vs quality (health)

If you are willing to spend the money that Fancy Pup charges You would probably be able to find a show breeder that has some pet quality dogs for sale for less money and most likely they would have a better chance of being healthy. Use that link that was posted earlier to find them, attend some shows and start to network among the show breeders in TX to find your pup, and don't feel you need to find the smallest yorkie out there, the "teacup" yorkie is not what you should be after.

I just saw this link, posted on another thread read that and you will see what I mean I about teacups (extra small yorkies) Cuteness Kills: The Case Against Teacup Dogs - Terribly Terrier

Good luck with your search, there are lots of members here from TX that might be able to help you, also Yorkie Haven is located in TX and you might find a rescue pup through them.

Houston Tex,teacup,yorkshire terrier,breeder,puppies,yorkies

I do agree, stay away. Many people here are painfully aware of what is being done to purebred dogs these days by people who know nothing about genetics and are in breeding strictly to make money.

Any time you go to the internet to look for a purebred your basic search is going to bring up puppy mills. Good, knowledgeable breeders do not have those fancy websites with gorgeous pictures and their sites do not come up in the first several hundred choices because they do not sell in the large numbers puppy mills do.

If you can't find anyone at the YTCA that can help you then go to your local AKC sanctioned dog club. They usually have a puppy contact person that will help you find reputable breeders. You still need to do your homework and check them out but they can at least get you pointed in the right direction.
American Kennel Club - Club Search and Directory

Do a search for a conformation club near you. You can try looking for a specialty club but they are harder to find in certain areas.

Just another word of warning: I do not recommend using the AKC classified ads. Anyone that has an AKC litter registration slip can use those ads including puppy mills. AKC is great for keeping track of a breeding dog's ancestry but they are not picky about who uses their service.

People who buy pups from puppy mills and other disreputable breeders run a high risk of getting a dog with health problems. That pup can end up costing you way more money than you intended to pay. Take your time and do your research. It is well worth your while. Many people go ahead and buy from puppy mills because they want a pup so badly but personally, I would not want my money helping any puppy mill owner to continue to torture dogs.

Magnifique Yorkies I believe is a show breeder from DFW and is a member here. MY Fair Lacy is her screen name I also believe YorkieMom1 still breeds and she is in Houston, seems to know a lot about yorkies, check out those gals, if they do not have puppies they might know some that do. Good Luck

Purchasing
 

I hope this turns out well for you and new baby-wherever you buy. I say ditto to everything that has been written. The cost of a broken heart or sickly puppy can not be measured. I have a feeling that when you see this puppy there will be no turning away. Hoping for the best for all concerned. Fortunately fancy pups seems to have a good refund policy. Speaking from experience, the money will mean nothing.

I know you must be VERY disappointed, but you did the right thing when you cancelled your appointment. They are not breeders -- they are brokers and have no idea what the parents, grandparents, etc of the pups are like, health-wise or temperament-wise. It's a big crap shoot. And, even if you did get lucky and end up with a healthy one, they are supplied by puppy mills and the more puppies they move the more room they make to keep the mill going and that is a horrific life for the breeding dogs that live there, pumping out litter after litter.

Spring is a northern suburb of Houston and Pearland is a suburb on Houston's south side.

I am not sure there is a 'good fad' but intentionally creating tiny unwell animals is heartbreaking and I hope soon seen for what it truly is. Very interestingly written article, even if they couldn't spell Shih Tzu...pronounced "shee dzu" as I understand it...LOL

I do hope the word gets out that 'having' to carry a tiny dog in your bag with you all the time to keep it from dying from hypoglycemia, etc., gets out and becomes understood. It was one thing when the 'eat oats for lowering cholesterol' fad hit...this is different. We had a choice to eat oats or not...little tiny dogs don't get a choice on their size or health.

Thank you for the info.

I am sorry you are having trouble finding a Yorkie baby. There are good breeders in Texas...I know there must be a Yorkie waiting for you to find it. Hugs

I just saw this question now, don't believe it was answered, I don't know anything about them, but the girl that is for sale is $1800. and both her parents are 10 to 12 lbs, LOL that is the complete opposite of the first place you looked at. No good breeder of a yorkie would breed two 10 lb dogs and expect to get one that should be sold for that much money.

plus it looks like she will be ready to go to her new home at 8 weeks old, try to get a pup at a min of 12 weeks, you really need to read all the threads here on how to find a yorkie puppy.

I hate to say it but there are more bad yorkie breeders than good ones, or maybe it's the bad ones that do all the advertising. I finally decided to go a different route after having 4 purebreds in the past and bought a mix.

And the Ten year Health Guarantee is a joke, nowhere does it say 10 yr coverage and for what. Only one year coverage for genetic, and replacement puppy....

Stay away from them! All indications are that they are brokers that get their pups from puppy mills.

What happened ? Walk away or picked him up?

You are so right!! I have been there and she has beautiful pups and it would be hard for anyone to walk away without a pup. It happened to me and at a yr. old my pup had to have LCPD surgery! I'll almost bet her refund policy would turn into a big hassle. When I asked to see the rest of her pups again before I signed the dotted line she acted really put out!

The OP cancelled their appointment! :)

This is a good thing that the OP came here for an opinion. I recommend a buyer check a breeder out every which way.

I went down to that place myself instead of cancelling. I didn't bring the wife. The two folks I met were actually quite nice and they brought out several different puppies. The one she wanted to sell me ($800) must have been the most high strung dog I had ever seen. I'm pretty sure Yorkies aren't supposed to be wild and chew on everything, right?

The 2nd one she showed me ($1,000) I fell in love with. Was very cute, cuddly, wasn't going wild, etc. It took everything I had to not take her with me. I asked her why the wild price difference between her pups and others in the market, and she said it had to do with size and looks. She said she had a $3,000 pup she could show me, which I promptly wanted to see out of curiosity. It was immediately apparent what a difference the dog she brought out was. It looked like a living teddy bear. He was a sight to behold. lol But in the end, I did leave empty handed from the advice provided on these forums.

Since then I've contacted multiple people from the lists provided here and have had a couple respond. Most do not have any pups for sale or have boys. I was instructed by a super nice lady who has been e-mailing me to not discount the boys as they can actually make better pets. So we may decide on a boy if the girl proves difficult to attain.

Thank you again for everyone's advice, and hopefully we will find our precious pup someday.

I have a girl Yorkie but can tell you that I have heard from so many owners of male Yorkie's how great they are. Good luck with your search and thank you for having the strength to walk away from the first situation.

to me I have had 5 dogs, 3 males and two females, all were different, one female was not playful at all and now Lola is non stop playing and could fetch till the cows came home. one yorkie male loved to fetch two did not. I go to yorkie meetups and it's hard to tell the males from the females when it comes to temperament. I will say though that if I wanted a pad trained dog I would not get a male, males drip a bit after leaving the pee pad other than that is does not seem to matter.

For fetch, I think that there are some dogs that are more naturally attuned to this - and sex is not definitive on this. I also believe that you need to train fetch, to make it fun, but then that is where you see if your dog has a natural affinity to that task/game etc.

You did the right thing by walking away. I have a little girl from a wonderful breeder, and it makes all the difference in the world. Katie is such a happy, confident little girl who was with her breeder for the first three years of her life. It's obvious how much love and attention she was given, and she is so full of life. I've had five Yorkie females, and all loved to fetch. Katie is a true athlete, and she is obsessive about fetching her ball. It took me a while to get her interested in toys, but she loves them now.

The wait for a reputable breeder who breeds for temperament, structure, and health is truly worth it in the long run. I hope you find the puppy of your dreams.

There is a group on fb thats called yorkys crazy. Ladies. There are a number of breeders many who just had puppies you might check them out.

It does sound like the people you met were brokers. They get pups from puppy mill breeders and sell them because obviously no one is going to be allowed into an actual puppy mill to see the conditions. They can get a puppy from a mill for around $100.00 and sell it for $1,000 or more.

A reputable breeder would be able to show you pedigrees and pictures of their dogs at shows, etc. They would not have multiple litters at the same time. A good well bred pet quality Yorkie should not cost you much more than $1200.00 and would have a very good health guarantee. The owners would be checking you out to make sure you were not going to breed the dog or sell it to someone else to breed. A reputable breeder spends a lot of money developing a line of purebreds and they want to protect their investment from getting into the hands of people that you just visited.

I don't know them but if they are not members of an AKC sanctioned conformation group I would stay away. If they are not breeding to standard by well thought out and proven genetic guidelines they are creating trouble for the breed.

This is not necessarily accurate.....pricing differs in all parts of the country, different breeders set their own pricing structures, usually directly related to the amount of time/labor/"extras" like vaccinations given, microchipping, health checks every 3-4 weeks to keep on top of any developing issues that could be occuring, etc....dont think of this $1200.00 price as a benchmark price for what you "should" be paying......

I agree, Judy. Here in the northeast, Yorkies from reputable breeders can run much more than this, but having a healthy pup with an excellent temperament is priceless to me.