Counsel Needed
 

Hello,

I'm going to meet a male Yorkie puppy tomorrow from a breeder that I found on the YTCA website. He comes with a health guarantee against Liver Shunt, Heart Murmur, and Collapsed Trachea.

He will be 9-weeks old and receive his second set of shots, so the breeder says he is ready to go home with me. Two other pups from the same litter are leaving tomorrow as well.

In general, on-line info says that puppies should not leave at 6-weeks, but 9-weeks seems to be okay. However, the info that I read here and on the YTCA website says that Yorkies should not leave until they are 12-weeks old.

The YTCA says that a puppy should not leave prior to 12-weeks because of "problems that may occur with a younger puppy". What problems might I run into?

Should I pass on this puppy? I'm very new to the Yorkie world, so any advice is appreciated.

I went out last night and bought all the puppy supplies, so I'm ready. However, this is a large investment for me, and I don't like the unsettled feeling that I'm having right now...

Thanks for your help,
~Bethel

We got our Bella at 8 weeks. The biggest problem, in my opinion, is the possibility of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Bella had two episodes of hypoglycemia, but pulled through with no problems. You have to be aware of the symptoms, and have nutrical or karo syrup on hand for emergencies, and food needs to be available at all times. Also, people say that they are better socialized if you get them at 12 weeks, although Bella turned out great. Could you purchase him and ask the breeder to hold on to him until 12 weeks of age? You might point out that the YTCA recommends 12 weeks... The health guarantee is great, though.

I have not ever made it a practice of speaking badly against a specific breeder, however there are practices that I do not go along with. I do not believe a yorkie puppy should leave momma until at least 12 weeks of age....I keep mine until ALL puppy shots are given and a week has passed to be certain there is NO issues from the final shot given, so my babies go out at 15 weeks of age. Shots given prior to 8 weeks of age are useless....puppy is still covered with mommas immunity at that age....so first shot at 8 weeks of age, second shot at 11 weeks of age, third in the series at 14 weeks of age. I personally would not accept a puppy that has had TWO puppy shots by the time it is 9 weeks old....way, way too young.

8-14 weeks of age is when we really begin to run into issues with puppies, if there are going to be any. That is why most casual "breeders" dump babies at 6-8 weeks of age....they escape having to finance the really expensive part of a baby's young life....those expenses and concerns for "early childhood diseases" become YOUR problem.....parvo is a real issue and 6-14 weeks of age is when this disease is a very real concern for babies.....in my opinion, you are stepping off into a mine field getting this baby, essentially unvaccinated since anything BEFORE 8 weeks of age is null and void.

Good points about parvo and the vaccinations as well. We kept Bella in our house 24/7, until she had received ALL of her vaccinations, and we waited until four weeks after her final puppy shots before taking her to the groomer for the first time, just to be sure. See if the breeder will hold the dog for you until 12 weeks.

Thank you both for your quick replies!

Yorkiemom1--I don't want to speak ill of anyone either, which is why I was very generic in my description. I greatly appreciate your honesty! This is info that I need.

Isn't it by law the "breeder" can't let the pup go until 8 weeks? The 12+ weeks is what breeders that takes... extra caution prefers.

Have you considered asking the breeder to hold onto the pup for 2 more weeks?

In my opinion if this Breeder is listed on the YTCA, they should know the By Law's they should adhere to, which is puppies should stay with Mom until 12 weeks of age. If this breeder isn't following this rule, what else are they not doing???

I am one that believe's that pup's should with Mom until 12--14 weeks of age.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I'm shocked and disappointed to read that a YTCA breeder is letting their pups go earlier than 12 weeks - that's not good. I'm also disappointed in the very poorly written explanation on YTCA's website on an issue that is really SO important. I mean really, no one at YTCA has/had the time to write a proper explanation as to why this is important? That speaks volumes to me :mad: :(.

If I were you, I'd ask this breeder if they'd be willing to keep it until 12 weeks.

I was looking for this information on the YTCA page. Is this what you found?

http://www.theyorkshireterrierclubof...y_a_yorkie.pdf

Edit: I also found this in their code of conduct http://www.theyorkshireterrierclubof...cs/COE_COC.pdf

"All puppies leaving the breeders possession will be a minimum of twelve (12) weeks of age to facilitate adequate socialization as well as appropriate emotional and temperament development through interaction with siblings, dam and other dogs."

I wouldn't buy from a breeder who would sell me a yorkie at nine weeks. I ended up getting Cookie at 14 weeks and yorkies are still handfuls even then. My girl was a large pup at 14 weeks (about ~3.5 pounds) and I was still watching her like a hawk for hypoglycemia and giving her Nutrical a few times those first 3-4 weeks. I can't imagine what watching a smaller pup at nine weeks must be like. Plus Cookie was so well socialized with people when I got her at 14 weeks, she took to me the first hour I had her. I imagine if I had gotten her at 9 weeks she might be too scared and wouldn't be well socialized to people yet.

Our Bella was 2.1 pounds when we got her at 8 weeks. We had to watch her like a hawk, but even then we didn't know about hypoglycemia until she started showing signs of uncontrollable shaking during the first week we had her. We had to call the vet, who told us it was an emergency situation, and to give her karo syrup or honey, or whatever sugar source we had on hand to stabilize her. We gave her karo syrup, and it worked like a charm within just a few minutes. We took her to the vet anyway, and they gave her a clean bill of health, but told us to watch out for hypoglycemia in the future. She only had one more episode a few days later. We had nutrical on hand after that, but Bella HATED it, so we treated her hypoglycemia by rubbing karo syrup on her gums, and she tolerated that well.

Bella's breeder kept her in a home situation, so she was probably well socialized because of that. She was on us like a tick on a hound from day one. But we got to choose her from among five other littermates, and we chose her because she seemed the friendliest and most well adjusted. We probably just got lucky. One of Bella's brothers ran from us and hid under the furniture at the breeder's. I always wondered how he turned out...

Yeah, I had Karo too at the advice of my breeder, but Cookie never got hypoglycemic. It was more that I'd have to give her Nutrical to spur her appetite a few mornings when she wanted to do zoomies around the house before eating anything, and when she was so young I always wanted her to eat when she woke up so I wouldn't have to deal with hypoglycemia.