Moral dilema - advice sought
 

Okay, it seems everyone hear knows my story. Scammed by a breeder because I was very ignorant on my knowledge of Yorkies. Wanted a tiny female in hopes of someday getting a male and having a litter a year. I do this with my German Shep. female. Gave our stud to the President of the Schutzhund club so I can still use him free of charge. My dilema. My little girl is only APR reg. (which I now know is pretty worthless). The breeder was so dishonest about so many things that I really don't know much about this girl. She is still real sick, which I am working on. She has no hair, as I have posted a pic of her. From what I have been reading, it could be bad genetics and that's the best she'll ever do. My husband tells me she doesn't even look like a Yorkie. Her body seems to be getting longer by the day. And worse yet, I paid a fortune for her $1,500. So my dilema. Should I get her healthy and bail out and sell her. Obviously for a lot less money as I would have to be honest with any potential new owner. But she doesn't appear to have characteristics I would want to pass on to puppies. If her papers are correct she is 6 mos. old. If the vet is correct (based on her teeth) she is 16 weeks old. She currently weighs 2.2 lbs. I love her but more out of "I need to save her". I have other dogs and she gets along fine with everyone including our new kittens that Santa brought. So I can't just keep saving the world. Any advice?

Keep her as a pet. When you are ready to purchase a female to start a breeding program, you'll need to contact your local chapter of YTCA to find a reputable breeder who can help you choose the right female and male. Then you will also have a mentor for future reference. Good luck.

I agree with this. sounds like she has made herself comfortable in your home and so have your other pets. keep her as a pet. do some research, and find a good healthy yorkie if you intend on breeding. but you really need to make sure you are knowledgable about the breed, as well as registrations and all of the stuff that goes along with it before breeding. It will be very rewarding if you do it the right way and do all the research you can.

good luck!!

Personally, when I make a committment to adopt anything, be it human or animal, then I honor my committment and do whatever it takes to give that little life a fighting chance. I would never adopt a human baby and then throw up my hands should the baby get ill, and give it up again. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself. Same thing goes for an animal I've committed to adopt. Regardless of how much trouble it is, I would never give it up again.

If you really want to breed, I wouldn't do it with this little girl. She sounds too small and it takes so much out of these little dogs that she might not live through it. I would keep her strictly as a pet and eventually invest in another dog if you want to breed, and I wouldn't do it with a tiny. They are just too fragile. It would kill me if something were to happen to my baby. You should go for a larger Yorkie female dog and breed her with a smaller male if you want to try for small puppies.

I don't think you can go into buying these little pups just for profit purposes. You have to really love them, and then you may want to breed. You should then learn as much as possible about breeding. Go the this website ( http://www.shooterdog.com/alexfaq.htm) and read what she says about breeding and educating yourself on it. It's not a walk in the park by any means. You'll find that the babies take a lot of work, and the new mother, being small, will need special care as well. You'd better be sure you want to put yourself through the wringer to do this. Yorkies aren't like other dogs when it comes to breeding. But your first motivation should be love for the dog, not love for the money you'll make. If you only love the money, then you may not have enough committment to go through what you have to to breed these dogs.

My .02:

Try to separate the money issue from the moral issue and do what's best for the pup. Write the price you paid for her off as a bad investment on your part. If you can sue the breeder and get it back, that's fine. But looking forward, do you want to keep her or not? If not, give her to someone who is willing to pay the medical expenses and give her a good life. If you can't find anyone who wants to take a chance, spend what you can afford to get her healthy again. Then charge someone only what you paid for medical expenses. If you start trying to get part of the $1,500 back, you're just passing on the ripoff to someone else.

Good luck. It's easier to offer advice when it's not my money!

Do you have pictures posted of her anywhere? You have to do what's right for you. Have her fixed and either sell her or keep her...Id love to see pictures of her though if you have any...

Dawn

i would love to see pics of her too.....i think i would keep her if you could. otherwise, donate her to a good home. i dont think i would try and sell her knowing the issues she has, unless you could fix them before you rehome her....good luck with everything!!:)

I wouldnt worry about breeding her, she needs to get healthy. That should be your main concern right now, I noticed you mentioned this in a few of your other Threads (I would like to some day breed my little female (a litter a year). The litter a year part....... It would be best to have a litter every other year than every year. Mom needs to get her strenth back in between litters. Id love to see pictures of her.

I agree with the post that stated you need to seperate the money from any other issues with this dog.

If you love her keep her as a pet have her spayed. She is a mite small to breed.

Look for another baby after you get her well. Study the different registries and get as much knowledge of the breed as you can. This will make you a informed buyer and less likely to make a mistake the next time.

You will know what questions to ask and have a better idea of what to look for in a breeder and your new puppy.


Kathy

Has your girl thats losing all her hair been checked for mites.

She isn't losing her hair, she just doesn't have any. LOL. A few scraggly hairs on top of her head and that's about it. I am not going to breed her. I just would like to breed a Yorkie pair some day. I have a top of the line Germ. Shep. that I breed every other heat cycle. She has taken this whole year off so I will breed her again this summers' heat cycle. I already have a waiting list for her pups so I never have to advertise. I will continue to get her health in tip top shape. All my animals get the best care. I love them dearly. My Yorkie sleeps in my bed right at my head. Still hacks and coughs all night long, but we are treating the coccidia and taking a break from the kennel cough antibiotic. Here is her picture again.

Ok...maybe you will kill me, but....
 

I say...get her well.....spay her.......and then sell her or give her to a very nice person that appreciates her size......

If she is not what you need in your program, and you are not interested in keeping her as a pet......then why not let some other nice family member have her to love on......I know there are a few on YT that might be interested in a "tiny" little girl......she is not going to be bred anyway....so why not???

Chaulk up the 1500 as lesson learned, and find a reputable Yorkie person that has the type of Yorkie you are looking for....

JMHO....

:):)

Awww, she's precious:love: I'm sure once she's healthy she'll be a perfect pet. I know it's hard and frustrating to have a sick puppy:( From her markings, I think your vet is right on the money, there's NO WAY that she's 6months old:rolleyes:

Anyway, I'm concerned that the antibiotic for the kennel cough has been stopped. Did the vet do that? He should know better, really. Pnuemonia can easily set in if this KC is not nipped in the bud, from what I've read. Plus, not doing the full course of an antibiotic can kill off just the "good" bacteria in their system and let the bad germs run rampant:( I'd get a second opinion if you can on this.

I agree with whoever said to start at YTCA.org. They're the BEST!:thumbup:

The vet said that the antibiotics to treat the kennel cough cancel out the antibiotics to treat the coccidia. We had been treating the kennel cough for a few weeks but then the loose stools started so it appeared the coccidia was getting worse. I guess I will have to get a second opinion. The way it was explained to me is that you couldn't treat both at the same time. Her little cough is so bad at night. During the day I don't really hear it much. I feel so bad for her.
About her hair. It seems that from what I am reading she has probably got some bad genetics and will never have a nice coat. I want to get her into the groomers as soon as she gets well. She stinks. LOL

Wow, I never heard of that:eek: Luna had both when we got her as well (she's a pet store baby:( ) and we treated both, and she did great, though the KC was stubborn and she had to do a second round of different anitbiotics (first was amoxicillin, second was clavamox). After 2 days on the clavamox, the coughing got so much better. She was keeping us up all night the poor baby:( I would just sit in the rocker and hold her.

Poor stinky girl!:laugh: I guess a bath would be a bad idea right about now, she'd probably get a chill, but could you wipe her down with baby wipes really fast and then wrap her in warm towel from the dryer? That might help her stinkies.

I would definitely go after that breeder for the vet bills at least.

All I can say is that she looks so sweet and like she needs you so much. I hope she'll get well; I know exactly how frustrating it is having a sick animal and not knowing if they'll ever get better. But I agree with the person who said that when I adopt anything, it's a commitment I keep to the end, no matter what. Good luck to both of you.

The breeder did send me $250 towards her vet bills. I guess since she knew we are both in the same state that I could easily sue her. I don't think she had a moment of honesty/ethics. LOL

We had her on the Clavimox in the beg. Didn't seem to be helping after almost two weeks so the vet switched to another type of antibiotic. By then we knew about the coccidia but were putting treatment on hold until we got the kennel cough under control. Then the loose stools hit so we stopped the other antibiotic and went on Albon for the coccidia.

I'd love to know the real story on my pup. Guess we'll never know. I did notice that breeder is still posting all kinds of pups (diff. breeds) along with diff. lies. They are all tinies, healthy, socialized. Yeah right. Puppy mill at it's finest. Makes me so sick I had to learn the hard way.

Ahhhhhhh she is precious. When I read your post about no hair, I was really glad to see she did have some hair! I thought she was bald with just a few strands on top and that was it. WIth that thought in mind, she is 100% better looking then I thought she woud be. I think she is darling.
I really dont have any different advcie to give, but did want to wish your sweetheart good health.

awww she is soo cute in that pic...it just breaks my heart that that breeder could do this to this baby dog......she really does look like she needs you, poor thing.....you should sue that breeder......i am soo sorry your pup is sick, but i am sure with your help she will get better. also bella had coccidia and kennel cough too at the begining. we treated her for both but we didnt get the kennel cough in time and it turned into pnemonia. i almost lost her....i would get a second vet opinion asap!!!

Good luck with her...She doesn't look like a young pup to me but that could be because she is not well right now. I would also go get a second opinion and see what you can do to clear up both at the same time. It is so sad buying a pup that is sick! Mine ws too but just an Upper Resperitory Infeaction that homefully seems to be clearing up. Good luck with her...:p

She is a very sweet little thing. Bless you for doing as much as you have. I hope she gets better.

Well if you decide to take a trip to Canada any time in the future let me know lol...Id take her in a second if I were closer to you...I wish more yorkies became available on yorkies talk from Canadian members...but Im probably lucky they dont or Id be single pretty fast...man she is cute..but so tiny and she looks so sick, wish I could help you out!! Hugs and I hope things go better with her soon!!

Dawn

Awww she's just a little darling. I don't really have any advice ... I just want to wish you and her all the best of luck. I hope she's feeling better very soon.

Here's some advice I got...and it worked
 

She is adorable! We had some similar problems (coughing, hacking, ear mites, thin slow growing hair) with our little guy for months when we got him. We were at the vet almost every week trying something different and nothing worked. Finally I talked to a family member of mine who is a (human) doctor and she told me some stuff to try.

She said the key was to calm the cough, letting his little trachea relax, and stop spasming. She told us to give him infant/baby diamatap cough supresant as needed at night so he could sleep. The dosage we used was 1/2 of the recomended dose for a baby that was the same weight as him. Our vet also said that we should make sure that all of his food and drink were at room temperature. She said that the cold water could be making him cough more because it is such a drastic change in temperature. We also gave him a puppy immune system vitamin (which had antioxidents and vitamins in it) to boost his immune system. After being on the antibiotics their little immune system can get run down and then it is even harder for them to get better. We got the vitamin a petsmart. For his hair growth issues she said to get some organic flax seed oil (the liquid form) or Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (the darker the better) and sprinkle some on his food. The oil is an excellent source of the good fats that are necessary for healthy skin and coat and does not hurt them. Just make sure the oil is organic because that ensures that there are no additives, dies, or fillers in the product (which can be dangerous). We used the organic flax seed oil on his food 3 times per week in the begining and when his skin dryness cleared up we cut it back to once per week which we still do.

After doing all of this for a few days we started to notice a difference. We ran all this past our vet (who specializes in treating toy breeds) before doing any of it and she said it was fine to do, but you may want to check with your vet first. I'm not saying this is the end all answer, I just thought I would share what worked for us! Our baby is almost 2 now and our vet says he is the healthiest yorkie patient in thier practice. Good Luck! Hope she gets well soon!

Thanks I really appreciate it. I am falling her love with her crazy little butt. She is such a sweetie. I am passed the point of wanting to rehome her. My heart has went kerplunk. LOL I won't breed her. I will still look for the perfect little Yorkie couple that I can do that. But I will be so much smarter next time. If I am going to breed I truly want it to be the best.