i think you can sometimes be lucky with what you get.
We bought Buddy when he was 6 weeks old, he has an underbite and weighs 14lb (both his parents were big aswell) he is 2 and we have been lucky that he has no problems but since buying Buddy and joining YT i know we bought from a 'hobby' breeder or byb.
I always thought 'standard' yorkies were the bigger ones, all the others were toy/miniature ones :rolleyes:
Maybe buying aYorkie thats gonna be bigger like Buddy you can 'get away with' buying at 6 weeks but having said that, we had trouble getting him to eat when we got him, then realised he hadn't even got his teeth yet!
If i knew then what ive learned from here now i would do things VERY differently but i wouldnt swop Buddy for the world. to me he is perfect, but i do think we have been very very lucky with how he has turned out.

if you can afford an expensive dog, then by all means go for it. just know that all animals follow darwinism no matter how much you pay

Umm, Survival of the fittest? Evolution? Not sure what you mean by that, what does evolution have to do with the price for a dog :confused:

I can appreciate now more than ever the hard work that goes into breeding- I think its great that you put so much effort and work into this. I continue to learn more and more every day from this forum and to me that is the whole point. No- we all don't always agree, but aren't our different opinions what make this a great place??!!!!! I bought my Lexie from a local breeder. She was a true bargain at $575.00. We have ads in the paper on a regular basis for decent, healthy Yorkies between $500-$1000. In my humble opinion, it is important to be comfortable with the breeder you are buying from. If that means paying more, then thats what it means. I don't necessarily believe that the more you pay, the better dog you will have. That isn't always the case. You have to do your homework and make an informed decision- that is what ANY resposible, caring pet owner will do before purchasing a puppy. We are all here because of our love for the breed. At the end of the day, lets all focus on that!! :)

You'd be correct :) ^5

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

Can you explain what you mean by that statement?

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

Again, show breeders breed for themselves. You would be very surprised to know that show breeders fees are much less than those you find off the internet. We are very selective on where are puppies go, we stand behind them 100% and will say for the most part those we place as pet are much higher quality than those that you purchase from a puppy mill, pet store, internet, etc.

Again, show breeders breed for themselves. You would be very surprised to know that show breeders fees are much less than those you find off the internet. We are very selective on where are puppies go, we stand behind them 100% and will say for the most part those we place as pet are much higher quality than those that you purchase from a puppy mill, pet store, internet, etc.

And to add....I just saw in a post that was sent in email about our pet yorkies as cast offs? They aren't cast offs...I cry when I have to place a pet in a home. If we didn't place some in pet homes we'd be over run with yorkies and couldn't care for them properly and when we do decide they are pet it's because of a small fault like teeth, ear placement, too long of a nose, to short of a nose, wrong color. What you take in the ring is different than what you would want as a pet it's not because we don't love them any less....I'm sorry but this is the first time I got pissed off!!!! I love each and every puppy born into my home and I DO WISH I could keep everyone but it wouldn't be fair to the dog if I were to be over run and couldn't care for them properly! That's why you find a forever loving home for them!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR Sorry this was my rant LOL
Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

And one more thing...........YES IT'S MY CHOICE AND I WOULDN'T CHANGE WHAT I DO FOR THE WORLD BECAUSE I LOVE THIS BREED HEART AND SOUL AND IT'S MY PASSION!!!!!!!!!!

Breeding for the NEXT show prospect
 

Boy do I agree with Donna. Sometimes, after studying pedigrees, pouring over show photos, wrestling with who to use as a stud that will bring the best to the table......you look in the litter box and say to yourself, "What the heck happened here???" Even with all the genetic studies it can come down to which of those little swimmers made the olympic run and PRESTO, no show prospects...just pets. I breed a litter so that one year down the road I "possibly" have a prospect to take into the ring. My pet parents are the winners of the rest of the little piddling and pooping things! :rolleyes:

Donna, I'm with you......pretty angry, but mostely at myself, attempting to educate....I don't think that was done.

If only one knew the passion that we have and yes, it is our choice to breed and show. Whelping is not my favorite thing, I hate when that first contraction goes through my girl's body. Even knowing that I've prepared and have everything in place.....I know what to look for and the possibility anything can go wrong. I would love to keep everyone that is born. The flip side of that, is there is no greater joy than to see your pups happy and giving someone love....and better to be able to watch one that you bred in the ring, or one of your stud's offspring.....just strutting their stuff and doing well. But, I said before.....unless you've walked a mile in my shoes....I don't think anyone has the right to say much. Ask questions yes.....I welcome them

Yes. I have a question... What post are you all referring to because I'm confused!:D

I for one am so grateful to show breeders for trying to keep the Breed pure and to standard and for letting us Yorkie lovers have their babies that may have a small fault for the show ring but are perfect for people like myself that just want a Yorkie that is as close to standard as possible to love and have been bred to try and eliminate health issues.

Evidently the original posters last post was corrupted....the post came through the e-mail....I don't know what happened to the post.....

Okay... can someone tell me what it said overall? Not word by word of coarse, but the jiss of what he/she said? And it sounds like that person is kind of asking for controversy... I think he/she already understood the issue with the pricing of yorkies because he said that we didn't address what he really wanted to hear.. So what really was the point of this thread? Maybe we said something he/she already knew and wanted to know something different?

This what was said.......... Look below GRRRRRRRRR evidently they don't want to be educated so with that this person doesn't want sound advice so I'm done before I do get angry and like Mary said I'm more angry at myself for letting the poster get to me :(
Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

So what I am getting is show breeders breed dogs to get as close to the standard as possible. In order to reach this level of perfection, they create litters of puppies which may or may not contain what they are looking for, incurring costs along the way that they subsadize by passing off what they consider an inferior specimen to the consumer. In order to maintain their breeding/show stock they pay exorbident prices for food, grooming products, and other materials of their own free will. These costs, which are purely the choice of the breeder, are also passed on to the consumer. Honestly at this point, I would not buy from one of these breeders. I think it is in poor taste to pass off your left overs at high prices simply to cover some show breeders overhead. I don't mean to sound superior, but I can afford to spend thousands on a Yorkie. I would never do it though. I would much rather rescue a Yorkie and pay vet bills. It may sound alturistic, but there is no way I am going to support some perfectionist who is trying to create some perfect standard, which is unattainable because there is no such thing as perfection. I don't have anything against anyone that does either. I am in no position to judge anyone else. I can only do what I think is right in life, and for me that is making sure in the future, when I consider getting another Yorkie, it is a dog that truly did not have a chance, not a show breeder cast off, although I feel just as sorry for that poor puppy.
This is the last I am going to post on this subject. I think I actually did get an answer, although I really had to read between the lines to get it. I have nothing against breeders that take care of their dogs. I don't care if they are show, back yard, hobby, or whatever, as long as they care for their dogs. I will never respect puppymill, pure profit breeders. I enjoyed reading through the posts, and though it sounds like I am trivializing how breeding works, it it didn't exist I wouldn't have Lick. I wouldn't put it on the same level as neccessary evil, but as the eternal search for perfection continues you will start inbreeding eventually and end up with such a small breeding pool that health problems will arise anyway. Imperfection is the hallmark of a successful species in that different carried on successful traits are what ensure the survival of the species itself.
Once again thank you all for weighing in, and I appreciate all of your opinions and information.
***************

Wow! Seriously...no matter what you say, how you say it, or how many times you repeat it, sometimes you just can not get things through people's heads. It's frustrating huh? This person has absolutely no idea how show breeders work and why they do what they do. They act like you're just breeding dogs and throwing the cast-offs away as if they're some mutated being. These "cast-off" puppies are still GREAT representations of the breed just might have a couple minor flaws, be a different sex than the breeder wants to keep, is too small, or just doesn't have that "it" factor that the breeder is looking for. These "cast-off" show breeding puppies are still much much closer to the standard than most puppies bred by hobby breeders, BYBs, and Puppy mills. I for one would want the breeder's dogs and my puppy to have been fed the best foods possible, had the best grooming products used on them, etc... And the whole purpose of showing is not to incur costs to pass on to the buyer. It's to make sure the dogs being bred meet the standard and are great representations of the breed and worth breeding. And that does take money. These dogs also have to be health tested which requires money, and I for one would hope that the parents of my puppy would be health-tested, as well as the puppy. In a few years when I get out of vet school and am able to finally get my next puppy, I hope one of you amazing show breeders will choose me to be the home of one of your babies.

After that I know that the person was asking for trouble...

To the red part: it seems like you are anticipating your dog having to have high vet bills.. Why keep mentioning a comparison between vet bills and purchase price?

To the green Part: They said clearly that if you don't like there prices then go elsewhere... It doesn't seem that you are listening but that you have your thoughts and are not changing them. You're your own person so you can choose to take in what people say or not. But isn't that the whole point in asking for people opinions on the prices?

To the Orange Part: Why would you even say that? You have no idea what their life is and why they price their babies the way they did... I also guess that your breeder just cast off her baby to you just to make money or cover cost for something...

To the purple part: Good. Your helping a dog in need. But why not do that in the first place?... There has to be a reason. Was it to get a cast off from your breeder? Don't like when people say that huh?!?


I have more to say but have to do something but still.... I don't mean to be rude but sometimes people ask for it.... Sorry, everyone else!!!

You can now understand why Donna and I were angry at ourselves.....we fell into a trap.....but, time and effort wasn't entirely wasted, I enjoyed the interaction with everyone else.

Yes, I understand. But I'm only sorry that I had to post that for everyone to see... I hope he/she does see what I post so that they can see that what they said was just wrong and they could have worded it so much better. I'm also sorry that that rudeness came out.... I'm a bubbly person at heart but when people are rude, the rudeness just comes out. I like to defend someone when they are wrongly put down.

Thanks for reposting, I lost my internet connection halfway through posting.
That said.
Cripes, I am going to have to clarify myself, which I didn't want to do as I have made up my mind on the subject, but for the sake of clarity and lowering heart rates, I will write again.

The way I am reading it, there are three basic types of breeders. There are the show dog breeders, hobby or backyard breeders, and the purely for profit or puppy mill breeders.
Show dog breeders charge more, on average, because their cost per litter is higher with all the expenses to produce a show dog. The breeder, in trying to breed the perfect Yorkie charges, more for her time and effort and because the litter parents are show winners and have a name for themselves. This leads to litters that may or may not meet the breeders expectations. I am not challenging the attachment to the puppies. God knows I want every puppy I see, regardless of breed. All I am saying is that even pet quality puppies from show breeders, on average cost more.
The backyard, or hobby breeder have a couple of litters a year because they enjoy having puppies around or there is a whoops. While they care dearly for their dogs, it looks to me like they go one of two ways in price determination. They either charge more because their dogs are sired by a named dog and they follow the trend of the show breeders, or they charge less to place their puppies in loving homes and keep the breed popular. There cost per litter is lower because they aren't running a full time breeding operation.
Lastly the purely for profit breeder or puppymill breeder cares nothing for the breed, puppy, family it goes to, or anything but his bottom line. They look at the highest prices charged by show breeders and add to it. Their interest lies only in money made.
I am not saying there is a better breeder among the first two types, while the last type I think everyone abhors. While I think the show dog breeders will always charge more, there are going to be anomalies where a hobbyist charges more, or a show dog breeder charges less. I wasn't trying to be controversial. I am just trying to get the lowdown on pricing. While show breeders can sit and say that they are in it strictly for the puppies and go the pious route, ultimately I think they charge enough to cover their costs. They are trying to breed the next show winner for whatever reason, be it they are competitive, want to make some money, bragging rights, or name recognition for their next generation of potential show winners. I know the breeders on the board are going to go nuts when they read this, but look at it from the consumers point of view. Some feel buying a name brand is better, some feel the bargain is the way to go. You can buy a Vette or you can buy a Honda. You can research or you can impulse buy. If you got the money you can do whatever you want. It is the USA, you can buy whatever you want. I just wanted to know how you came to a dollar amount. I have made up my mind on how it is done. I can't make up anyone elses. Everyone on here needs to make up their own mind. Judging on responses this is obviously a subject that alot of people have questions on. THIS IS THE LAST TIME I AM GOING TO REPLY TO THIS THREAD. If anyone wants to discuss this topic or my opinions further, I will answer my PM's.

Once again, thanks to all who offered opinions, answers, or thoughts.
In the immortal words of Vanilla Ice, "Peace to your moms! We out!"

Thank you....That's another thing that show/breeders develope; scales on our backs...thick skinned comes with the territory.....we do get angry, but most of the time we attempt not to be rude or crude in our responses.

Like I said before, not everyone will agree, and some won't understand, but it is still a positive thing to try and educate people....that is what this forum's purpose is!! right? I think the post started out at the high prices for yorkies? But once people understand the cost that are involved in having a litter and caring for the puppies until they are ready for their forever home, it makes more sense to me. only one thing i am still confused on... and maybe it has to do with the fact that yorkies are small and therefore cannot have as large of a litter as say- a golden retriever or german sheppard. Is that what makes the prices higher? I don't have a problem with the prices, because the pups are worth every penny. I think all of us with a yorkie would agree?? right??!! but it is sad that some of us can't afford them as easily as others even though we'd be able to take care of them just as well as someone who can afford thousands. I guess us poorer people with lots of bills and life to pay for, will just have to set up a special "puppy savings account" :) If I did that now and saved 5% of my income, I could by a $1,500 puppy in approximately 18 months. and i work full time and have a college degree! but people that help out at-risk teens are not well paid:thumbdown

From that poster's rant it sounds to me like the whole explanation was completely and utterly lost on him/her. I don't think it will sink in.

There is a wall.

errggg... Sorry, didn't mean to vent about my personal life and frustrations with my job. forgive me.

I said on another thread....If I find a perfect home for one of my pups, I've been known to adjust prices. This is one of the reasons I don't like to discuss my adoption fees out the gate........money is not the prime objective here.. finding my happy, caring forever homes for my pups that I place is my #1 concern.

Obviously you're not reading all the replies to this thread or you would have seen several times that the show breeders on this thread have said that most show breeders charge LESS than a lot of BYB/hobby breeders. Yes, some charge higher than average, but a lot charge less. And it's not about buying a "name brand" animal - it's about buying a quality, healthy dog that meets the standard of the breed!

That's why I asked why the thread was created. He/She seem set in their ways and isn't trying to listen (read) the other post. When asking a aren't you suppose to listen to the answers? Yes but he/she seemed to only want to think one way and not give anyone a chance to explain