Ellie is on the way!

[BustersMom13]

I also have to agree with everyone.. Try and wait to pick her up. I adopted my Buster from a foster home. He was rescued from a puppy mill so lord only knows at what age he was taken away from his mother (I believe I was told a lot of puppy mill puppies are taken at around 3 weeks??).. We got him when he was 10 weeks but it still wasn't the easiest of transitions. I lost a lot of sleep crate training him and we are STILL having problems with him biting. We are doing our best trying to get him to stop biting but it is tough.. If I had a nickel for every time I've said "No bite!" I'd be rich lol!

Good luck with everything! Your baby is adorable!

[Jinger]

HI MTC,
Just thought I'd chime in here with my two-cents worth. I am a new yorkie owner, and came by my Zoe in an unusual "rescue" way. She was taken from her litter at 8 weeks, or so we were told. According to her breeder she, too, was eating solid dry food and doing just great. In addition, her breeder ALSO has been breeding for over 10 years and doesn't have a history of any problems or unsatisfied customers. (Although, I'm sure I wouldn't be privy to that information, even if she had.) Here is the list of problems Zoe has had, and currently has, due to the fact that she was soooo young and small, her immune system wasn't strong, she wasn't strong enough to chew her food once she wasn't feeling good, and on and on:
--fleas, and scabs from where she scratched them, and that hair is now growing in abnormally
--tape worm, a horrible case
--extreme hypoglycemia; I had to feed her by syringe, once every hour, twenty-four hours a day, for a couple of weeks, and after that continue to monitor her feeding very closely
--giardia
--lethargy, weakness
--couldn't chew dry food once she was weak, so we had to mix up formula, cottage cheese, baby food and various wet foods to get her to eat something
--abnormal blood tests; which caused a lot of stress, worry and heartache
--ringworm; HORRIBLE and we are in the midst of a very tedious and extensive protocol for getting ride of this...could take 2-6 months I'm told
--weight loss to the point that every day was risky
--clearly had not had the opportunity to learn much from her doggy mommy
--hair loss; she's very nearly bald, therefore she freezes and looks soooo pitiful
--We have spent well over $2000 on this puppy AFTER receiving her, as well as many, many, many sleepless nights and days of non-stop care. We love her, and will continue to. I do, however, wish so very, very much that she (and we) had been given the opportunity to have a healthier, less traumatic and less painful start to her time with us.
This is just our experience, but I really hope it can help you as you decide how to handle bringing your puppy home.
Good luck, and I hope you have many, many happy and wonderful years ahead with Ellie.

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by Jinger

HI MTC,
Just thought I'd chime in here with my two-cents worth. I am a new yorkie owner, and came by my Zoe in an unusual "rescue" way. She was taken from her litter at 8 weeks, or so we were told. According to her breeder she, too, was eating solid dry food and doing just great. In addition, her breeder ALSO has been breeding for over 10 years and doesn't have a history of any problems or unsatisfied customers. (Although, I'm sure I wouldn't be privy to that information, even if she had.) Here is the list of problems Zoe has had, and currently has, due to the fact that she was soooo young and small, her immune system wasn't strong, she wasn't strong enough to chew her food once she wasn't feeling good, and on and on:
--fleas, and scabs from where she scratched them, and that hair is now growing in abnormally
--tape worm, a horrible case
--extreme hypoglycemia; I had to feed her by syringe, once every hour, twenty-four hours a day, for a couple of weeks, and after that continue to monitor her feeding very closely
--giardia
--lethargy, weakness
--couldn't chew dry food once she was weak, so we had to mix up formula, cottage cheese, baby food and various wet foods to get her to eat something
--abnormal blood tests; which caused a lot of stress, worry and heartache
--ringworm; HORRIBLE and we are in the midst of a very tedious and extensive protocol for getting ride of this...could take 2-6 months I'm told
--weight loss to the point that every day was risky
--clearly had not had the opportunity to learn much from her doggy mommy
--hair loss; she's very nearly bald, therefore she freezes and looks soooo pitiful
--We have spent well over $2000 on this puppy AFTER receiving her, as well as many, many, many sleepless nights and days of non-stop care. We love her, and will continue to. I do, however, wish so very, very much that she (and we) had been given the opportunity to have a healthier, less traumatic and less painful start to her time with us.
This is just our experience, but I really hope it can help you as you decide how to handle bringing your puppy home.
Good luck, and I hope you have many, many happy and wonderful years ahead with Ellie.

Thank you so much for sharing your story. We can all warn about the potential problems, but only those that have lived through it can really shed some light to the problems that can occur. I hope you and your baby are doing fabulously now.

[Lou]

Hi MTC,
Please don't feel picked on but I have to agree with the general consensus.
I brought Adie home at 7 weeks. The breeder and I both thought I had enough dog experience. that I could handle it. Twenty-four hours later Adie was at the emergency vet (on the 4th of july) almost dead. She had some kind of viral infection that was never identified. She should have stayed with her mother longer.

I can tell you are already attached to this sweet little thing but think how much more attached you are going to be after you have her for a few days. Now imagine her dying. That would be devastating for you and your girlfriend. The breeder shouldn't mind keeping her just a few more weeks to insure her good health and a great start in her new home.

By the way, I had to cash in some savings bonds to pay for all of Adie's care. Do you have a couple of thousand dollars socked away just in case?

I'm hoping for the best for you two. I know you will be loving caring yorkie parents.

[miabellaamoure]

Originally Posted by MTC

I've never heard of 6 weeks being a problem, but I don't know much about this kind of thing. Thanks for all of your responses.

It is not my girlfriend that wants her home at 6 weeks, that is just the time the breeder told us she would be ready. I'm not sure how much she weighs right now.

Her sister has gotten a yorkie from the same breeder and never ran into trouble so I will ask them

If it's not your girlfriend who wanted this puppy home at 6 weeks then it's a shame she hasn't researched & educated herself enough on the Yorkie breed to know better. Shame on her!

I will not make any apologies or sugar coat it since this is the hard cold truth and it's the puppy who will suffer from this selfish choice.

Unfortunately it does become "your girlfriends choice" especially, when you have at least been given countless reasons why NOT to bring a Yorkie puppy home at such a critical age.

Care to share this experienced greeder...I mean, breeder with us here on YT?

This makes me sick...as usual.

[MTC]

miabellaamoure - I don't appreciate you saying shame on my girlfriend for not doing her research. You don't have to believe everything you read on the internet, even if it is others personal experiences. Her family has had a yorkie at 6 weeks from the same breeder (which is also a family friend), and she is so well behaved. Never had any problems either. The breeder has also been calling to see how she is doing. She is not in it for the money. She doesn't even advertise that she is selling. She only sells to people through who she knows.

Ellie is now home with her and she is doing great. She already knows to use her potty pad, she is eating her dry food 3 times a day, she has had her shots, and she receives nutri-cal every morning. She is very happy and always in a playful mood and she is learning stuff so fast. We are working on teaching her not to chew on anything but her toys right now, since she is teething. She also goes into the vet today for a checkup.

So before you put down my girlfriend, the breeder, and whoever else you want to talk down to, just think your opinion practically means nothing to us so you are wasting your time with negative feedback.

[MTC]

Originally Posted by Lou

Hi MTC,
Please don't feel picked on but I have to agree with the general consensus.
I brought Adie home at 7 weeks. The breeder and I both thought I had enough dog experience. that I could handle it. Twenty-four hours later Adie was at the emergency vet (on the 4th of july) almost dead. She had some kind of viral infection that was never identified. She should have stayed with her mother longer.

I can tell you are already attached to this sweet little thing but think how much more attached you are going to be after you have her for a few days. Now imagine her dying. That would be devastating for you and your girlfriend. The breeder shouldn't mind keeping her just a few more weeks to insure her good health and a great start in her new home.

By the way, I had to cash in some savings bonds to pay for all of Adie's care. Do you have a couple of thousand dollars socked away just in case?

I'm hoping for the best for you two. I know you will be loving caring yorkie parents.

Thats horrible that you had to go through that Lou. I hope she is healthy today and doing much better!

[Lou]

Originally Posted by MTC

Thats horrible that you had to go through that Lou. I hope she is healthy today and doing much better!

Yes, she is doing well, and is a beautiful healthy 4.5 year old but we spent a lot of money getting her there. She also had an open fontanel we had to be careful with. It was so much easier handling Skeeter at 12 weeks. Personally I think the longer the puppy stays with its mother and litter mates the friendlier it is toward other dogs in general. Adie thinks she is a person!

Anyway, I'm glad your little one is doing alright and I really hope you will contact one of us if you have any problems or concerns. We are all true yorkie lovers and only want to help the little ones. That is where the curt responses come from - love for the puppies. I won't apologize for that but believe me, after all is said and done, you will love being a member here. So, I belatedly wish you "Welcome to YT!"

[MTC]

Haven't had time to update you all on Ellie but she is doing wonderful! She had her checkup a week after we got her so she was 7 weeks old. She weighted 15.5 ounces at 7 weeks. She is now almost 9 weeks. The vet said he was surprised at how healthy she was. He said she was more healthy than most 10-12 week old pups he has seen.

So far she is getting the hang of her potty pad. Sometimes she has accidents on the carpet but we catch her in the act and move her. She now knows to only chew/bite her toys and she is sleeping through the night! Couldn't ask for a more behaved pup!

I will update pictures of her tomorrow.

[CouversMom]

I am glad to hear you are having luck with your young puppy. Many people are not so lucky... I guess we will only know the long term effects of taking her away so early in a year or two down the road. Good luck!

[Lou]

Thanks for the photos. Can't wait to see the new ones!
She really is a little cutie.

[Suze225]

Very cute little girl! Glad you aren't having any issues with her.

We got Bella at 6 weeks. She was a dream dog, very few issues with her. She did get coccidia at about 12 weeks, but with one round of antibiodics she cleared right up. Not sure if it was from being away from mom too early or not. Just something to watch for, among many many other things. Have fun with your new baby!!!

[Deuce]

Originally Posted by MTC

Haven't had time to update you all on Ellie but she is doing wonderful! She had her checkup a week after we got her so she was 7 weeks old. She weighted 15.5 ounces at 7 weeks. She is now almost 9 weeks. The vet said he was surprised at how healthy she was. He said she was more healthy than most 10-12 week old pups he has seen.

So far she is getting the hang of her potty pad. Sometimes she has accidents on the carpet but we catch her in the act and move her. She now knows to only chew/bite her toys and she is sleeping through the night! Couldn't ask for a more behaved pup!

I will update pictures of her tomorrow.

Is it not odd to you that your vet was suprised that your puppy was healthy? I've never had a vet suprised at the health of one of my pups before. The only suprise we've given the vet was that Rizzo didn't need any baby teeth pulled when it was time for his neuter. Just sayin...