Although I voted for the 16-18.. I used to have a dog when I was younger, but it wasn't My dog.. I never payed for anything.. (well i couldn't! lol)..

But now that i'm 19 and have my own full time job.... I own 3 dogs :D It is a lot of responsibility...there are a lot of things i'd like to do, but sometimes i can't because of owning three doggies.. but i don't regret anything at all :)

but i really think it depends on the maturity of the person.. and what kind of situation they are in.

I didnt vote but would like to respond. I too feel like its dependant upon the maturity level of the individual. Becuase I know of some really mature and responsible young teens as well as immature adults (I'm talking 30+ yrs old too!). Therefore, I dont think you can really put an age limit on it.

I agree with you. I think that some minors (like myself, 14) can own a dog with adult supervision. Many kids learn about responsibility by having a dog. We have to feed them, entertain them, clean up after them, walk them, buy them toys and other necessities, etc. The only thing that I personally can't do for my Yorkie is pay for vet bills because I don't have a fixed income.

Someone above mentioned that they would never sell or give a Yorkie to a minor. Who do you think would? When you sell a dog to a family, you are selling it to every member of that family, but one child or teenager can take the responsibilty for the dog and it becomes "their" dog. I personally paid for my Yorkie with my own money with a little help from my mom, and I plan to pay her back because TJ is my dog. He follows me around, sleeps with me, etc. I clean up after him and do all of the dirty work that comes with owning a dog. The only thing that I can't do is pay for vet bills, because, as I said before, I don't have a job.

So, no, I don't think that Yorkies should be sold to children, but I do think, with the supervision, encouragement, and a little help from their parents, a minor can "own" a dog.

lol...I totally agree !

I guess I look at owning a dog differently. I want my children (I'm 23 and don't have any yet) to grow up with dogs. I think its an important bond that I want my children to have. I personally think that anytime a pet is brought into the house it is the responsibility of every memeber of that house to take care of the pet in some way. It becomes a family pet, or this is how it is now in my house and will always be. So by this I guess you could say that a 2 year old is old enough to have a dog. What truely matters is that are the parents willing to take care of it as well.
Let's say an 25 year old still lives at home and chooses to get a dog. Then let's say that 25 year old would rather go out and party sure the 25 year old may be mature enough to pay for a dog (if they have a job) and mature enough to remember to feed the dog but if he/she isn't home someone is going to have to socialize with the dog. This could also happen with a 50 year old man whose wife ends up taking care of the dog.
I personally think that when a child is dedicated enough to save up money to buy a dog (especially if its a yorkie, cause we know they aren't cheap) and the parents are willing to take care of the dog, then the child is old enough to have one. Its really hard to put an age limit on owning a dog.

I personally didnt get my first dog ever until I was in my 30's. It never had anything to do with the financial responsiblity or whether or not I could take care of a dog.... For me I wanted to make sure that I didnt take on the responsibility of adopting a Yorkie until I could really dedicate the time that it takes to raise a happy yorkie. We all know that they are very demanding of our time and in the past I was traveling at least 3 nights a week for work when I had a larger territory and was busy working to get promoted to where I am now and with all of that, I just never thought it would be fair to have a puppysitter taking care of my baby that much. I'm so glad I waited until now that I am more settled in my position and don't have to dedicate so much extra time.

For those parents that say that they want their kids to be raised with dogs so that the kids can see the level of responsibility, I think thats great! I know that YT members of EVERY AGE are very dedicated to their Yorkies bc I don't think you'd be here if you werent, but with regard to other people (not people on YT)... I worry about people in their college years or early 20's since those are years when you are just sooo busy running around usually working, gloing to school and having a social like and I just don't see how most people would have the time to give. My breeder was very inquisitive about my lifestyle, my job, how many hours the dogs are alone each day, etc.... I basically had to pass the test before I could adopt!

I do not place my smaller puppies with families who have small children.What do I call young? A child under 10 or so in my opinion, and experience, does not make good doggy police..To be safe from injuries a puppy must be under the supervision of a responsible adult at all times. It is not fair to expect a child to supervise the behavior of their friends and a child needs to play like kids play. I call this an Unnh situation--The parent is always saying "UNNH, watch the dog!" Unnh, don't step on the dog! Unnh, don't pick up/drop the dog. This in my opinion is not the perfect match I want for my babies.
I also think there is an age when one is too old to buy a Yorkie puppy with an expected life span of 15 years..

i am 13. i take care of Rex and he is my baby, but finacially my mom is all that. i am mentally mature and i guess physically also. i prob wont get much taller hehe i am 13 and 5"7-5"8 and i have had animals all my life from age ..well newborn.