Issues with the Yorkie I put a deposit on..

[lizbud]

I'd go with the rescue every time. I never encourage small owner/breeders who do it for the money.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Thank you all for the advice. I still pray I get my yorkie, but I guess I wont be devastated if it doesnt work out. I still have my hopes up I get her this weekend, if not, then I will keep looking

[K9karen]

Katie,

I think backyard breeders are scumbag greedy $#%^& along with seedy ambulance chasers and car salesmen.

I hope your application is approved!!

Donna? How do you really feel???

[3muttsandaboston]

I don't see why you couldn't have a 16 pound dog with cats and a 2 pound dog. I have a 70 pound dog with cats. As long as the pup grows up with the chi they should get along just fine. Heck on another forum someone has a 225 pound mastiff with a 2 pound chihuahua.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

I just would not feel comfortable with it. Plus the cats are NOT dog friendly, I dont think they know Joey is a dog!

I dont think the dog would purposely hurt him, but unintentionally.

[Giselle]

Ps- Not taking up for her, but I dont think she purposely breeds them to be small, I believe she is just the runt. And with all the tcup crap going around, and the HIGH demand for smaller ones, she saw more $$$.

I'm sorry to be blunt, but your breeder is straight up breeding for money.

That's not the right reason to breed. In my book, she's a dreaded backyard breeder. I really don't mean to offend, but I do love Toy breeds myself (Pekes are my heart breed) and I have a *major* issue with BYBs. Toy breeds, especially, have a plethora of health problems ranging from PRA to luxating patellas - both of which are prevalent in the Yorkie breed. Does your breeder even test for these via OFA and CERF?

If your breeder never even mentioned the above, please pull out your deposit or take it as a lesson learned and run the other way. I say this as the unfortunate purchaser of a BYB-bred dog. I did it before I knew any better and I regret it deeply. But now you know!

[kt_luvs_kitties]

I am currently looking at other breeders online

Anyone want to help? I live in NC and will NOT ship a dog

[Giselle]

Have you checked the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America?

http://www.ytca.org/breeder1.html

There are a lot of Yorkies in rescue, too.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Thank you. I am looking now

[Giselle]

I really encourage you to check out rescues first. Because Yorkies are so popular in pet stores and such, there is usually a large number of Yorkies in rescue.

Yorkshire Terrier Rescue Network, Inc.
Dr. Dale A Heisler, DVM
2311 Freeway Dr.
Reidsville, NC 27320
(336)349-4918 fax: (336)349-7639
[email protected]
http://www.yorkshireterrierrescue.net

United Yorkie Rescue Inc (serves all states)
http://www.yorkierescue.org

But if you do decide to go to a breeder, be absolutely sure you're going to a breeder who's breeding ethically. It's not enough to bring their dogs to the vet every year for check-ups. They MUST health test their dogs via OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) and CERF (Canine Eye Registration Foundation). In fact, those two tests are now required by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America. If you find a breeder you like, demand to see the dogs' test results of PRA (progressive retinal atrophy), luxating patellas, thyroid, and perhaps Legg-Calve-Perthes. If the breeder hasn't even heard of these tests or assures you they've never had these diseases appear in their stock, run the other way. They're simply trying to sell you a product, but you're looking for a responsibly bred puppy. It may take awhile, but it is worth it.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

I talked to a breeder today, and she has one female left. She said that she does genetic and/or congenital(sp?) test prior to breeding. She said that I MUST sign a spay contract PRIOR to picking up the puppy and do a house check. Of course she is pet quality(could never afford a show quality!) She also said that I have a health guarantee. I made an appointment to meet with her and the puppy and parents later this week.

What should I look for?

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Forgot to add, is it normal to withhold or not give papers to me until the dog is fixed?

[Giselle]

Yep. That's actually the responsible thing to do To the public, "papers" make a dog sound pretty and fancy and $$$. They're often used as a marketing gimmick, and a lot of byb's use papers to sell more puppies. This breeder is withholding the papers to force you to fix your animal, thereby taking your potential marketing gimmick away. It's a common technique. That and limited registration are both measures to prevent pet-quality animals from being bred.

She can talk the talk, but does she actually walk the walk? Ask to see proof that her breeding dogs have been tested. Again, they will be most likely be OFA and CERF tested, so look for the acronyms if you can't quite make the papers out.

Here are samples of the OFA reports: http://www.offa.org/samplecerts.html

Edit: Ask her about the health guarantee. Health guarantees are tricky because a lot of diseases are influenced by both genetics and the environment. A GREAT health guarantee would be a lifetime guarantee. A decent health guarantee would be at least 3 years. A skimpy guarantee is 1 year or a couple months. Congenital defects often don't show up until the dog has hit maturity.

[kt_luvs_kitties]

Good to know. I was worried it might be a bad thing! It sure sounds like a bad thing. I am going to write down those names, and bring them with me. I would also like to ask to speak to her vet before putting down any money. Would it be "acceptable" to do that?

I forgot to add(after looking at the sample that she did say she did specific testing for knees and hips. Is that what the OFA report is?

[Giselle]

The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) gathers information about knees, hips, elbows, thyroid, and other orthopedic ailments. So, yes, OFA reports would be what she means by "testing their hips and knees". FYI, she's probably testing "luxating patellas" when she means testing knees. Just so you don't get confused by the medical jargon.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't contact her vet unless she was really sketchy. If she health tests her dogs and participates with them in sports regularly (i.e. showing them), I don't see a huge benefit in contacting her vet. A vast majority of vets cannot or will not speak negatively about their clients to another person. It's a whole liability and confidentiality thing, so I don't think you'd gain much valuable insight if you did contact her vet. However, you can't really lose anything, so if she happily agrees to let you speak to her vet, go ahead!

Edit: Can I also say I'm absolutely elated that you're being so dedicated to doing it the ethical way? Over the years, I'm sure we all run into folks who don't know how to really check out breeders; we try to give them advice and they usually don't respond. But seeing you respond so heartily really made my day! Kudos!