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d. A 6 week old puppy can look small to you at the time, but
when it grows up, it could be a huge puppy when you wanted a
small one. At 3 months, you can tell a little more about the
puppy's size. The rule of thumb, and it doesn't always work but
I've found it's close, is that you weigh a puppy at 16 weeks.
Double it's weight and add half a pound. You would know more
about the puppy's eventual size at 12 weeks than at 6 weeks.

DON'T BUY A DOG OFF THE INTERNET... unless you
can thoroughly check out the people you are buying from.

I get e-mails from people all the time that bought dogs off
the web. They tell me their dogs have ring worm or their
dog died right after it was shipped to them and many other
things. They try to contact the site's owner/breeder and they
won't take their calls or they tell them it's their problem.
On most of their contracts, it says that if you want to sue them,
it has to be in their city. It would cost you a fortune to sue them
and you would never recover what you spent. Also, if you kept
the puppy, you could wind up with a vet bill that would equal
what you paid for the puppy or more.

Even if you did go to their city and won the suit, it wouldn't
guarantee that you would get your settlement. Winning a suit
doesn't mean that you automatically get paid. You have to
then take action to collect your settlement. AKC will tell you
that they are only a registry and will not help you at all.

Now reputable breeders have this in their contract too. The
difference is that you will get a healthy puppy and a breeder
that will stand behind you and there will be no need for a suit.
There are disreputable buyers as well as breeders and
reputable breeders need to be protected too. This is why it is
important to find out all the information you can about the
breeder you are thinking of buying from.

Don't let a flashy web site lead you into thinking this must be
a good breeder. Check out web sites with other web site owners.
If you want to find out if a site is owned by a reputable breeder
or not, just e-mail other site's owners .They probably won't
give you any details, but will tell you if they know that person
and they believe them to be reputable. If you get a glowing
recommendation from 3 other people, you know you've hit the
jackpot. If you get just one, "I don't recommend this person",
or "no comment "then I would look for another breeder.

Don't buy a puppy that doesn't have it's ears standing. This
is nothing but a lazy breeder and if they're lax about this, than
the chances are they'll be lax about other things as well. I start
training my puppies ears to stand at 4 weeks and by 6 weeks they
are already standing. This is the breeders responsibility, not the
buyers. They can sometimes go down again when they're
teething, although this is rare, then it will be up to you to get
them to stand again. Pups can get ear infections when ears are
left flopping and this is why I think it's important for me, as their
breeder, to get them standing before they go to their forever home.

Be real leery of the breeder that says they have the perfect puppy.
There is NO perfect puppy. They all have faults and a good breeder
will be willing to tell you what they are along with the pups good
points. A good breeder will be honest and open with you.

Don't buy a chocolate, red rare or any other color Yorkie except one that
will be blue and gold/tan when it's matured. These are not quality
Yorkies and do not meet the standard. Some breeders claim these
are rare Yorkies and sell them for lots of money. I should hope
they are very rare and that no one is breeding them because they are
incorrect.

Who's easier to potty train?

I know some people say girls are easier, but actually I've
found boys are. Girls can walk and pee at the same time and
they're harder to catch than the boys. There's no doubt what
"he's" doing when he lifts his leg. :) Don't expect any puppy
to be completely trained until they're over 5 months old.
There will still be accidents until then.

Who's more loving?

Both are the same to the person they love. I've found my boys
are overall sweeter natured than my girls. Girls can get bitchy
as they get older. Boys seem to be more happy go lucky. But
I never keep two boys together if one is an Alpha male. I have
one alpha that I can put with the females, but not with another
male. Then I also have males that are not alpha and can run
together beautifully. The same can apply to girls also. It just
depends on the Yorkie's personality. You probably won't be
able to tell this as a puppy though.

How do I know which puppy to pick in a litter?

If one runs and hides, he's what I call spooky and maybe hasn't
been properly socialized. Chances are he will be a spooky puppy
all his life. Some are just born with this nature too and there's
nothing you can do about it. If you want a clinger, this will be
the puppy for you. The happy, outgoing puppy is the puppy that
will fit in best in a family. He'll be a happy go lucky little guy
with a great personality. I would also pick the middle size
puppy. This would be my choice in a litter.

What about buying an older puppy?

When I'm saying puppy here, I'm talking about one that
is up to a year old.

I have found that the older a puppy is, the more socialized it is.
I would think nothing of buying a puppy that was up to a year
old and have done so. I've even bought older ones than this.
I've heard people say that they want a young puppy so they can
bond with it. In my experience, I've found that an older puppy
will bond much better and faster then a young one.

If you buy one that's older, don't let anyone handle that puppy
until you have had it for several days. Yorkies bond very fast
when they are older. That puppy will love you best all it's life.

Now if you give that puppy away, it will bond with it's new
owner the same way and when you go to visit, it won't think
of you as mommy anymore. I've had this happen every time
I've sold an older puppy. After a few weeks, they want nothing
to do with me anymore. They're very clingy with the one they
belong to now. It really hurts my feelings but I thank the
good Lord they are like this or I'd never be able to sell any
of them. The same goes with the older ones I've bought. After
a few days, they are mine totally.

There can be lots of advantages to buying an older puppy.

1. They are usually well on their way to being house trained.
2. They are finished with their puppy shots so your expenses
are less.
3. They bond faster.
4. They are easier to care for and you don't have to be quite
so worried about them like you would with a young puppy.
5. You can pretty much tell what they're going to look like
and how large they will be.
6. You can see what color their blue is breaking and how
their gold is coming in on their heads.
7. You can tell what kind of coat they're going to have.

What should I look for in a show puppy?

Do not buy a puppy for show unless it is over 9 months old.
Just because a puppy is beautiful at 3 months, does not mean
it will be show quality at 9 months. Between 3 and 9 months
is when a Yorkie does most of it's growing. Legs grow at
different times, bite's can go off, short backs can turn into
long backs, testies can be retained on males and a bunch of
different things can occur to make a puppy ineligible for show.

If you don't know Yorkies, learn them before you spend
thousand's of dollars on one. Study movement and structure.
Attend as many shows as you can and ask questions. If you
want a show dog, buy one from a show/breeder that will
guarantee the dog as show quality.

I always say that if you are a newbie, buy from a breeder that
shows in your area. You need a mentor, someone that will
help you in the ring. Also, buying from someone that shows
in your area will more likely guarantee that you won't get
a horrible show dog. The breeder will know that you are
going to be showing where they are and you will be telling
everyone that your dog is out of this breeder's kennel. No
breeder wants to be embarrassed so you're more likely to
get something at least reasonably good. This is just
"Cookie logic" and I've found that it's worked, over the
years, more times than not.

I recommend that your first show dog is a bitch. If you
can't finish it, it will probably still be good enough to breed.
By that time you will know more of what you are doing and
what to look for in a show dog. You can then breed your
bitch to a good show stud and hopefully get some show
puppies out of the breeding.

Don't buy a male and think that you will be able to breed it
later and get a puppy back. Most bitch owners will
either have their own males or go to a top stud dog for
service on their bitch.

To sum it up, take your time, do your homework and you will
have a companion that will be more precious than gold. Good
luck in finding the perfect puppy for you.