What to look for when buying a Yorkie. Keep in mind YOU are paying a good price for your puppy, As smart as you are to choose a Yorkie, You need to be just as smart when buying a Yorkie. There are some breeders out there that are in it just for the money. They dont care about the puppy nor do they care about you.  Here are some helpful tips when buying your Yorkshire Terrier. If you are serious about your Yorkie then this will help you to make sure that you are getting a yorkshire Terrier that is right for you.

If you are not buying an AKC registered puppy, then be careful and read up on the registry that you are buying one from. CKC APRI,AKA,CKA,etc... the list goes on, But the quality does not.

Some people that are wanting a Yorkshire Terrier dont care if they have papers, They just want a Yorkshire Terrier, which is fine, BUT you really need to make sure that you are getting a Yorkshire Terrier. In my opinion registration papers are like the puppies Birth Certificate, If you care enough about your puppy, then you should care about where he.she came from.

When going to the home to see your Yorkie, here are some must dos so that you are aware of the puppies up bringing.

1.) ask to see the parents of the puppy.- If they don't have the parents or don't allow you to see them, I would be very leary about buying the puppy. Why? 1st of all you want to know what the puppy will look like when it is grown, seeing the parents will give you an idea on the look and approx. size he/she will be. 2nd you can see the puppy interact with the parents and how his personality is. 3rd you will know that the parents are Yorkies and not mixed. 4th It is always good to see the puppy interact and watch his personality.

2.) Have them show you where the puppy sleeps- You want to know if the puppy is a crated puppy, caged puppy or is allowed to have a space with a bed of his own. this will show you how the puppy is taken care of. If you know that the puppy is crated or caged all the time, odds are they are not very socialized, and you should be careful of kennel cough. Some people crate the puppy at night,which is fine, most puppies/dogs like that secure private place of their own to sleep in and that is not a bad thing.

3.) watch the puppy play and interact with the other puppies (if any) do you want the more active puppy that is outgoing and strong, or the more quiet puppy that keeps to himself. Sometimes the more active puppy will be easier to socialize then a puppy that keeps to himself.

4.) Don't be afraid to ask the breeder questions, the more you ask and they can answer, the more you will feel comfortable that they know what they are doing and that your puppy has been taken care of.

5.) Check the puppy good- look at the puppies gums and make sure that they are pink and healthy, pale gums are not a good sign, check to make sure that the declaws are removed and tails docked. (this is an extra cost for the breeder but a good breeder will pay the cost to have the quality of the Yorkie, to me a Yorkie that does not have the tails docked and claw removed makes me think that the breeder is trying to get away with sticking out as little cost as possible, which is not a good sign) Check his ears make sure that they are clean and no wax or dirt buildup. Make sure his/her nails are clipped. Make sure they don't have any dirt/build up in the corner of their eyes. Check to make sure that the anal area is trimmed ( if not their stool could get stuck and cause irritation or infection)

6.)Trust your instincts, You know when you go into the home what you are looking for, Hopefully this will help you out in making sure that your little Yorkie is healthy and ready for a new home with you.

Buying from a pet store is NOT a good idea! Why? these puppies are caged all the time, they are forced to soil the place that they sleep, making it harder for you to potty train him/her. You need to be very careful that your puppy does not develop kennel cough, which is found in petstore puppies and puppymills, and puppies that are crated or kenneled all the time. Most pet stores get their puppies from puppy mills because they can get them very cheap and sell them for 3 times the amount they paid for them.Most puppy mills get their puppies imported from Argentina. WHY would you EVER support some place like this. Have you ever watched the horror stories about abused puppies on animal cops. Puppy mills are 10 times worse then any of the shows that you have seen. How much of a animal lover are you? PLEASE read up on things like pet stores, puppy mills, breeders that breed several breeds of dogs. The less people buy from these places, the faster we can shut them down.