News


2009-05-22
Price variations from breeder to breeder



PRICE VARIATIONS FROM BREEDER TO BREEDER

PRICE VARIATIONS IN YORKIES ?????????? from Breeder to Breeder………………
I am writing this article to shed some light on the above. Some people be they breeders ??? or breeders????? (because trust me they can be worlds apart) may not like what I have to say. Possibly why my website gets “HACKED” periodically, but I would rather the public have information at their fingertips, so that they are aware of what they are or could be getting themselves into?????
Yes, there are scams out there and people fall for it time after time. One has to question the situation – will you be given a dog that is worth thousands of rands for the cost of the transport???? Or airfreight????? Is the real tiny yorkie that sells for thousands of rands, going to be handed to you for R2 000-00 or R3 000-00. I then get calls telling me how we were taken and expect me to make good on their stupidity??????
As I have mentioned there are Breeders and there are Breeders…………. The odd Breeders who breed to standard (that is when they feel like it) hate us the people who produce the small dogs, as we are supposedly doing the Breed an injustice????? Are we. I do not think so. I personally sell all my dogs as PETS, they are mostly bred from the Miniature yorkie which is as 2.5kg – 3kg adult weight dog. Our males we use are smaller. However, that is exactly how all the Breeders in the know breed anyway??????????
Price difference: Here are a few things to consider
The man in the street (THE BACKYARD BREEDER) goes out buys a female, that may or may not be registered, he then buys another and possibly another. He also purchases a male. He has zero knowledge of the breed, he has zero experience, he has dogs, which he bought for a few thousand, and he lets them breed, as they choose, when they choose, has a litter of pups, is happy to sell them off at a very reduced price because of the following reasons
He has incurred no expenses, other than the purchase of the original parents. He has no knowledge, so if the future owner hits a problem, his excuse and believe me it happens often, “Well you paid a very low price as yorkies go” IF they breed a smaller than the rest in the litter pup, it is automatically a POCKET or TEACUP puppy. Please do not be stupid enough to fall for this line…….. If you buy this small dog, which could very well have something wrong with it, as it may not be a genuine teacup or pocket, and HELLO it dies 5 – 10 days, a month, a year down the line. What recourse do you have???? ZERO Why because the breeder himself/herself - has zero knowledge. They would not know a teacup or pocket if they saw one. There is more to a Pocket or Teacup sized dog than the small one in the litter. Very often that small one in the litter grows the biggest as an adult??? Another famous line of the backyard breeder – from Registered parents – WELL if they were from registered parents then the pups would be registered wouldn’t they??? Another ridiculous line – father weighs A- mother weighs B – therefore pups weigh C ???? I wish it were as easy as that. Be very aware of people offering pups for sale in six weeks time, that have just been born. No ways can you ascertain the size of that pup at birth. IF the backyard breeder can not sell the pups, which trust me happens very often, they sell the dog for next to nothing, just to get it out of the yard.
A reputable BREEDER rarely if ever, sits with pups with no homes to go to……………. Makes one think????????
Having remarked on the above it is not to say that you may not buy a very healthy, stunning, gorgeous yorkie from the BACKYARD breeder……. They are not all in it for financial gain, but sadly some are, very often the bitch is left to die, if she has birthing problems, because vet intervention costs money. Often the dog is locked up in a kennel or room and left to get on with the birthing process. The owner often checks up to find a disastrous situation has developed. I was once told by one of these breeders???? They only worry about the pups from three weeks old because up to that time they easily die?????
The doggie HYPER – Puppy mill ??? or should I possibly say, the AGENT who buys in from everyone else, all breeds of dogs, or the yorkie??? has absolutely no knowledge on anything they sell, and the poor unsuspecting public.
If you are on the market for a miniature, they have the miniature, if it is a pocket they have the pocket, in actual fact they have maybe one pup available, it is whatever size you want it to be. I have seen this myself, a pocket sold to a lady, that was bigger at 8 weeks than my Teacups as adults. Told by this charming Agent, they just don’t grow……………….. You are also very lucky if you ever see the papers, if papers exist and often, you receive papers that are not the same date of birth as your dog. This happened to one lady, according to the dogs registration papers it was born, six months after she bought it???????
BREEDERS……… You get some very good breeders, you get some insulting breeders, well it takes all I guess………..
We have numerous tiny dogs, which have been bred correctly, reared correctly, there is no recipe as such WE do NOT breed teacup to teacup, as some of those who know it all tell the public, many breeders say the small one’s do not exist, well – or they are runts, etc. Well if you read through my other articles you will see that they do exist.
Sizing of the YORKIES
This is another huge problem for the PUBLIC
They phone one breeder after the other breeder, they come up with a different answer from each and every contact they make.- very confusing.
The miniature yorkie to breeders in the know – is a 2.5 – 3g or thereabouts adult weight dog. The Standard is bigger. I get it all the time, I am told I bought a yorkie from this breeder I asked for a miniature the dog is now adult and weighs 2.8kg,. SO, that is a miniature, OH I wanted the small yorkie. It is very confusing, and then you get the odd breeder who refers to the small one’s as the miniatures????
The breed standard calls for a dog around 7lbs as adult weight. With time etc, the yorkie has developed into different sizes, and unfortunately there is no pre-decided standard for the various sizes. It goes from breeder to breeder. Some breeders do not entertain the thought of breeding the smaller versions because firstly, it is very hands on, it is time consuming, and a lot of them just never get the smaller version.
You must also realise that the size of a pup, is very much dependant, on a few factors.
The size of the litter – I place no real importance on this, some will say the small one is a runt, what if there are three, are they all runts?????? The only time importance can be placed on the size of the litter, is the mothers overall health. If her own health has suffered as a result of the pregnancy, well then that very small baby could very well be the poor little guy, who was last conceived, did not get enough feeding in the womb, he may very well be a runt. In this type of case that very same "runt" develops into the biggest dog in the litter. The mother dog should never suffer – health wise as a result of being pregnant or nursing a litter of pups. WE the breeders who take the time and effort, see to it that the bitch has the additional feeding when required, you also do not want a very fat pregnant bitch either, that is not healthy for her or her young. It all comes down to one word EXPERIENCE. The size of the parents, believe it or not – has very little influence on the size of that pup. I have bred a 500gm Teacup as an adult dog, the mother was 3kg.. Perfectly healthy little Teacup. His mother repeatedly bred us tiny dogs. The size of the dogs born are actually in the lines of the dogs concerned. EG. It does not mean to say, the SIRE (father) is 2.5kg, the Dam(mother) is 2.5kg, the progeny will therefore all be 2.5kg.?????????? The pups could be a similar weight, they could be much bigger, smaller, it all depends what is in the background of these dogs pedigrees.
SOME INFO - TOTAL NONSENSE :
At a certain age you can estimate the future adult weight – Rubbish. I have heard time and time again, you take the weight at 8 weeks and double it, that is the adult weight, or at 10 weeks or at 12 weeks. RUBBISH.
The yorkie is fully grown at 3, 4, 6 months of age. - RUBBISH.
HOW DO YOU ENSURE YOU GET THE SIZE DOG YOU ARE LOOKING FOR?
Look we are all human, and we can only try and work it out to the best of our knowledge, and experience, and so forth. I am constantly phoned or mailed and told I have been offered a pup of X weight the breeder says ABC do you agree with this?? I must stress the size of a dog, or the expected size of a pup as an adult dog depends on a few factors.
Firstly, I can not discuss or comment on what other breeders do, what size they breed, etc, I am not prepared firstly to comment, I have in most cases very little if any knowledge at all, on how they conduct their breeding as such, how their animals are raised etc.
When my own babies are born. I can not say with any certainty what size any of those babies will grow to, especially the small ones. It takes a few weeks and then certain procedures are followed, re deworming , feeding etc, there are no short cuts.
FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY -
Follow a few simple rules:
Beware, all the breeders advertising in the flashy, glossy magazines are also not always cracked up to be, what they appear to be??? Recently I had a call from a member of the public concerned about her dilemma. She contacted me because I mention Glucose – on my website. She was sold two tiny or smallish yorkies from a glossy mag ad – Good breeder – the gardener handed her her dogs??????? R15 000-00 later.???????? The one died from a health issue five days after purchase and the other one, well it just was so weak it passed away after the sixth day after purchase. I get calls time after time, people paying very high prices for dogs and then dying shortly after purchase. I also get calls from “some” people claiming they can buy a Pocket a Teacup for some ridiculously low price, BE MY GUEST, chances are it is neither a pocket or a teacup. Anyway by all means buy from, whoever you choose. Just please do not come back to me weeks or months down the line to tell me of the awful experience you went through………..
HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF:
Insist on a Sales Contract, stipulating your rights as well as that of the Breeders. It should mention what will happen in the event of the dog being ill or becoming ill, the possible situation should the dog die of a heart or liver condition. Where do you stand, will the dog be replaced? If so how long will the guarantee period be.?
I feel all livestock carries no guarantees, but when people are paying good money for dogs, they should have the peace of mind of knowing that should the dog have a very serious life threatening condition, that it will be replaced, at the breeders convenience and when a suitable replacement pup is available. Sadly some breeders say they will and never do. This is why the contract – written of course is so important. We guarantee our dogs against a livershunt or heartcondition, that is life threatening, for the first year of the dogs life. WE have never had a claim, we did once have someone taking a chance but the vet clarified it was not our puppy that had the health issue????? In cases where your pup could be diagnosed with a life threatening disorder, that can be blamed on the breeder, pathology, histology, blood work etc is vitally important to prove the diagnosis. Your dog should also be microchipped to ensure that the dog with the issues is in fact the dog that was bought from that breeder. WE micro-chip ALL our pups. The yorkie, as with most breeds of dogs is known for certain health problems, so the breeder can not take responsibility for everything that could possibly go wrong.
Just check on the breeder, when you call them - do they ask if this dog is for breeding or as a pet???? If it is a reputable breeder you are dealing with, they should have reservations about you wanting to breed, not that we all want to hog the limelight as a breeder, but breeding is something to be taken seriously. Two champion dogs can have a litter of pups, that does not mean all those pups are worthy of being bred from or are suitable for breeding purposes. The market at present is flooded with yorkies, that does not mean we – the breeders who have been in this for years will drop our prices – we do not have to.
One must also understand, you the public have to be realistic, look I have been in this for many, many years, I have heard all the stories, there are to be told. Do not do something ridiculous to your pup, and then rush off to the breeder and blame them for it. No breeder will just take your word for it, well I most certainly would not, but then I protect you the purchaser and myself.
YOU the purchaser, should only purchase a dog that you feel is suited to you and your lifestyle. If you are forever away on business or out of the country on holiday etc, you should not even be considering buying a dog or any other pet for that matter.
Do not rush out and buy a real small yorkie because they are so CUUUUUUUUUUUTE boy I get that daily. You buy the real small dog, if you have nothing else to do all day but babysit and play mother hen. Most of the owners of my real tinies, have that dog with them 24/7 It is not a pick up and play and leave for the next 36 hours type commitment you make, when even considering a baby of this size.
I also get people time after time wanting a real small dog, BUT they have real small children, it will be for the kids, but then when I explain, it is not suited to kids, then all of a sudden it is for ME. Well please make up your mind. Your child will only drop a teacup once, and if you are very lucky and it has landed on a soft surface it MAY survive. It will more than likely stop breathing, etc, and if you have no experience in resuscitation your dog and your money is down the drain.
We breed those handbag dogs, but we also insist that the owner understands what it means to own and rear that dog.
Our teacups and pocket dogs are bred correctly, no interbreeding at all, they have been reared correctly from day one. No short cuts taken with anything, It is those short cuts taken by the BREEDERS?????that ends up with you the public buying a scrap that ends up a rottweiler.
The small dogs – no food restriction at all. No rations. They should and must be allowed to eat 24 hours if they choose to. I recently was told by a member of the public they bought a tiny from a breeder who told them WE get these small dogs from rationing their food intake. WELL that is a new one to me. The genuine small dog can and will eat most of the day and still remain small. IF they do not eat, they will end up 6 foot under.
DO NOT TOUCH ANY puppy/dog reared with glucose, honey, sugar water etc. This is totally a very bad practice. The breeders do this to ensure the small one’s keep stable, while in their care, they sell the dog to you, and you can not for ever, keep a dog on this to ensure it keeps stable. It will impact on its health. You will have to wean the dog off of this eventually, sooner or later, and at that stage if it is a tiny pup/dog, you are going to sit with issues, and your animal may very well die. It has happened to countless people and you will just become another statistic.
LASTLY the yorkie is expensive, vet bills are expensive. So if you are not financially viable to take on a dog like this, leave it until such times as you are. No one wants to be put under any unnecessary financial strain in these times, and so often I get a call from people saying the, SPCA would not treat my yorkie. WELL that is totally understandable; the SPCA is there for the underprivileged people, who have real financial issues. If you can afford to purchase a Yorkie, you can afford to pay a private Vet for your pets health upkeep. PLEASE do not go to the SPCA with your pregnant yorkie in dire straits trying to give birth……… they will eat you alive. This happened to one WOMAN I can not even say Lady, who let her very tiny yorkie get covered by a monstrous sized yorkie, and then ran to the SPCA for help, according to her she could not afford to see a vet……….
The very reason my dogs are sold as pets…………………….
I hope this gives you some insight as to why the dogs differ in price - we as breeders of standing and of many years experience etc, do go the extra mile. Our dogs are fed the very best, have the best medical attention available, and are not allowed to mate as and when they please. We only breed from animals we feel are good quality and meet the requirements of a good all round yorkie, and lastly we will never leave you in the "lurch" we are always there to assist, to educate etc. Most of our purchasers of our pups are now our friends..........
BEST OF LUCK ……………………….