[ How do you pronounce Ojibwa? ]
[ Before You Purchase a Yorkie] [ What is a Pedigree? ] [ Papers & Quality ]
[ What does having a Ch mean? ] [ I want a Teacup Yorkie ] [ Tri-Colored Yorkies ]

[ Collapsing Trachea ]
[ Liver Shunt ] [ Luxating Patellas ] [ L'egg Perthes ]

Having decided to own a purebred dog, you should try to find the best available specimen of the breed. Many sources offer purebred puppies and dogs for sale, but locating the best source requires time and research. Local pet stores will often carry several popular breeds. These dogs often come from backyard breeders or puppy mills, and are not in the best state of health, nor are they from the best possible breeding lines. Your local newspaper will also run advertisements for purebred puppies. Careful research may prove a few of these to be well bred, healthy animals which will make good pets. The majority, however, are likely the result of backyard breeding by neighbors looking to make a small profit.

How do you pronounce Ojibwa?

Ojibwa is pronounced . The Anishinabe, commonly referred to as the Ojibwa or the Chippewa, ascribed their appearance on this continent to an act of creation.

To end any confusion, the Ojibwa and Chippewa are not only the same Indian tribe, but the same word pronounced a little differently due to accent. If an "O" is placed in front of Chippewa (O'chippewa), the relationship becomes apparent. Ojibwe is used in Canada, although Ojibwe west of Lake Winnipeg are sometime referred to as the Saulteaux. In United States, Chippewa was used in all treaties and is the official name. The Ojibwa call themselves Anishinabe (Anishinaubag, Neshnabek) meaning "original men" .

For more information on the Ojibwa Indians visit my Rose's Native American web site at http://www.edwards1.com/rose/native

Before you purchase your yorkie.

The following are a list of important things to know before you purchase a new puppy:

I believe a yorkie should be at least 12 weeks old before going to a new home. Some would say they can go younger, and some puppies probably can; but 12 weeks puts you past the fragile first few weeks, and past the fear/imprint period, and seems to me to be about as young as they should go. Be wary of anyone who will sell you a yorkie puppy under 12 weeks of age.

Be sure that you purchase your puppy from the actual breeder - not someone selling puppies for someone else. This is called a broker, and many times puppies from a broker come from puppy mills. Pet stores that sell yorkies fall under the category of brokers. Pet stores are one of the main reasons puppy mills are able to remain in business.

Don't buy the first puppy you see. Try to visit several breeders and see their puppies. Ask lots of questions. Then you will be prepared to make an informed decision. This is the hardest to do, when you see there little faces you just want to take them home. But you will be better off in the long run if you don't buy the first one you see. Who knows but after talking with with several different breeders you may decide to buy that first puppy, great but you know that is the best choice.

Any good breeder will be willing to stand behind their dogs 100%. They will guarantee their health and be willing to replace the puppy if something goes wrong. They want to be called when there are problems, they want to know if something is showing up in their lines and that needs to addressed. If you find a breeder like this, you have most likely found a good one that truly cares about the dogs they are breeding.

When you decide on a new puppy, plan to pick the puppy up on a day when you can take the new puppy straight to your vet for an exam before taking the puppy home. That way, if something is wrong you can return the puppy right away before you get attached. If you can't take them to the vet the same day, wait a few days for the puppy to settle in and then take them, any good breeder usually gives you at least a week to do this.

Make arrangements with your vet to have your pet spayed or neutered as soon as possible. I prefer to have them spayed or neuter between 6 to 9 months of age. By spaying or neutering you are increasing the length of your pet's life by eliminating the risk of many types of cancer. A long time ago people thought that they should let female dogs come in season once before they are spayed; this is no longer the case. Most vets agree that this is unnecessary. The younger a male dog is neutered the more likely that he will not lift his leg and mark territory in your house. This can be very messy, but can also be prevented by neutering at a young age.

What is a Pedigree?

Quite simply, a pedigree is a record of the ancestors of your Yorkshire Terrier. This would start with the father (sire), the mother (dam), grandsire, granddam, great-grandsire and so on. Every dog, purebred or not, has a pedigree. To most pet owners a pedigree is meaningless. To those that show in confirmation and have a rigid breeding program, an accurate pedigree becomes quite valuable to the information it can provide.

The main function of the American Kennel Club and other similar registries is to do just that- keep track of a dogs ancestry in a reliable and accurate manner. For a registration fee, the AKC will record the name of your Yorkshire Terrier and pedigree information. The AKC registration certificate (papers) you received means that your Yorkie's information is kept on file in the AKC's records. For $30.00 will provide you with a certified pedigree. There are other pedigree services that do the same thing for far less of a fee and they gather their information to prepare the pedigree from stud books sold by the AKC for that purpose.

The AKC records the name you choose for your Yorkie to be registered (30 characters or less and no duplicate names). This certificate will show the color, sex, parentage, date of birth, breeder and owner and any titles the dog has won in AKC-sanctioned shows. When applying for registration, AKC relies on breeders and owners to be honest. This is very important. If the breeder of your Yorkie has given the AKC false information, the pedigree on your Yorkie may not be correct. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible for the AKC to verify all this information individually, although the AKC is striving for better accuracy with the recent use of DNA testing. Unless you personally know and trust the breeder, you really have no way of knowing if your Yorkie is really the one recorded on his registration papers. (This information was paraphrased form the Maltese Only home page)

Papers & Quality

Any dog that meets AKC's requirements for registration may be registered and receive "papers". The papers do not tell you if the Yorkie is of good quality or if it really is or even looks like what a Yorkie is supposed to be. All it can tell you is that your dog is registered with them as a Yorkshire Terrier and that its records are on file. Many people misunderstand this very important point. Many poor quality Yorkies not bred to the standard are AKC registered. You can't judge the quality of your Yorkie from looking only at his or her registration papers or pedigree. When puppies are whelped and the breeder registers the litter with the AKC, they in turn will send a puppy application paper for each puppy in the litter. When the time comes, the breeder will sign the puppy over to the buyer, who then can optionally register that individual puppy in his name for a fee of $12.00 and is sent a registration certificate back usually within 3 weeks with their name and their chosen name of the Yorkie. Cost of litter registration to the breeder is now $25.00 plus $2.00 for each puppy in the litter.

AKC registration means that the parents of the Yorkshire Terrier were registered as Yorkshire Terrier or it could also mean that an unethical breeder lied or was mistaken about the breeding that produced the litter. Registration itself is neither a guarantee nor even an indication of quality. This is why reputable breeders are have all their dogs, both female & male DNA certified. Every sire (male) producing seven or more litters in a lifetime or producing more than three litters in a calendar year must be 'AKC DNA Certified.'

No one examines the parents or the puppies to see if they really qualify to be registered as Yorkshire Terrier, and the AKC has to depend on breeders to be honest when applying for a litter registration. Some unethical breeders apply for registration forms for puppies that have died or were never born, and they then use these certificates on puppies of doubtful parentage. Others will buy unused registration papers at local flea markets for about double what they cost the breeder originally.

To complicate matters further, a female Yorkshire Terrier can be impregnated by different male dogs during her fertile cycle and if the dogs are not watched closely some puppies in the litter may have different fathers than other puppies of the same litter. In kennels where males and females of different breeds typically run together, mixed breed puppies can and will be registered as purebred if they look close to what the breed should look like. This is not uncommon with puppy mills or breeders who have several breeds, and has led these breeders to be investigated by the AKC and later to be DNA tested to prove parentage when the puppy has grown from looking like a Yorkshire Terrier into an adult looking like a Poodle. At that point, the AKC, at their discretion, might investigate and might revoke the litter registration if the puppies or adult dogs do not have the appearance of a Maltese or do not pass the DNA testing done by their inspectors. With this in mind, you now know that a pedigree can only tell you what the breeder told the AKC as to who the ancestors were - it can't tell you if they were of good quality, bad quality, what they looked like or whether they had inherited health or temperament problems, had a history of heart disease or liver shunts. It won't tell you any of this.

If you purchased your Yorkshire Terrier for a companion pet, you probably aren't concerned about finding out more about his or her family. If you intend to breed or show your Yorkshire Terrier, however, getting accurate information about his or her background can be very important. You'll need to do much more than just look at the names on its pedigree. To find out more about the Yorkshire Terrier in a particular pedigree, you should visit the breeder to see the sire and dam. The breeder should be able to tell you where to find the grandparents as well.

To get more information on the Yorkshire Terrier further back in the pedigree, you might try to find reliable books and magazines about the Yorkshire Terrier breed. (Sources I recommend are available by clicking here) Pictures can only tell you part of the story. You need to talk to those people who have firsthand knowledge of what the ancestors of the Yorkshire Terrier in question were really like.

Is a Registered Champion Yorkshire Terrier of exceptional quality?

CH. is the abbreviation for champion. If you look at a pedigree these are the ones usually written in red. The more red, the better the Yorkie-right? Not necessarily. An AKC Champion Yorkshire Terrier is one that has defeated enough other Yorkshire Terrier at their sanctioned shows to win the required number of points to achieve the title. The required number of dogs and bitches to be defeated varies with each breed and district which State the show is held in (for more information on showing your dog visit Lacy's Place in Cyberspace).

It can be easier to become a champion in some breeds more than others. Is a Champion Yorkshire Terrier of exceptional quality? Sometimes but not necessarily. A Champion Yorkshire Terrier is only as good as the Yorkshire Terrier competition at the particular show that day when they won the points.

In closing, a pedigree is a tool to help breeders produce better Yorkshire Terrier. It's just piece of information to be used as a starting point for research. A pedigree by itself really doesn't mean much unless one knows what the other Yorkshire Terrier in the pedigree were really like. To a pet owner, look at the Yorkshire Terrier. If its the look and temperament you're after and the Yorkshire Terrier is healthy and the breeder is reputable, go for it. If its a show potential Yorkshire Terrier you're after, the pedigree and papers should and will be much more meaningful to you. (This information was paraphrased form the Maltese home page)

I want a Tea Cup Yorkie

There is no such thing as a tea cup yorkie (Micro Mini, Teenie, or any other name that means “extra small), this is used by some people to differentiate between the size of the dog. This came about because people used this in describing poodles. But in Yorkshire terriers there is only the AKC standard requiring that they be under seven (7) pounds. No one can sell you a yorkie that is a tea cup. All breeders may occasionally have an unusually small Yorkies, though no responsible breeder breeds for this trait. Many breeders prefer a general weight range of 4-7 four pounds believing that size retains desired Toy
qualities while maintaining optimum health.

Why then, do so many breeders advertise teacup Yorkies? Here are two possible reasons:

Fraud.
Some unscrupulous breeders advertise teacup Yorkies to take advantage of those people who are not very familiar with Yorkies. By telling someone that they are getting a "teacup", they make the buyer feel that they are getting something special and charge you more. As stated above, a standard Yorkshire terrier must weigh no more than 7 pounds.

Ignorance.
Sadly, there are people out there breeding Yorkshire terriers who simply aren't knowledgeable enough about Yorkies to know that there is no such thing as a "teacup".

On average, Yorkshire terriers weigh between 5 and 7 pounds as adults. There are, of course, smaller Yorkies born that will weigh less. Most Yorkshire terriers that you see participating in the show ring tend to be 6 to 7 pounds. A dog weighing 3 to 4 pounds is considered small and often requires special care. Dogs this small should not be handled by children expect under strictly controlled conditions.

Tri-Colored Yorkie

The Biewer or Tri-Colored Yorkie is an extremely rare or exotic dog breed, Not

They are a mixed breed of dog that started in Germany. I think ordinated around the early 2000's. They are not recognized by the American Kennel Club.

Designer mutts cost big bucks.

Mixed-breed dogs, once flooded the U.S. animal shelters, are now being sought by an increasing number of Americans looking for special pooches. Deliberately bred and given cute fancy names, today's special-order mixes have newfound status -- and a purebred price tag.

"When there were a bunch of them around and a lot of them were in the shelter, you'd call them mutts," said Stephen Zawistowski, science advisor at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, about the popular mixes that used to accidentally appear. (Excerpted from http://www.puppypuddles.com/MORKIES.html)

Sure they make great pets, as all mutts do, but purposely breeding more mixed breeds is just irresponsible. So why are breeders breeding mutts? Most of the breeders are doing it for the money involved. The latest money-making trend is the promotion of mixed breeds with official-looking "registration papers" and catchy-sounding names. The "registrations" come from a growing industry of registry services, each willing to issue documents for a few dollars a pop. (Excerpted from http://www.geocities.com/mutts02/designer-mutts.html)

Do your homework before you buy your puppy and don’t get bamboozled.