A new Yorkshire Terrier Pup

Panda Bear

Hi I am soon to get a new puppy and was curious at what age (weeks) it would be proper to take him from the Owner. The Owners say 6 weeks but I am thinking 8/9 weeks before he is taking from the mother. Am I correct or what is the normal for this please.
Tnaks...Not hugely important at the moment by the way any tips on helping him relax on the first night I wxpect a lot of low barking or whimpering and am happy about that but would like the poor thing to feel happy safe and secure

WIZE

week 4-6 is the worst time to seperate pup from mother as the the pup needs the mothers milk to become healthy . the 9th week is normal

WIZE

Also a I learned from experience that if you are bring the pup home by car put it in a box with blankets. I didnt do this and my westie pup puked and pissed all over me from fright as I held it in the car

Vel

If the owners are advising you to take the pup at 6 weeks, they don't sound like responsible breeders to me. You'd be best to walk away from a situation like that and find a responsible breeder in my opinion.

Sigma Force

Please never buy from a breeder that sells them that young, it's really bad practice on their part. I know 8 weeks is usually the average age for puppies and kittens. However for toy breeds you might be better off waiting until a pup is 10 weeks.

It sounds like the breeder you are dealing with just wants the money asap and doesn't really care about the pups well being.

Crate training is best, at night put the pup in a small crate beside your bed, be prepared to get up from anything from 2 1/2 hours to 4 or 5 hours during the night. You might have many weeks of broken sleep not because the pup won't settle, they don't take too long to settle in but because they need to get up and out to wee and sometimes poop esp. if they have eaten late.

fionav3

Ditto what Vel said, no puppy should be taken from their mother and siblings before 8 weeks (in fact, for some of the smaller, more fragile breeds like yorkies, 10 to 12 weeks is reccommended). It will create serious problems down the line. I would walk away from this breeder now because they clearly don't care about their puppies and will likely have put zero effort into the breeding and rearing of them. Please, please find a reputable breeder, don't reward breeders like this one by buying their puppies because they're only going to keep churning out unhealthy dogs like buttons to make a quick buck. :mad: Don't give them a reason to keep abusing dog breeding like they are. (sorry for the rant but people like this make me so mad!)

caroline1111

8/9 weeks, no younger than 8. To help the pup settle in, when you pick him up, bring a blanket and rub it off the mother so her scent is on it. Then let the pup sleep on it and it'll feel more secure.

tootyflutty

We have a yorkie cross, got him at 9 weeks and is now still going at 16 years. Leave him that extra 3/4 weeks it will definetly benefit him. When we brought ours home he cried and cried and cried for nights, and that was at 9 weeks, I can't imagine what it would do to a younger one, and how fragile it must be!!
Good advice about the box and blankets too, they really do feel as if they would break if you even sneezed on them.
Best of luck with all the chewing too :P

Rogan

Hi, I am a newbie on the board - been lurking for a while, so I have decided to register!

The most important weeks in a pups life are those from 6 to 12 weeks - they need to be fully weaned off the mother and eating well on their own (not likely with a 6 week old) but also what is absoloutely so important is learning from their mother and litter mates.

They learn bite inhibition from their litter mates (it could take you months to stop your puppy nipping and biting at people!) whereas they learn it quickly as part of a litter.

The most important learning weeks of your dogs life are 6-12 weeks - they need their mother, their litter mates, people and new experiences.

We got our first pup at 8 weeks and our 2nd at 12 weeks, both toy breeds - the breeder wouldn't our 2nd go until 12 weeks, we had booked him from 4 weeks - he was fully weaned, partially toilet trained, fully vaccinated and wormed. He was reared in a home environment too.

Whereas our first pup was reared in a shed, let go at 8 weeks, had fleas and worms and just one vaccination (and I even wonder now if he did have that!!) It has taken us months to stop him nipping and biting!

So honestly - you may save €100 euro by goiing to a back yard breeder - but you have no guarantees of health etc. and could spend a fortune over the years on the vet.

After my two experiences I will always go for a reputable breeder and an older pup!

Vel

Well Panda Bear I see you've been back online! Go on reassure us all that you won't give money over and take a pup from someone who sounds like a backyard breeder

cmf86

BVB wrote: »

Also a I learned from experience that if you are bring the pup home by car put it in a box with blankets. I didnt do this and my westie pup puked and pissed all over me from fright as I held it in the car

When I was getting my Westie I travelled from Donegal to Longford to get it. I took a box with blankets etc. The breeder was giving me info and advice before I left and he said that the dog will probably get sick on way home and to be careful. He sat on my knee most of the way home and never cried, puked or pee'd in the car. I took him out half way and he went to the toilet. I think it just depends on the pup, or maybe I just got lucky, lol.

He settled in unbelievably well aswell. He only cried for about 5 minutes the first night and he just went to sleep then. I am at the end of my tether with the house training but, lol.

Panda Bear

Hello everyone. First of all let me says thanks to everyone for the very forthcoming and sound advice. It was all great and I thank you all. I will be finding a new breeder who will hold a puppy for me for at leat 9/10 weeks and am willing to pay that bit more for a decent breeder.

Keeping one beside me in the bedroom sound like a great idea to help it cope and my next job will be to convince my wife on this idea. It wont be a problem as she is also excited to have a new dog grow up in our house.
Only untill it is happy and cofortable but thae he has to go to the new house we have in the kitchen near the radiator for him.


I promise to take very good care of it and will be checking back regularly with new and pictures when it all happens. In fact I have since found a new breeder and litter and chosen a male minature yorkshire terrier.

Panda Bear

Vel wrote: »

If the owners are advising you to take the pup at 6 weeks, they don't sound like responsible breeders to me. You'd be best to walk away from a situation like that and find a responsible breeder in my opinion.

THanks for this and more

Panda Bear

Vel wrote: »

Well Panda Bear I see you've been back online! Go on reassure us all that you won't give money over and take a pup from someone who sounds like a backyard breeder

excellent advise thank you

Panda Bear

Vel wrote: »

Well Panda Bear I see you've been back online! Go on reassure us all that you won't give money over and take a pup from someone who sounds like a backyard breeder

Thanks for the Excellent advice appreciated this

Panda Bear

cmf86 wrote: »

When I was getting my Westie I travelled from Donegal to Longford to get it. I took a box with blankets etc. The breeder was giving me info and advice before I left and he said that the dog will probably get sick on way home and to be careful. He sat on my knee most of the way home and never cried, puked or pee'd in the car. I took him out half way and he went to the toilet. I think it just depends on the pup, or maybe I just got lucky, lol.

He settled in unbelievably well aswell. He only cried for about 5 minutes the first night and he just went to sleep then. I am at the end of my tether with the house training but, lol.

Hope he has settled in by now and you are both very happy thanks for feedback

Panda Bear

BVB wrote: »

week 4-6 is the worst time to seperate pup from mother as the the pup needs the mothers milk to become healthy . the 9th week is normal

yep I have found a new breeder and he say he will hold him for 9/10 weeks and we can check in then how he is...Thanks

Panda Bear

fionav3 wrote: »

Ditto what Vel said, no puppy should be taken from their mother and siblings before 8 weeks (in fact, for some of the smaller, more fragile breeds like yorkies, 10 to 12 weeks is reccommended). It will create serious problems down the line. I would walk away from this breeder now because they clearly don't care about their puppies and will likely have put zero effort into the breeding and rearing of them. Please, please find a reputable breeder, don't reward breeders like this one by buying their puppies because they're only going to keep churning out unhealthy dogs like buttons to make a quick buck. :mad: Don't give them a reason to keep abusing dog breeding like they are. (sorry for the rant but people like this make me so mad!)

Great advice I have read all the posts and taken it all on board great feedback thanks for taking the time to post

Panda Bear

BVB wrote: »

week 4-6 is the worst time to seperate pup from mother as the the pup needs the mothers milk to become healthy . the 9th week is normal

you are very good to be so prompt with the replies and I have read them all and will act on them all thanks for followup

The Black Oil

From what I recall we got our Yorkie when he was ~12 weeks old, that was in 1997 and he's 12 now. I don't recall any separation anxiety, as it were, he has a great personality, is mostly sharp as a tack, but can be a bit dense, that could be from our way of talking to him, though! Make sure you get some proper paperwork from the breeder.

Rogan

Good decision!!! You will be living with this dog for the next probably 15 years - so you might as well get it right from the beginning!

The new breeder sounds much better.

Panda Bear

caroline1111 wrote: »

8/9 weeks, no younger than 8. To help the pup settle in, when you pick him up, bring a blanket and rub it off the mother so her scent is on it. Then let the pup sleep on it and it'll feel more secure.

The idea of the blanket with the mother scent is excellent and I shall use it thank you for this tip