I have no idea what a teacup Yorkie is or where the name came from. According to the AKC standard a Yorkshire terrier should not weight more then 7 pounds. According to the standard there is no reference to "teacups".

Like any living thing you can not be 100 percent sure about anything, My dogs come with a 1 year guarantee for hereditary heart defects and Porto systemic Shunt (liver shunt). As a show breeder I strive to breed the best possible dogs I can. I have a reputation to up hold as well as a conscience that needs to be satisfied. I want the best for my puppies so they can give their best to their new care takers. My past experience has shown me that the very small Yorkie's are just as healthy as a 4+ pound ones. They have special needs because of their size and do require more attention to details. (SEE THE NEXT QUESTION).

I am very particular where all my Yorkie's go. The small ones have special needs that can only be met by a person who has an understanding of those needs and the time to devote to them.
Keep in mind that these small ones are very fragile (fine boned). You can call me at 585.392.0043 anytime to discuss the requirements.

I have developed a system in which we train our puppies as soon as they are able to walk.  We train them to use a dog litter box with paper in it for their potty habits.  We have found this comes in very handy if you live in a city or travel a great deal and need your puppy to do their business indoors. The longer that we have the puppies with us the more consistent they are with the box. Some of our clients have their dogs/puppies only use the box.  We so not take any of our puppies outside as long as they live with us this keeps them using the box and keeps them safe from hawks and other dangers that you will find outside.  If you find you are interested in this system I will soon have the whole system up for sale, including support. 

No, your Yorkshire Terrier is born black and tan. The head will change from black to silver then gold. The body will change from black to slate blue color. At least that is the plan. Some Yorkie's go through the color change quickly and some take longer. By year three your Yorkshire terrier should reach it's mature colors.

My focus is to breed Yorkie's in the 3 to 7 pound range. Although I frequently have 2 to 3 pound puppies.

Normally 16 weeks if their adult weight is to be over 3 pounds. All my puppies are altered and have all there shots including rabies before going to their new home. If you are wanting a puppy whose adult weight will be in the 2 to 3 pound range the time frame can be anywhere from 5 to 8 months.

Normally yes, you will receive a health certificate with your puppy stating that a licensed veterinarian has examined the puppy and the puppy is in good health. You will also receive a shot record indicating which vaccines have been given.

Normally yes.

Your puppy will be wormed upon leaving us.

Yes, but shipping depends on the size of the Yorkie, and the distance they need to travel.

Currently the cost is approximately $200.00. We do not a mark up shipping costs.

Yorkie's do not require a lot of food, the side panel of the food bag is a good guide based on the weight and age of your Yorkie. Generally the will eat 1/2 a cup per day for the first year than a 1/4 cup a day there after. Keep in mind this is only a guide the overall weight and age of your Yorkie is what determines the amount of food required.

I "do" recommend that you feed your Yorkie 2 -3 times a day. Yorkie's are a relatively small dog with a small appetite and can become hypoglycemic. The two times a day feeding schedule helps alleviate this condition. For Yorkie's under 6 months or Yorkie that has body weight that is under 3 1/2 pounds as an Adult should have food available at all times.

No, their hair is like human hair so like humans their hair falls out but they do not shed.

Yes, you will need to groom your Yorkie. The puppy cut requires no maintenance on your part. But you will need to brush them daily so they do not become tangled. Depending on how much you are willing to spend on the maintenance of their coat will depend on the cut you choose. I have Yorkie's that are very jealous and beg or bump into my leg to get groomed. Do not be fooled they were not always like this some take to it well and others hate it in the beginning. Since I bathe and groom my dogs once a week they start to like it and think it is fun after a few weeks.

Every few weeks if you keep your Yorkie in a puppy cut. If your Yorkie is in full coat once a week is advisable.

I use Crown Royal shampoo and leave in conditioner. These are pet friendly products and are tearless. Do not use human shampoos or conditioners as they my irritate your Yorkie's skin and eyes. Your Yorkie will enjoy their bath if it is a fun experience. Soap in the eyes is not fun. Tearless products that do not burn the eyes will make it easier for you to bath your Yorkie and your Yorkie will be less likely to resist. You can purchase these products from Brown Kennel Supply.

Let your Yorkie settle into its new home for a couple of days before you start bathing them.

No, dogs are den animals by nature. If there crate is accessible all the time you will find they go to it when they want to sleep or when they want to get away from any commotion that may be going on. The crate is not to be used for punishment and they should not be used to lock your Yorkie in for long periods of time. They should only be use for short periods of time like when you need to run out for a few minutes or go to dinner.

My Veterinarian has a lot of experience working on small dogs and he has the special equipment they require. I have lost Yorkie's altered by client veterinarians. I have never lost any Yorkie's done by my veterinarian. Most people are under the misconception that you should wait till the dog is sexually mature before being spayed or neutered. I do not agree with that. When a male dog reaches sexual maturity they being to "mark" everything in sight looking for a female. Once they start to leg lift ("mark") you have a 50-50 chance that they will stop after being altered. It all depends on how ingrained the instinct is in their mind. By early spay and neutering my Yorkie's before they go to their new homes, I reduce the risk of you having potty problems when they mature. Female Yorkie's will also "mark" looking for a male. The difference is that most people think they just had a potty mistake. It is hard to tell as they do not lift their leg as high as a male.

I can not answer specific emails as I am not a veterinarian. I can however tell you of experiences that I have had or knowledge that I have gleamed over the years. One thing for sure, there is no standard vaccination protocol for canine's as there is with humans. This is what causes most of the problems. If you were to key "dog vaccine reactions" into a search engine and start reading the articles you would become disillusioned as the information starts to contradict each other. To make matters worse even the veterinarians can not seem to agree as to what the right vaccine protocol should be.

Some food for thought: As a child you were vaccinated. As an adult you do not receive any additional boosters. Those vaccines are called no toxin vaccines. Distemper and Rabies are also no toxin vaccines. So why do we give them to our dogs and cats on a yearly or every three year schedule depending on the veterinarian you use? Vaccines are not dosed by the dogs weight. The same amount of vaccine given to a 100 pound dog is also the same amount given to a 3 pound dog. Which is why there are a larger number of reactions and deaths in small dogs than large dogs. I do not recommend the Lepto vaccine as it has caused a number of recorded deaths in the toy breeds. I do not recommend giving multiple vaccines on the same visit no mater what your veterinarian says. I space them out at 4 to 6 weeks intervals. A dog can be tittered (by way of a blood test) if the dog titers high enough the vaccine is not required. Rabies is required by law but does not need to be given but every 3 years.

Click this link to get more information on vaccine reactions which is a issue that effects not just Yorkshire Terriers but "all toy breeds" and even Collies.

Most breeders are trying to breed to the AKC standard which calls for a slate blue body color. From time to time as breeders try to get the correct coat color they do produce what is known as a "Silver" Yorkie. Yorkie's can also be more of a slate blue or black coloring. Some people actually prefer these colors to the traditional blue and gold colors .

Most breeders have their veterinarian dock the puppies tails when they are a few days old. If your puppy does not have a docked tail and you want to have it docked now you need to consult your Veterinarian.

This question really interests me, as I live in a multiple dog household. I find that the males are just as loving and just as easy to train and housebreak. I normally ask, "Why is having a female so important?" Those that have been able to answer the question usually say they do not want a male because of their leg lifting. Both males and females will lift a leg when they urinate. If a male is allowed to mature he will mark everything in sight in order to find a female. What people do not know is that females will do the same thing whether they are in heat or not. Most people wait too long to alter their pets! I am not sure why that is, as it can cause more problems for your Yorkie if you wait. As soon as your vet says your Yorkie is ready, the operation should be performed. You need not take my word for this; ask your own trusted veterinarian.

In a multiple dog household you might find the male to be more passive then the female. In a single dog household I do not think you would notice a difference.

Only you know the answer to this question as it depends on whether your dog is dominate or submissive. I would be happy to discuss your current dog and give you an opinion.

Young puppies regardless of breed play with each other using their mouths, when I put my hands in to play with them they start to bite my hands. As this may be acceptable behavior in the wild it IS NOT acceptable behavior in my world nor should it be in yours. As a puppies jaw muscles become stronger those cute bites will begin to hurt and to puppy/dog will begin greeting everyone with a little bite. Since this is a natural behavior it needs to be stopped immediately. I start training my puppies not to bite before they even have teeth in there mouth. How you keep them from biting is easy. All you need to do is keep you fingers, hands, and arms out of their mouths. I immediately stop playing with them when they try to bite, sometimes I give them a toy and put it right in their open mouth and walk away. Never allow them bite you and they will not bite.

We are constantly asked this question, so I will try to explain.  I know that your thinking is that as a puppy ages, that puppy is worth less money.  In our experience as breeders of a toy breed this could not be further from the truth.  Most puppies are ready to go to their new homes at about 8 weeks old; this is not true for Toy breeds which include yorkie's. Because our yorkie's are bred to the AKC standard weight of 3-7 pounds chances are our puppies at eight weeks are 2 pounds and under.  I find most of our Yorkie puppies at 8 weeks to be very immature.  At eight weeks they are still under 24/7 supervision which means someone is always close at hand to watch after them.  They have been weaned but are still at the finicky eater stage.  This may mean changing foods and feeding all different things to convince them to eat.  They may go through 5 different things a day to get a handle on what they like.  We want them to go into your home and be eating dry food really well.  Sometimes this takes a while.  Some of our really small puppies stay with us for many months up to a year until we are sure about their eating habits as hypoglycemia is one of the leading problems with a very small dog.  So in closing just because we have kept the puppy for months or even up to a year does not mean that the puppy has lost his/her value.  I am sure you would rather have a stable, well adjusted dog than a shaky puppy that you can not ever leave alone.