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About CIRCLE K RANCH
Circle K Ranch is located just a mile outside of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Our house is
situated right in the middle of 7 acres of Peace and Quite.
I breed only Yorkshire Terriers and my yorkies are a part of our family. When you visit
The Circle K Ranch, you won't find any outbuildings filled with cages. My dogs live
inside the house with me.
I breed for health and temperament. I do not breed undersized dogs to sell to the trendy
rich who posess more dollars than sense. My dogs are all of a healthy weight, in the
normal range for a Yorkshire Terrier, 4 to 7 pounds.
My puppies are calm, quiet and well socialized. They are accustom to household noises and
smells and children of all ages. When the puppies are 6 weeks old I begin letting them
run with the rest of the pack for short periods, during the day, increasing the length of
time as they get older. This socializes them and gives them a chance to learn proper
dog etiquette.
How It Came To Be
I fell in love with Yorkshire Terriers when I got my first yorkie in 1994. I had considered
breeding for many years but the time was never right. Then in 2006 when our beloved yorkie
crossed over
the Rainbow Bridge
I decided the time was right. I bought books on breeding and searched the internet to
learn all that I could about breeding dogs.
I started with just one male and one female, but yorkies are addictive and a year later
I bought my 2 parti girls. I am currently looking for two golden colored yorkies to add
to our family.
Do: Research the breed. Make sure the dog will fit your lifestyle. If you want a low
maintenance dog to take jogging with you, then a yorkie is probably not your best choice.
Do: Research the breeder. Not all yorkies are created equal. If you find the right breeder
they will provide you with the right puppy.
Do: Ask questions. Responsible breeders welcome questions. Ask about their breeding
program, What do they consider to be the most important qualities to breed for. Ask how
the puppy has been socialized, are the parents kept in cages, at what age are the puppies
taken from the mother, etc.
Do: Insist on seeing the puppy walk and play. Many breeders will put the puppy in your
hands as you walk through the door and you have no idea of it's body shape or how it walks
until you get home. If it's wobbly or hunched back it possibly has health issues.
Pass on it and look for anlother one.
Do: Take your time in choosing a puppy. This puppy is going to be a big part of
your life. Make sure it is a good fit with your family.
Don't: buy a puppy on price alone. If you have done any research, you have probably noticed that
that there is a huge price range for yorkies. Beware of breeders that sell for too little,
or for too much.
Don't: buy a puppy over the internet unless you are comfortable that the breeder
is reputable. They don't always ship the puppy that you chose from a picture on their
website. In fact that picture might not even be of their own puppy. Some breeders steal
pictures from other websites.
Don't: buy from breeders who have more than one or two litters at a time or have
multiple breeds. These are puppy mills. They breed for quantity and not quality.
They will sell to anyone, anytime, anywhere.
Don't: buy from breeders whose websites are full of hype about how tiny their puppies are
or those who claim to have sold to famous people. Just because some famous person bought
a puppy from them does not mean that their dogs are well bred.
Don't: buy undersized puppies that come from undersized parents. All breeders will get an
occasional tiny puppy, but those that are breeding tiny dogs, to get tiny puppies,
are passing along bad genetics. Just as with abnormally small people, abnormally small
yorkies have additional health problems and a shorter than average life expectancy.
You just might find that you have paid a lot of money for a big heartache.
Don't: buy from brokers or pet stores. You have no idea where the puppy came from
or how the parents are kept or what conditions they were raised in. Breeders, who care
about their dogs, want to know what type of home the puppies are going to and how they
will be taken care of.
Don't: buy a yorkie puppy under 10 weeks old. Young yorkies tend to get hypoglycemia.
The stress of going to a new home and all the excitement tires them out and they forget
to eat. They could develop hypoglycemia and die before morning.
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