What are yorkshire terriers like as pets?

Question

Does size of yorkie make any difference? Anything to watch out or prepare for? I'm thinking of welcoming a pup to my home.

Answer 1

Canadian (and others) have given you some very sound and knowledgable advice about owning the breed.

I'd like to emphasize the note of caution that many have voiced. Yorkies are very, very popular and "trendy" right now. What this leads to is an explosion of disreputable breeding as people cash in on the demand.

What these backyard (or simply bad) breeders are producing are dogs that have a horrifying cacophany of serious health problems at a young age. Like the awful story above of the yorkie who stopped breathing, I keep hearing similar tales from aquaintances, like the 2 yorkies put to sleep at 6 mos for chronic heart conditions. Los Angeles craigslist is littered daily with backyard breeders posting ads for the "tiniest teacup yorkies!" and pet stores trumpeting their (puppy-mill) yorkie selection.

The demand is so great that the prices for yorkies have shot through the roof, and people are turning to a life of crime. There was a recent area robbery where the theives took not money, not electronics, but a litter of yorkie pups. (they were found and returned.) but at $2,000 or more a pop (or rather, a pup - ouch - ) what's surprising is maybe that they aren't dognapped more often.

So watch out for sales tactics and out of state breeders - especially anyone from a puppy mill state like Pennsylvania, Missouri or Ohio. Better to pay more to a reputable breeder than to save $600 and face either giant vet bills or putting your dog to sleep and getting a refund.

I guess what I'd really recommend is; Yorkies are very cute dogs. At their best they are funny, lively, fiesty little bugs of energy. Right now they are awfully popular and you may know many people with them. But only you know if this is the right dog for you. Yorkies, right now, present a lot of problems to the potential dog owner in terms of their inflated market value and the problems happening with breeders. You might want to look into some similar small breed dogs, or consider adopting a cute yorkie-like mixed breed. If you have your heart set on a yorkie, and you can see yourself making a 10+ yr commitment to this doggie, than really, really be careful about where you get your dog from.

Answer 2

My mother-in-law has had a Yorkshire terrier for just over a year now. These are some of the things that we have associated with this particular dog because of her personality and certain things that pertain to the breed.

She is a very fussy dog and very high maintenance (always looks like she has been dragged through the bush backwards - even if it is half an hour after she has returned from the parlour).

There is the constant making sure she don't eat the wrong thing that doesn't agree with her (she loves chewing all kinds of things including the garden foliage)

Because of her size, we have to ensure that she cannot get out of the yard and that there are no openings she can slip through.

She is a dog that is always underfoot and often almost gets stood on.

She is a very hyperactive dog and even as a puppy only used to sleep for short periods of time at night (the day she will sleep away - sometimes I think she is worse than a new born baby and wants attention at two in the morning).

She is a yap, yap dog which can get annoying after a while, I am sure she annoys the neighbours sometimes with the yapping

She is a very fragile dog health wise, she has already stopped breathing at least three times already (causes unknown could be caused by panic, over exertion etc) and we have had to be prepared to do revival techniques on her this could also be because of her size.

If you are thinking of getting a Yorkshire Terrier be 100%sure that you are making the right choice, there are many small dog breeds out there that do not have as many health problems etc, and also make sure that you are able to make a commitment for the time the dog will live and that you will be able to handle a an emergency situation (dog not breathing etc)

Good luck I hope that you make the best choice that suits you

Answer 3

I've got a 4 lb yorkie, who's almost 1.5 years old. My brother has a 5 lbs yorkie who's about 7 months old. They are both really really sweet and affectionate, playful (love wrestling, chewing socks, paper, etc.), they are also very hyper.

Smaller yorkies shouldn't have a different temperament than larger yorkies, but smaller yorkies are more of a responsibility since they are much more difficult to take care of. They can get hurt very easily, and you also need to be careful that you don't get one that is too small.

Some people will breed the teacups to be 1-2 lbs, which is very unhealthy. Their organs are too small to develop properly. Reputable yorkie breeders don't breed "teacups" either, so if you are looking for something smaller you have to be careful. There will be smaller or larger pups in any litter, so it's possible to get a smaller pup from a reputable breeder.

This is a controversial issue though, which I'm sure you're aware of, so do your own research into the breed standard, reputable breeders, breed traits etc., before you purchase one.

Good Luck. Oh, and you might want to check out the YorkieTalk forum. www.yorkietalk.com You'll get lots of info there.

Answer 4

They Are Great If Trained Properly. If They Are Brought Around People From a Young Age That Really Prevents Most Of The Barking And Almost All Of The Biting. However If This Is Going To Be And In Door Out Door Dog I Would Re-Think The Breed. They Always Have To Be Groomed And Will Smell Sweaty After Playing Outside For A Long Period Of Time. I Have One And They Are Great Companions. My Tiffany Is Even Purse Trained So She Goes Almost Everywhere With Me.

Answer 5

I once had an elderly lady for a friend. She had a wonderful little dog. A mix of some sort. She had the dog trained well and it behaved very well. Learn here https://tr.im/gHn00

She kept an uncovered candy dish on her coffee table with candy in it. The dog was forbidden to eat the candy. When she was in the room observing the dog he did not even appear to notice the candy. One day while she was in her dinning room she happened to look in a mirror and could see her dog in the living room. He did not know he was being watched. For several minutes he was sitting in front of the candy bowl staring at the candy. Finally he reached in and took one. He placed it on the table and stared at it, he woofed at it. He stared some more, licked his chops and PUT IT BACK in the bowl and walked away. Did he want the candy, oh yeah. Did he eat it? Nope. They can be trained that well but most, I'll admit, are not trained that well. When I was a young boy, maybe 5 years old. We had a german shepherd. He was very well trained also. My mom could leave food unattended on the table, no problem. She would open the oven door and set a pan roast beef or roast chicken on the door to cool. No problem. He would not touch it, watched or not. But butter? Whole other story. You leave a stick of butter anywhere he could reach and it was gone. He was a large shepherd so there were not many places he could not reach. Really, I think the number of dogs trained to the point they will leave food alone when not being supervised is very small indeed.
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Now if we are talking obedience training, not food grubbing, that is a different story. Way back when I was first learning obedience training one of the final exercises was to put our dogs in a down/stay and not only leave the room but leave the building for 15 minutes. The only person that stayed was our trainer, not the owners. Most of the dogs in my class did not break their stay, which would be an automatic fail. I'm happy to report my dog was one of the ones that passed.

Answer 6

I have a 14lb male Yorkie. He is approx.7yrs old (he was given to me 3 yrs ago).
After reading about them and having this one,I can vouch for the fact that they are somewhat hyper and very stubborn or tenacious.
Only at certain things does my Yorkie tend to be yappy and as far as I am concerned,yappy can be controlled if you start soon enough. . . my Shepherd mutt only barks to let me know something is around and I have had her since she was 5wks old. . . . she was taught what was appropriate to bark at and what was not and had I had my Yorkie at this age he too would have been taught.
They were bred in England to be "ratters" because of their size and tenacity(my Yorkie is relentless if he thinks he has a mouse spotted/cornered).
As puppies,sometimes their puppy teeth don't fall out and therefore you will end up with an adult dog that has a few too many teeth.
Personally my Yorkie being 14lbs is the "normal" size Yorkie. . . all the others are bred down to be the size they are.
I would not have a smaller Yorkie than I have now unless as with this Yorkie,someone gave it to me.
Yorkie's are small enough at 14lbs and any smaller does as one person told you,makes them somewhat brittle.
My Yorkie is a registered dog and his registered name is Sir Rudyard Kipling. . . . kinda "smart" eh? I call him Kippee/Kipper.. . . the name really fits him.

Good Luck

Answer 7

I have a 5 pound yorkie and a 4 pound yorkie...they are the BEST dogs in the world ever!! They arent any yappier than any other breed. I trained them very well and they only bark when the doorbell rings but as soon as I tell them to stop they do. They dont shed...they are definate lap dogs..they love to travel and car rides and they are VERY loyal to their owner!! Mine LOVE AND ADORE children of all ages and they love to play with the big dogs too!! You cant go wrong with a yorkie...believe me you will thank me if you get one!!

Dawn

Answer 8

they YAP alot..................snappy yappy little things.............

lady down the road from me has 5 and they YAP all the time, oh and can get quite vicious with passerbys.........mind you i suppose it would help if SHE kept them on leads.....

Answer 9

YAP YAP YAP YAP