Yorkshire terrier

[osprey]

I have seen these dogs advertised for $800 to $900 locally,are they a nice dog to own ?? I know very little about them,anyone ever own one ??? What are the pros and cons about them ?? Thanks...

 

[hudr]

My mom has had two. Both were very intelligent and made great "guard" dogs. They would bark at strangers but frequent visitors/family/friends they would leave alone. I don't even remember her having to housetrain them. Seems they almost came here knowing to go outside.
The last one Mom had was 14 when we finally had to put him down last December. It seems the small breeds don't last long and we were told by our "pet vet" that 14 was a pretty good run for a small breed. Don't know if it is breed specific, but the two Mom had were prone to arthritis and respiratory problems. But they were wonderful companions to Mom as Dad was gone most of the time on the truck.
The first dog she had was a stray. The second came from a breeder and was ~$400 if I remember correctly.

 

[Richard]

My experience with "Punky" who was the runt of the litter and cute as a button...

Dog weighs 10 pounds and thinks it's a tiger and can rule the world. Was really fun watching the dog fearlessly stand up to about anyone. Mom would come over & tickle me and Punky would just go ballistic trying to "protect" me.

We tried to breed him once... I think he was afraid of girls. Went in to check on him and he was near cowering in the far corner, as far away as he could be.

Good experience here.

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[bmac]

My sister-in-law has one that is probably around 14 and she (the dog) still gets around great. Nice disposition, very friendly but a little on the yappy side. Hers is quite small - probably weighs in at around 7 lbs.

My brothers Yorkie is probably 18-20 lbs (read obese) and is fearless. Not as yappy as my SIL's. Nice disposition as well.

We have 2 Shi Tzus (or however you spell it) and I like them a little better than yorkies. A little bigger (but still lap dogs)and ours are not yappy at all. My biggest complaint with our dogs and this applies to yorkies as well, is their need for regular grooming. Ours have to have monthly haircuts or thier coat gets matted and tangled. At $50 / month (for both), this adds up. I guess you could learn to cut the hair yourself to save some bucks. Anyway, if your OK with the grooming, I think the Yorkie would make a good companion.

 

[Freds]

Yorkies are neat little dogs, especially the teacups. They do require a lot of grooming attention, though, and not just once a month from the groomer or they will turn into a snarly mess. Some are prone to teeth problems, I'm not sure if it's genetic or what, but it seems like any small, toy breed with a lot of hair around its mouth ends up getting teeth pulled around four years old. At least the ones I'm familiar with and I see a lot. I've seen some Yorkies that didn't warm up to strangers very well either, but it's probably from lack of socialization. I'm a big believer in socialization for ANY breed so they don't become nervous wrecks.

 

[EddieWalker]

I don't know what they go for, but that seems like allot of money for a toy dog. When I lived in California, I bought a Boston Terrier for $600. Here in Texas, you can get one with papers for $200.

My brother is a field trial judge in California and does quite a bit of dog training, competeing and then sells them. He almost always buys his dogs out of state. Even after airfair, they are still half the cost of buying locally.

Something to think about.
Eddie

 

[Bird]

Eddie, have you shopped for a small dog lately? My daughter occasionally has a litter of registered Maltese pups to sell. If they aren't already sold before they're born, she puts an ad on the Internet on Friday and they're all gone by Sunday evening at $600 to $900 each. I shopped the Internet and animal shelters for 2 months for a Chihuahua before finally buying one for $250 because it had a small hernia. The rest of the litter was $400 each, and that was the cheapest ones I found anywhere.

 

[Golfgar4]

We have a Doll Faced Silky Yorkie, and she's a wonderful dog. She's 6 years old and weighs about 6 pounds. She's not at all yippy. In fact, she doesn't bark at all unless she's outside and she sees some other animal.

Small dogs are VERY susceptible to tooth problems. In addition, they may have joint problems in their legs. Ours has luxated patellas, which is a problem with the knee caps. As the vet described it to us, the channels in the leg bone that hold the knee cap in place are so small, that they can't keep the knee cap in position and it starts to "float" over to one side or the other. Surgery is the only option.

Grooming doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. Yes, if you want to keep a Yorkie with the long hair style that you see in at the dog shows, it will be a major headache. But we keep ours in what's called a puppy cut. So even though she's a full grown adult dog, people think she's just a puppy. It's easy to take care of and looks great. I've attached a picture.

Yorkies are very intelligent dogs, and as someone else said, they're fearless. Ours backed a doberman into a corner at a pet store one day, but only because she wanted to play!

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( We have a Doll Faced Silky Yorkie )</font>
What a little cutie! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif We have a Miniture Schnauzer that we love and my parents always had (have) Boston Terriers. A friend of ours has a Yorkie and it is a great dog.

 

[Bird]

Yep, that's a cutie, Garry. </font><font color="blue" class="small">( they're fearless. Ours backed a doberman into a corner at a pet store one day, but only because she wanted to play )</font> Sounds like our new Chihuahua. I read that you need to keep a Chihuahua on a leash because they don't get along with other breeds, and will challenge bigger dogs to a fight that they're bound to lose. Ours is now 3# and has enjoyed playing with three different Maltese. Then Thursday my brother was here with his big mongrel and that big dog didn't know what to make of that little thing running circles around him at first, and then chasing him all over the yard. But it wasn't long until they were rolling around playing together.

 

[EddieWalker]

Bird,

Your right, I haven't shoped for small dogs and have no idea of what people are getting for them. I can tell you that a guy can shop around online and find some really good deals in different parts of the country for papered dogs with decent histories. I don't know my breeds or breeders. It's not my thing.

My brother does and he buys dogs this way fairly often. He's even bought a few from Belgium and Germany. But those were attack dogs, not pointers or retrevers. I know another guy that was exited about a Rot he got in Germany for $14,000. (the amount is correct). This dog was absolutely vicious and it would go right through the suits during training. Sometimes requireing stitches for the handlers. It's not my thing and if fact the prospect of catching them with a sleeve terrifies. me.

Back when Taco Bell had the ads with the talking Chihuahua, they were absolutely rediculous in their prices. I've heard of people paying several grand for a breeding *****. Again, it's not my thing.

$900 may be a great price for a Yorkie. But before I paid that much money for a dog, I'd search the net for awhile to make sure that really was a good price.



Garry,

I've met little Baily and she's as cute at they come!!!! It's great breed with wonderful personalities. I've had the same knee problems with the Bostons and according the the vet, it's very, very common in all the toy breeds.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Yep, Eddie, you can buy dogs in different parts of the country and have them air shipped to you, and as many places as there are offering that kind of deal, it must be popular with folks who know what they're doing, but that excluded me. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I didn't want to buy anything without seeing it first. I've said I didn't want another dog, but my wife did, so we compromised and got a Chihuahua (almost a dog). /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I guess after nearly 41 years of putting up with me, the old gal's worth it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif She's almost doubled in size (the dog, that is) in the past month since my wife made this picture. I think the pup's part cat since she likes to climb up high so much.

 

[Jagmandave]

Our neighbors across the street added a new dog to their lot a few months ago, we call it a "Standard" Chihuahua (like a Standard poodle) because it's bigger than any Chihuahua we've ever seen!
When they first got it, it picked out one of the larger dogs first to torment, it would nip it at the back and before the big dog could turn around it had run to the front and nipped it there, it did this for hours till the poor big dog would just go and try to hide from it. It was really comical to watch that little dog bedevil the big ones, but guess who runs the back yard now? It sure isn't the three big dogs..... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Bird]

Dave, I don't know much about Chihuahuas; just have read a bit on the Internet; stuff that may be right or may not. I think I read that for show dogs they have to be no more than 6 pounds. And there are short haired and long haired ones. The one we got supposedly had a short haired mother and long haired father. And I don't know or remember at what age dogs normally reach their full size. This one was supposedly 12 weeks old when we got her on January 28 and weighed 1 pound 10 ounces. On February 28, she was up to 3 pounds 2 ounces. So I don't know how big she'll get, but I think she eats almost as much as our last dog; a 13 pound rat terrier. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif