Yorkies..a big personality in a tiny package. They are 5-10 lbs of pure tomboy. Their spunkiness is what earned the yorkie’s the nickname “tomboy toy”. The breed standard references the breeds trademark confidence, saying, “The dog’s head carriage & confident manner should give the appearance of vigor & self importance.” Because of these traits Yorkshire Terrier’s do well at everything from dog sports like agility to therapy work & makes great travel companions as well as family pets.
Yorkie’s are known for their long, flowing, silky coats, which swish around the show ring. But this beautiful feature is also incredibly time consuming to care for. Because the coat similar to human hair it tangles into knots if the owner doesn’t comb from the skin outward (not just brushing the top) every day. The bonus is that Yorkie’s don’t have an undercoat so their coat doesn’t shed anymore than human hair. I personally recommend a medium puppy cut which is short but not too short and its easy to maintain.
Beneath the dainty, glossy, floor length coat of a Yorkshire terrier beats the heart of a feisty, old-time terrier. The Yorkie is a compact, toy sized terrier of typically no more than 10 lbs whose crown & glory is the coat of steel blue & a rich golden tan….& now being seen in black, chocolate & the most current sought after, the beiwer (beaver). Don’t let the Yorkie’s daintiness fool you. Tenacious, feisty, brave, & sometimes bossy, the Yorkie exhibits all the traits of a true terrier. Yorkies pack lots of big town attitude into a small but self-important package. Yorkies are long lived & hypoallergenic. They make great little watchdogs. Yorkies provide years of laughs, love & close companionship.
Interesting fact:
In World War II. a yorkie named Smokey is credited with saving the lives of soldiers by dragging a communications cable through an 8 inch, 60 ft wide drainage culvert. She is also thought to be the world’s first therapy dog, visiting wounded soldiers in the hospital. Smokey was found by an American soldier in 1944 in a Papua New Guinea jungle, & when he brought the little dog back to the barracks, U.S. Army Corporal William Wayne took her under his wing. He later wrote a book about Smokey called Yorkie Doodle Dandy. There are six U.S. based memorials honoring Smokey, including one in AKC’s Museum of the Dog, & one international memorial in Australia.
