Really Small Yorkies

[Ella Blue]

Hi, I am thinking about getting a really small yorkie - probably 4 pounds full grown.

The one I am thinking of adopting is 5 months and 2.5 pounds.

Any tips - advice, concerns that you could share.

Do any of you have tough small ones? strong and sturdy, or do you find they are more 'porcelain doll' like......

thanks!

[Gennies]

Personally I think they are more porcelain doll like. Bijou weighted 2 lbs at 9 weeks when she feel off of the couch and broke her back leg. Barley's 10 lbs and he can jump off the back of the couch with no problems. I've read other's stories on here about how delicate these little ones are. I've also heard that they have more health problems.

I'm curious what others with little ones think...anyone?

[sugarmamma]

My Sugar weighs 3 pounds (on a good day) She just turned 3 years old last week

Very small dogs DO have additional risks. you have to be very careful that they don't jump on/off furniture because she could easily break her little leg and it is very hard on her joints.

I have to watch that not only do I give her the correct amount of kibble....but that she EATS it We don't want any low blood sugar issues.

I love to walk....she is too small to walk far so if I take her with me I end up carrying her Not a problem for me but if you are looking for a dog to keep up with you....probably not a good option. She does like to ride in her basket on my bike though

The smaller they are the more prone they are to illness. Do you have small children? Other large pets? Teens or Husbands with big feet who forget to look down? If these little babies are given a shoe ride into a wall....they CAN and DO die!

That being said.....I love my little girl and since I only have her at home she fits my needs perfectly You need to consider your motive for wanting a small Yorkie.

[chachi]

I think the small ones are cute but 4 lbs is the smallest I would want. They are more susceptible to injurys because of their size. My Jewels is 6 lbs and shes the perfect size to me

[yorkiehugs]

Joey is 4lbs, at 10 mo old.

We have no problems. He uses a foot stool to get on and off the sofa. But he sleeps in a play pen next to my bed. I have a very high bed.

He loves to walk, as long as you pick the leaves out of his hair LOL! Right now we do 1/2 hour walks, working up to 1 hour for my health.

I don't allow him to go up and down the stairs, I carry him. He tries to go up but one time he miss judged and hit his chest. Plus I'm afraid he might hit a tooth and damage it. My Buddy(he was larger) did that, it killed the nerve and had to come out.

Joey is a tough little guy, not porcelain like at all.


Welcome to YT!!!

[Lorraine]

The Yorkshire Terrier Club of America has some good information about small Yorkies. Yorkshire Terrier Club of America (Awards)
And ifyou check out the site there is a lot of info about Yorkies in general.

[redvalaria]

Fergus is 5 pounds and perfect for me. But my Mom is wheelchair bound and delicate, so when we got my Dad Callum, we knew he would be smaller. He is 3.3 pounds and is ALL dog. nothing frail about him. My Dad plays catch in the back yard with him for about 30 minutes every night...he chases rabbits in their yard, and BARKS at the UPS man like he is trying to take the good silver.

He is not fragile in the least, but he came from a really good breeder and he was just on the small side. He can be a picky eater (not helped out by the fact my dad hand feeds him sometimes! the dog is addicted to cottage cheese!) but apart from that, he is a doll (and he lived with me for a few weeks and my guys range from 5-112 pounds, so, he is tough!)

[Her Name Is Rio]

My Rio is 8 months old and only 2.7 lbs. There are definitely extra precautions with little ones like her. She eats about 4 times a day to make sure she doesn't become hypoglycemic. She has a tiny bladder so she can only hold her pee for about 5 hours max. My biggest concern is having her spayed. She is scheduled for surgery in 3 weeks because she also needs to have some of her baby teeth pulled. Her vet assures me she's old enough, healthy enough, and big enough, but it still scares me to death.

But other than that, she is a BIG dog in a little package. She loves to go on walks, and actually prefers to walk rather than be held.

I love my little Rio, but our next Yorkie will be a male and hopefully a little bigger!

[JeanieK]

I have them from 3 to 9 pounds. I do feel there I definitely more risk with the smaller one. But 4 pounds is a decent size.

[KDSinVirginia]

My Oliver is 3 lbs ... I was a bit afraid of this (my last yorkies were 5 - 7 lbs) but he is pretty dang tough! He is 2.5 yrs old, he walks with me 2+ miles a day - sometimes more. Not in the freezing cold and not in the heat & humidity.
I've tried hard to keep him from jumping to no avail. He tears after our cat around the house like a full fledged CARPET TIGER. It's hilarious! All over the sofa back, up on the ottoman, kitchen chair... his one place of caution is the stairs that are not carpeted, he will not go down them - period. Which I'm thankful for.

I free feed him and treat him with raw food after we walk or play. He's a decent eater , he does prefer to snack, however. And he will mow down on some cat food if I'm not really careful.

A lady I pet sat for, she was a major yorkie breeder yrs ago and had a few dogs make it to Madison Square (long time ago) had a 6 lb female and her daughter which was 1.8 lbs - nope not a typo.

She actually kept this puppy because she was sooo very tiny and didn't want some idiot trying to breed her. She was an absolute doll and very sweet. She liked to be carried ect. She never had any injuries but she also didn't jump. She was quite playful with my dogs though. Had to watch her food intake as well for low sugar. I think she lived to be 13 or so.

So my take from having a smaller Yorkie is that they are fragile, my kids have always had yorkies around so they are VERY skilled at little dog care, but I put him away when friends are over. I don't want any accidents, which is no fun for Oliver. (I also have a few inept at parenting friends and I get tired of saying NO to their kids)

I don't treat him like a breakable object, he runs, jumps tears around outside chasing geese... acts just like a big dog! I am very careful to watch him though. I am afraid of hawks and owls in the early mornings and late day.

I'll stop blabbing now!

[LilMissy]

They are extremely fragile. My girl is 3 and 3/4 lbs and broke her leg when she was just 4 months old. All she did was jump from only a few inches off of the ground and fell on her elbow. On that note, they are also quite expensive to fix because of their small size they must see a specialist. One broken leg = 3,500 in vet bills. Their little bones are so small that they break quite easily. You have to be really careful about where you walk, and shutting doors etc. Just one small accident can be fatal to these little ones. The other issue is...they don't really KNOW that they are small dogs, so they aren't very careful. I have been diligent about teaching Missy NOT to jump. She isn't allowed to do stairs, curbs, couches, beds etc. If children want to hold her, they must sit on the floor with her in their lap. Only my closest friends can hold Missy, and I don't trust other dogs around her either.

Anyways, they do take alot more care, but they are really fun, cute, and portable when they are tiny. Little dogs with big personalities for sure!

[JeanieK]

Originally Posted by LilMissy

They are extremely fragile. My girl is 3 and 3/4 lbs and broke her leg when she was just 4 months old. All she did was jump from only a few inches off of the ground and fell on her elbow. On that note, they are also quite expensive to fix because of their small size they must see a specialist. One broken leg = 3,500 in vet bills. Their little bones are so small that they break quite easily. You have to be really careful about where you walk, and shutting doors etc. Just one small accident can be fatal to these little ones. The other issue is...they don't really KNOW that they are small dogs, so they aren't very careful. I have been diligent about teaching Missy NOT to jump. She isn't allowed to do stairs, curbs, couches, beds etc. If children want to hold her, they must sit on the floor with her in their lap. Only my closest friends can hold Missy, and I don't trust other dogs around her either.

Anyways, they do take alot more care, but they are really fun, cute, and portable when they are tiny. Little dogs with big personalities for sure!

Wow that was expensive. My tiny one broke her elbow by falling off a step onto the patio. She fell 10 inches. My vet did surgery to put a pin in it. and it cost $700. That included the overnight stay and the antibiotics and pain meds.

[Love_Capone]

I think it depends on your personality and lifestyle. Capone is almost 10lbs and I think he's still a small dog, but he can jump on and off my bed with me without fear. He runs and plays with my roommates lab and I love it. If he was tiny I wouldn't be able to trust Copper (the lab) with him. If you wanted a dog to carry around a lot and have time to watch very closely I think the little ones are so cute. Or you could go in between. Good luck.

[LilMissy]

Originally Posted by JeanieK

Wow that was expensive. My tiny one broke her elbow by falling off a step onto the patio. She fell 10 inches. My vet did surgery to put a pin in it. and it cost $700. That included the overnight stay and the antibiotics and pain meds.

I know, it was terribly expensive. I've attached a pic of the type of break that Missy had. It was her right lateral condyl. She needed a 3mm screw and a pin to put it back in place. My regular vet was not comfortable performing the surgery herself, because of Missy's small size and the type of break she had, so she sent us to a specialist at Canada West Vet Specialist Canada West Veterinary Specialists & Critical Care Hospital

I've attached a copy of my bill. It has the high and low quote on it. I ended up paying 3,300 BUT on top of that I had to pay $75 X 2 for bandage changes, and had already paid for 2 seperate vet visits and xrays to be done at the emergency vet and my regular vet (plus pain meds), both of those vet bills were over $100. So in the end, I actually paid more than 3,500 for that broken elbow, but she's worth a MILLION to me

[redvalaria]

Originally Posted by Love_Capone

I think it depends on your personality and lifestyle. Capone is almost 10lbs and I think he's still a small dog, but he can jump on and off my bed with me without fear. He runs and plays with my roommates lab and I love it. If he was tiny I wouldn't be able to trust Copper (the lab) with him. If you wanted a dog to carry around a lot and have time to watch very closely I think the little ones are so cute. Or you could go in between. Good luck.

I think the statement about trusting the lab is really more about the LAB in question than the yorkie.

My 112 pound german shepherd plays ALL the time with my 5 pounder and they are the best of buddies. In fact, Fergus is the DOMINANT one! He leaps off my chaise and attacks Dante if he approaches our chair while we are "cuddling"! Its almost too funny---this teeny runt leaping up and snapping at the great big dog's muzzle or neck! (sad also, that my GSD is such a pushover!!)

We kept my fathers teeny weeny yorkie for the first 3 weeks he was home from the breeder. He was 2.2 pounds when we brought him home. He fit right into the pack. So, its dog specific, more than size or breed specific.

To this day Callum thinks he is a 40 pounder and acts like it!