Some of you have rather large yorkies-- whats the biggest pure yorkie ever?

[FlyingNimbus]

Hey, I was wondering... as I recall people in here having rather unusually large yorkies... (though I believe they were much larger in the past) are there breeders who specialize in larger yorkies-- is that a thing?

What's the largest yorkie you guys ever had or heard of (well that's not before the 1950's)?

For size comparison. Sasha happens to be 21 pounds (she's a cockapoo), my dog is 11.14 pounds(or 12.14-- I forget).

I know someone in here has currently a 16 pounder or an 18 pounder... But have there been 20pounders or even 30 pounders?

I found these videos on large yorkies but I feel as if they're all probably 16-18 pounds... Except that really big one that clearly looks like a mix.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tTMIezcFQY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQKpoRtEnpo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6dq66yaFFE

[matese]

My now passed girl was pure yorkie and AKC registered she weighed in at 17 pounds, passed at 17 years old. We have a member whose yorkie weighs 18 pounds, there was another member his yorkie weighed 20 pounds.

My adopted boy weighs 12 pounds.

A reputable breeder breeds for "standard Size" 5 to 7 pounds. That is not to say a reputable breeder could not have a larger or smaller then standard in a litter.

Anyone that breeds for larger or tiny yorkies is not a reputable breeder.

[Oddsock]

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...apot-club.html

This is a thread on joining the teapot club for the bigger yorkies. You will see the weights there. There are some beautiful doozie.

Pretty sure I've read of over 30lb pure blood yorkies, in the past. The original Yorkshire yorkie was a bigger dog than nower days.

The small yorkies are gorgeous, but I love the bigger ones personally (my two are teapots) just for safety reasons. Pip thinks she's a goat, the thought of her being tiny and zooming around like that would give me a heart attack.

[Lovetodream88]

Reputable breeders breed to the standard which is not to exceed 7 pounds. So I would guess that any breeder breeding outside of that would be non reputable.

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by matese

My now passed girl was pure yorkie and AKC registered she weighed in at 17 pounds, passed at 17 years old. We have a member whose yorkie weighs 18 pounds, there was another member his yorkie weighed 20 pounds.

My adopted boy weighs 12 pounds.

A reputable breeder breeds for "standard Size" 5 to 7 pounds. That is not to say a reputable breeder could not have a larger or smaller then standard in a litter.

Anyone that breeds for larger or tiny yorkies is not a reputable breeder.

I get what you mean. Just thought it might be a bit healthier if it was bigger. Mostly because of those reports that say tea cup yorkies are unhealthy because they're extremely fragile, get sick easily, etc.

But then again a big dog doesn't necessarily mean healthier. As generally small dogs are longer lived than big dogs(which to this day I still do not understand why that is).


As for age, what is the oldest living(or dead) yorkie that has ever lived? For that matter, why are cats much longer lived than dogs? They're both captive bred or "man made"/domestic sort of...

I mean apparently there are cases of larger dogs that lived up to 29-30 years (australian cattle dog, and a kelpie- plus a whole list of dogs that lived up well to 20-25 years).

So what did those people do to have those super dogs live that long? Is it just a genetic- and if it is, why haven't they purposely bred them? I mean if they're longer lived and healthier- wouldn't that be a trait to breed into all dogs? Sure wished a dog could last as long as I could(healthily and happily-- without being a potato).

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by Oddsock

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...apot-club.html

This is a thread on joining the teapot club for the bigger yorkies. You will see the weights there. There are some beautiful doozie.

Pretty sure I've read of over 30lb pure blood yorkies, in the past. The original Yorkshire yorkie was a bigger dog than nower days.

The small yorkies are gorgeous, but I love the bigger ones personally (my two are teapots) just for safety reasons. Pip thinks she's a goat, the thought of her being tiny and zooming around like that would give me a heart attack.

Thank you, much insight. Kind of weird to imagine a yorkie that big. But would love to see and pet one. lol. Just can't really imagine a yorkie being bigger than 10-12 pounds(it's the biggest I've personally seen usually they end up on the way smaller scale).

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Reputable breeders breed to the standard which is not to exceed 7 pounds. So I would guess that any breeder breeding outside of that would be non reputable.

I mean, a reputable breeder could very well end up breeding two dogs and somehow one of their puppies end up being a giant(healthily though). Would love to play with a bigger one. Small ones are cute too(the regular sized ones), it's one of the things that yorkies attract to me. It's just a curiosity to see one get that much bigger than 10-12 pounds. Kinda want to see a video of people showing their dogs together by sizes/weight and on the highest scale being a 20-30pound dog and then you see it next to this small 5-7 pound yorkie.

Makes me wonder, how the gene pool is kept "Fresh" if dogs are bred to a specific standard and certain lines being used. I mean how many yorkie lines are out there? Do people ever breed lines from different countries to their own for the sake of replenishing the lines and keeping the lines safe? I dont know much about genetics- it's why I ask.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by FlyingNimbus

I get what you mean. Just thought it might be a bit healthier if it was bigger. Mostly because of those reports that say tea cup yorkies are unhealthy because they're extremely fragile, get sick easily, etc.

But then again a big dog doesn't necessarily mean healthier. As generally small dogs are longer lived than big dogs(which to this day I still do not understand why that is).


As for age, what is the oldest living(or dead) yorkie that has ever lived? For that matter, why are cats much longer lived than dogs? They're both captive bred or "man made"/domestic sort of...

I mean apparently there are cases of larger dogs that lived up to 29-30 years (australian cattle dog, and a kelpie- plus a whole list of dogs that lived up well to 20-25 years).

So what did those people do to have those super dogs live that long? Is it just a genetic- and if it is, why haven't they purposely bred them? I mean if they're longer lived and healthier- wouldn't that be a trait to breed into all dogs? Sure wished a dog could last as long as I could(healthily and happily-- without being a potato).

Bigger doesn't mean healthier it's all about the breeding. There is no such this as a teacup so if a breeder using that word they are not a good breeder. The word was made up by bad breeders to make more money.

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by FlyingNimbus

I mean, a reputable breeder could very well end up breeding two dogs and somehow one of their puppies end up being a giant(healthily though). Would love to play with a bigger one. Small ones are cute too(the regular sized ones), it's one of the things that yorkies attract to me. It's just a curiosity to see one get that much bigger than 10-12 pounds. Kinda want to see a video of people showing their dogs together by sizes/weight and on the highest scale being a 20-30pound dog and then you see it next to this small 5-7 pound yorkie.

Makes me wonder, how the gene pool is kept "Fresh" if dogs are bred to a specific standard and certain lines being used. I mean how many yorkie lines are out there? Do people ever breed lines from different countries to their own for the sake of replenishing the lines and keeping the lines safe? I dont know much about genetics- it's why I ask.

Occasionally there are "throw backs" but they are not breed for.

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Occasionally there are "throw backs" but they are not breed for.

I understand. That's what I mean though, throwbacks. As for the tea cup- it's just a term it's not an actual thing just easir to make a point

[Lovetodream88]

Originally Posted by FlyingNimbus

I understand. That's what I mean though, throwbacks. As for the tea cup- it's just a term it's not an actual thing just easir to make a point

Most yorkie enthusiasts hate the word. It has been damaging to the breed.

[airplane]

My boy Théo is oversize at 14lbs. He's huge! Maybe a touch overweight and could lose half a pound or so, but that's it. What's really odd is that his littermates are all like half his size. His parents were 5.5 and 7 lbs. He was expected to be about 7lbs, but he just grew so much. It was like he never stopped growing. I've talked to many breeders about it, and apparently that can sometimes happen.

A lady in town who works at a pet store has a purebred registered yorkie who is 23lbs. Same thing happened to her. Her yorkie just grew unbelievably, and the littermates she said are right around the 5-6 lb range. So I don't know if that's what's called a throwback, but it's just something that is obviously there genetically. I think it's weird that one in the litter ends up growing like that and the others don't. I'd love to pick the brain of a geneticist and really get into the science and a thorough explanation for how and why this happens.

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by Lovetodream88

Most yorkie enthusiasts hate the word. It has been damaging to the breed.

I see, I understand

[FlyingNimbus]

Originally Posted by airplane

My boy Théo is oversize at 14lbs. He's huge! Maybe a touch overweight and could lose half a pound or so, but that's it. What's really odd is that his littermates are all like half his size. His parents were 5.5 and 7 lbs. He was expected to be about 7lbs, but he just grew so much. It was like he never stopped growing. I've talked to many breeders about it, and apparently that can sometimes happen.

A lady in town who works at a pet store has a purebred registered yorkie who is 23lbs. Same thing happened to her. Her yorkie just grew unbelievably, and the littermates she said are right around the 5-6 lb range. So I don't know if that's what's called a throwback, but it's just something that is obviously there genetically. I think it's weird that one in the litter ends up growing like that and the others don't. I'd love to pick the brain of a geneticist and really get into the science and a thorough explanation for how and why this happens.

maybe a recessive gene? would love to meet a 23 pound yorkie. lol.

[airplane]

Originally Posted by FlyingNimbus

maybe a recessive gene? would love to meet a 23 pound yorkie. lol.

I suppose it could be a recessive trait. I doubt it's that simple though. I wouldn't be surprised if it went the other way too - a couple large yorkies might occasionally produce a little 5 pounder. Lol. Who knows.

Originally Posted by FlyingNimbus

Makes me wonder, how the gene pool is kept "Fresh" if dogs are bred to a specific standard and certain lines being used. I mean how many yorkie lines are out there? Do people ever breed lines from different countries to their own for the sake of replenishing the lines and keeping the lines safe? I dont know much about genetics- it's why I ask.

I think you're touching on one of the issues with purebred dogs. Genetic diversity. Something that I understand is very desirable and can possibly be lacking with purebred dogs. And yes many breeders I believe do breed new lines/pedigrees of a dog from a different country. That can be something done in a breeding program to increase genetic diversity.

There's a number of issues with the breeding of purebred dogs. For example, you'll often see the same dog in tons of pedigrees. It's like a stud dog that is highly desirable, and has been sent all over the country for breeding. All of a sudden those genes are flooding a big part of the gene pool - and that can be dangerous and it also reduces genetic diversity. And then you look at line breeding, and you wonder how related are they. What's acceptable. Keeping in mind that most of the contributed genetic material comes from the first few generations back, I think maybe it can be done without too much genetic overlap. I'm just saying maybe for now because I haven't quite yet gotten around to picking the brain of a geneticist.

Any experts here on yorkietalk that can set me straight? It was years ago I took one course in genetics. I remember how against purebred dogs my instructor was. But I don't think he considered the knowledge of genetics and application of that knowledge that good breeders have. I think a good breeder can pick breeding pairs and match them up in a way to really reduce the issues that exist with breeding purebred dogs.