[yorkipower]

The short answer, generally, with dogs is YES, two can be better than one. With Yorkies specifically, the answer is - it depends.

Dogs, in general, are pack animals and need companionship, be it human, canine, or even feline if need be! However, Yorkies, like 90% of all other terrier breeds were bred to be solitary hunters. They are not pack dogs, like for instance, hounds. Rather, they were used in coal mines and mills in Northern England during the industrial revolution to hunt vermin. So a single Yorkie did the job similar to what a barn cat, for instance, would do. Therefore, Yorkies and many terriers can be highly territorial. In fact, a common "sport" in England at the time of the development of Yorkies was to bring your pocket terrier to the local pub and drop him into a "pit" and have him attack a rat (and even for a 10+ pound yorkie, a rat is big animal with mighty sharp teeth!). Terriers were also pitted again one another to show gameness. At dog show up to fairly recently, it was common for judges to ask terrier handlers to have thier dogs face one another to show that they still have this "gameness." Now from the general to the specific:

All that said, what it really comes down to is the temperment and personality of your own dog! First: how long have you had your pup? If he's still a young animal and not used to be only the only, it will probably be eaiser to bring a new dog into the home (notice I did not mention whether this will make it easier for them to bond?). Second: do you take your dog out often? Do you or did you take him to a puppy socilization class or to a dog park on a regular basis? Some dogs have no use of other dogs because they've never been given the opportunity to play with other dogs and are only used to human companionship. If this is the case of your dog, then the addition of another dog may not be a solution to your dog's lonliness. If your dog has been around other dogs, how does he react? Is he excited to see them? Does he want to play? If he does, that is a good indication that he will like to have a canine friend.

Now a lot depends also on the temperment of the OTHER dog. Personally, I'm not convinced gender has a lot to do with it (with the one exception when you are talking about two intact males). I think its more like it is with people - some personalities work well together and some don't. I used to walk a little Poodle whose owner warned me not to go near other dogs with. Once I got to know "Albie" well enough, though, I picked up that his dislike for dogs was not as general as that, MOST, other dogs, he disliked. I then got a new client who had a wire-coated fox terrier. Funny thing was the two dogs looked like they could be simblings with the exception of the shape of the heads. Dottie, the Fox Terrier, was tuff, no-nonsense kind of gal who had no interest in the annoying puppy behaviors such as pouncing on other dogs which was exactly to Albie the Poodle's liking. So the two got on famously and although I would NEVER have walked those two together in a pack of OTHER dogs, they shared a walk together each day and truly enjoyed each other's company.

Reminds me of a very funny personal story. When I was a little kid we had a Yorkie named Freddy. He as a very "odd" dog to begin with, but to his credit, he was 10 pound Yorkie who tolerated a household of three rowdy children as best he could. Since the family was at school and work during the day, my parents went out and got "Jimmy" a Yorkie puppy to be Freddy's pal. By this point, Freddy was at least a year or more old. Well, at some point that first week, mom and kids came home to find Jimmy, but no Freddy. We searched the house but could not find him anywhere. Now, the family hysterical, began searching outside the house. We then searched the neighborhood, calling his name. My mom got in the car and began driving around searching for Freddy. We called the pound, the cops, prepared leaflets to put up. That evening, my father came home and went upstairs to hang up his office clothing. All of a sudden we heard a screach! My father was startled to find Fred all the way in the back of his closet HIDING behind a box of shoes! Freddy hid in that closet on and off for a week or so before he finally warmed up to Jimmy. From the time these two guys were pups onward, Jimmy became the boss of the house and Freddy became known as the closet case! They did eventually bond and we have family photos of Jimmy "walking" freddy with Fred's leash in his mouth!!