If you have the patience to crate train then do it... with a yorkie... to the extreme. They are very difficult to housebreak. My 2 boys are 2 years old in a couple days and not housebroken at all. They KNOW to go outside, but they dont care. They go inside and then run & hide cuz they know they did wrong.
I wish I crate trained.
I have not had any aggressive behavior at all (snapping or biting or even growling) but my boys are not to keen on small children. Mostly they are afraid of them and will go in the opposite direction to get away from them. If the child persists then one of mine will tolerate it, the other will bark once at the child. He has never snapped or anything but I do keep an eye on him JUST IN CASE!
Any child who can be patient and wait for my boys to come to them will eventually be rewarded. They LOVE attention... so they will voluntarily go up to a child who is calm.
Chewing... hhhmmm..... i have nightmare stories on that one. They chewed from 4 months old to about 8 months old. NIGHTMARE! My baseboards, cabinet corners, shoes, bras, laptop cord, pants, bedspread, their bed (multiple ones), toys are destroyed in a day, dining room chairs, expensive sunglasses.... uugghhhh I have great advice to prevent chewing though. 1. If you put something down that the dogs can reach MOVE it... if you THINK they might be able to get it, they WILL. And it WILL be chewed... close your closet doors, put your shoes away in them and hang up or put away all clothing on a daily basis. As for walls, baseboards, furniture and cabinet chewing, put them in a contained area in the house with no access to things. Like an xpen or an indoor/outdoor pen. I had a plastic pen that could be for outside or inside, high thick plastic walls on all 4 sides. I set it up in the house and put their bed, food, water, and toys in it with them. Those were the only things they could get. This will work for when you cannot watch your baby so he/she does not chew up cords and other things... when he/she is out of the pen, WATCH with a close eye! They will eat/chew ANYTHING if they can get to it. Mine have outgrown this phase thank god!!
Yorkies are on a list as top 10 BEST watch dogs! They have exceptional hearing! So this CAN make them little barkers. My guys are doing much better with barking but its almost 2 years now. I say NO everytime they start and it quiets them down. Sometimes they start to go into a FRENZY where they dont even hear my voice. Thats when I pull out a spray bottle and give them a squirt to the back of the head. It immediately stops them in their tracks. This is working wonderful and their barking is really curbing now!
Now for the pluses ... they are just the most affectionate, funny, sweetest dogs. You want a lapdog they are PERFECT!! One of mine, his greatest dream would be to be permanently attached to my arms/lap if he could! HAHA the other one is more independant, but when hes tired its right to moms lap for them both. They sleep under the covers at night, curled up right next to me always touching me!
They are sooo alert all the time, so friendly to everyone. They are so smart but very headstrong.
I think if you are prepared for the struggle of puppyhood then you'll love a yorkie as a pet! If you are unsure of puppyhood, try to adopt an adult (1+ years old) yorkie!
welcome to the family