[Sweetums]

Frankly there is also a practical reason for dressing them. Our Yorkie girl has a puppy cut all the time, since I work fulltime and don't have time to groom her. Because she has short hair (and Yorkies don't have "fur" they only have hair) she does get cold even in the house. If you think about it, they are down on the floor all the time, and of course, cool air sinks to ground level, so temperature-wise it is cooler where they are in the house. Our little girl is truly a nervous wreck when she doesn't have some sort of t-shirt or sweater on. She runs obsessively back and forth to the window barking at nothing. But once she's dressed, she calms right down, and I think it's because without the extra covering, she's chilly most of the time and being chilly makes her run around more and startle more easily. Honestly I've noticed a big difference in her behavior in this regard.

So explain to your family that Yorkies don't have "fur" coats like other dogs and need a little extra warmth, and since you are going to add extra warmth, you may as well do it in style. That's what I tell people who scoff at her sweaters and t-shirts.