I have the best of both worlds: a 9 lb. cotton-coat male who's kept in a perpetual puppy-cut and a 4 lb. long-haired diva
. Actually, she's a tomboy, so her hair needs a little more attention. The boy is a little more independent; the little girl stays on my bed most of the day, waiting for me to come home from work. Oh, she comes out to play if there's a rousing game of "fetch" going on (my daughter's home all day), but most of the time, she just spreads out on the bed and waits.
Both of them are shadows. I can't go anywhere that they're not right behind me. I put belled collars on them (like cats) so I know where they are and won't trip over them. They're sweet, and loyal, and funny - cuddly when I want, and independent when I need them to be. They don't know they're little dogs and are fearless. But they're not yappy (unless I hold on to the ball too long during fetch, at which time they read me the riot act!).
I'm nobody's Spring Chicken any more. I've had dogs all my life, usually in multiples, mostly "mutts" and lately purebred. I've had 185 lb. Great Danes down to little Bella. I've loved them all, every one. But the Yorkie is the only one that I've had a second of the same breed.
They're like potato chips: you can't have just one
. Decide what you want from your pup and go in that direction. If you're not gonna show and that long hair is going to be too much of a hassle, then go for the puppy-cut cotton coat! The dog inside the hair will still be marvelous.
I hope my dogs last as long as I do ... they should. But I don't think I'd ever want anything other than a Yorkie again. They are just THAT good.