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Originally Posted by QuickSilver  Let me ask this: can we say we are discussing four qualities here?
Silkiness: As a non-expert, I would classify this as the hair's reflectiveness. Other characteristics are lack of matting and coolness to touch. Thor is *extremely* silky. His coat actually gleams in the sun. For standard, silkiness is the desired quality.
Thickness: Again, as a non-expert, I would have thought the thicker the better, but maybe this isn't true. I would guess that the perception of thickness would come both from the width of the hair shaft and the amount of hair. Thor's coat is pretty thin.
Curliness: I am leaning towards thinking this is not strictly linked to silk, though it appears that most yorkies with curly hair have cotton coats. Tammy's dog's hair really does look both silky and curly, though. And I've seen dogs with very cottony, very straight coats.
Color: A whole set of its own topics. |
Lighter colored Yorkies, such as your Thor, tend to reflect more light. Take two hypothetical Yorkies with the same type hair, except for color, and the lighter one will be more reflective. It's less heavily pigmented than darker hair.
Thicker hair would not automatically be better. The books will tell you that a correct Yorkie coat will appear thin on a pup. I don't think a thin coat on a mature Yorkie is desirable, though. Like so many things, it should be not too this and not too that but just right.
The curlinesss/waviness thing is something I've had questions about, too. The earlier Yorkie champs in the books displayed some wave in the hair as late as the 1970's. I'm not sure if it's genetics or grooming techniques that seem to have rid modern show Yorkies of it. Probably a little of both.