I would honestly recommend a short hair breed, only for the reason that it can be difficult to get a yorkie/maltese used to being groomed. When Rizzo was a puppy I worked with him every day by placing the clippers next to him and giving him a treat. But the first time I ran them through his fur and they got caught on a small mat, he yelped and attacked the clippers, and I had to start all over again. Treats while standing near the clipper, treats when being touched by the back of the clipper. Now I can give him his sanitary trim, and trim his nails without an incident but it took a lot of work, and you can't freak out or get scared because the dogs can sense that and it will only make it worse. I'm starting all over again with a new dog that was not taken care of like he should have been so I had to shave him down completly, he bit me a couple of times (no marks left behind, he was doing it out of fear) and it is a lot of work, and I have to remember not to be fearful or upset when he does go into agression mode.
Have you considered a labrador? I know that is going quite a bit out of the range of what you want but my lab mix that I rescued when I was younger helped lots of people out of their dog fears. A friend of mine had two kids that were deathly afraid of dogs because his moms chi's were always growling and nipping at them. When I brought Max over they were stand offish, so he laid down rolled over and wagged his tail at them. They came over and started scratching his belly and laughing like crazy when his leg went a million miles an hour. After we left my friend told me that they wanted a puppy of their own, lol, but it had to be just like Max hahaha. And I lived in an apartment, which I think big dogs adapt just fine to as long as you're taking them out for walks and exercise daily. Just don't play fetch down the hallway if you have an angry downstairs neighbor, they don't like it, lol.
I'm with the other posters here, go to your local rescue organization, they'll be able to match you with the perfect dog even if it takes a while, and even if it isn't what you were initially expecting. Yorkies are not great dogs for the first timer if they aren't confident to be in control around them. |