[bjh]

Usually you can tell by the time they are a year old if they will be the proper color. Some yorkies take longer to clear. When a yorkie starts to 'break' it will usually first be noticeable on their shoulders. You can part the hair and looking at it in the light for signs of the shiny steel blue color. If a pup breaks to early there is a chance it will be to light but not always. You have to know your bloodlines. Coat texture is very important also. From my observations it seems that some of the darker dogs are more of a modified silk and not the true silk that is desirable. You have to consider the facial color also. I prefer the shaded gold as called for in the standard vs the orangish gold or reddish gold that some yorkies have. There are so many variations that seem to be acceptable. What is very undesirable is to have black hairs intermingled with the gold. When a pup is breaking properly the roots will usually turn gray on the head and as the pup gets older the gray will turn to gold.

A yorkie with a cottony coat will sometime break late but the color is what is referred to as a 'clerical' gray. The coat will not have the proper silky texture. I find one of the most useful things in determining if the coat will be silky is the color of the eye shine in pictures. If the eye shine is red or orange then most likely the pup won't have a silky coat. If the eye shine is yellow then the coat might be more of modified coat, it can go either way and if the eye shine is green or even blue then most likely the coat will be silky.

If possible it would be nice if you could have your puppy evaluated by an experienced show breeder. There is so much more to consider beside just the coat and color. Proper conformation is essential and the attitude of the dog.