[canana]

Welcome to YT!

When I first finally got over losing my Maltese several years ago, I decided I wanted a different breed and researched heavily on the Yorkie on YT. And boy am I ever glad I did!!

From my own experience, Yorkies can be lap dogs. I found that their level of affection changes with time. When mine were puppies, they were more independent and very much full of energy. About the 1.5 - 2 years mark, they calm down and become a more cuddly. All in all, no matter what age, they have a very spunky personality. You'll always be entertained.

Like the Maltese, Shih Tzu, and Havanese, Yorkies don't shed. They have hair like we do. I am allergic to dogs, so the fact that they don't have a shedding undercoat works well for me. I keep my babies' hair long, so I need to comb them daily.

Ease of housebreaking can be a hit or miss. Some manage to successfully house-train within a few months, others like myself take about a year. But, I do believe that if you're able to be consistent (and somewhat of a problem solver), you'll be able to potty train them eventually!

They love to please and do really well with positive reinforcing style training (I use the clicker with treats). Social-wise...you'll hear about one who are great with people and great with dogs; then you'll hear about ones like mine who bark at all dogs and are weary with people (despite being socialized a lot as as puppies too).

If you're worried about them being fragile, I would let your breeder know that you prefer ones who are expected to be 6-7 lbs or more. My Scottie is 5.5 lbs but I still worry about him jumping off the couch. He loves to jump, but his legs are very delicate. Casie is 4.5 lbs and she's super delicate. I've never owned such a small dog, so I always take extra care to make sure she's not injuring herself.

For finding reputable breeders, I took the approach of attending a local dog show. Basically in each litter, there will be show quality puppies and pet quality puppies. The point is that with reputable show breeders, you are more likely to get a healthy puppy.

I didn't want to rush, after coming across several websites that had red flags. I liked the idea of meeting show dog breeders in person and asking questions and meeting their dogs. So, I was flexible and didn't mind waiting a few months to attend the next show. And then waited another half a year for an available puppy.

Note that if you're wanting a heavier Yorkie, you'll be in luck, because most show breeders will sell puppies expected to be heavier as they won't likely be showing them in the competitions. Another option is, you can always purchase a retired show dog. Breeders will have dogs of all ages that have retired. Once you get a dialogue going, you can find out more. And if one breeder doesn't have pups available, the next best thing is to ask them for a breeder they'd recommend.