Personally, I don’t think you should rely too much on what characteristics various breeds are “supposed” to have. I’ve fostered dozens of dogs over the past ten years. I’ve fostered chihuahuas who were mellow and laid back and loved everyone ... and I’ve fostered chihuahuas who would sink their teeth into anyone who startled them or touched them in the wrong way or didn’t happen to be their favorite person. And the same is true for every dog breed or mixed breed I’ve owned or fostered. Dogs are individuals, and you just never know. You can (usually) train them out of any really unacceptable behavior, of course, but their individual personalities are still going to be there under the surface and might come out under the right/wrong circumstances.
Jax is the first yorkie I’ve ever owned (although I did foster one once). I never actually intended to have a yorkie until he unexpectedly came into my life, so I didn’t have any preconceived notions of what he would be like. From what I’ve read since then, it’s difficult to know whether he’s “typical.” In some ways he probably is and in other ways he probably isn’t.
I have a Havanese, by the way. I’ve had her since she was a pup, and she’s going on 14. She’s AKC, but she’s probably not typical of the breed in some ways. I have to keep her trimmed short, because she has an impossible cottony coat. She barks, a lot. She hates everyone outside my immediate family. She’s one of those dogs who can’t be trusted around people, especially small kids, she doesn’t know, because she will wag her tail like the person is a long lost friend and then snap when they get close enough. I love her to pieces, but she’s a difficult dog. |