Yorkie or no Yorkie..............?????
 

Hi to all, I'm a new to this web and to Yorke's but I have a big decision to make. For the past three days I've been researching Yorkie but the more I do the more confused I get about them. You see, I live in UAE and it's HOT :eek: very hot, every day, so we live in air-conditioned villa with lots of room (even for a big dogs). Also, I have a little baby boy (he is turning 1 in June) and I want to give him a "gift of life" a beautiful :animal36 puppy.

Anyways, some sites say Yorke's are good around kids, families & about they health and some sites say different things. I have Yorkie on offer, a 5 month old girl, they have all the papers, toy and Vet checked, as I have been told by the seller. I haven't seen pups in "person" yet (only pictures via email) the great travel distance right now is not convenience, plus I'm still thinking if i should really get one. The pups will be brought to me to chose from anyway, but before I'll confirm that I need some answers and soon, you know to get FACTS from you and NOT from people who is trying to sell them to me as they will try to make these breed sound like there are angels sent from heaven, but i do have concerns just because I have a baby & it's a great responsibility to have a dog.

Well........... if anyone can help me out please do tell me eg:...How are they like with kids (babies) and how healthy are they really & lots more.............? i hope this is understandable of what I need to know about Yorkie.

P.S. I have owned dogs before (big dogs) but the breeds I want are not allowed in UAE, it's very sad.

Thank you all for your time and responses, I'm sure it will help me with my decision. :)

I would advise not to give a Yorkie to a one year old.
Why is it that you want to give your 1 year old a dog? I think that is a little young, especially for a toy breed.

Yorkies, especially as puppies can easily get hurt. And their health really depends on who the breeder is of the dogs.

Welcome to YT. IMO unless you get a large yorkie, it would be best not to get one, as they are very small. I have 3 kids but waited to get my yorkie until they were older, as to make sure the dog didn't get hurt. I think they would be great with kids, but would be afraid that young children would accedently hurt a yorkie. If you did get one, I would never leave the dog in the same room with a young child unattended.

Good luck with your decision! How about a Westie? They are so similar, but more sturdy and larger (up to 20 lbs or so). I have one of each and love them both. They are great breeds of dogs.

I would agree with the last post. If you are getting a puppy get it for yourself and not for the child. Yorkies are fragile dogs because they are so small. We have a 9 year old daughter and when we got our Yorkies they are mine and my husbands not hers or her responsibilty.

Welcome to YT

Now to answer some of your questions, Yorkies are extremely popular and are *real* money makers to *bad* people, people that are not breeding properly, so sorry to say, but most do have some sort of health issues. Yorkies are also very high maintenance and they are a very needy breed for human attention and interaction.

Next, honestly, I do not agree with you about giving your 1 year old baby "the gift of life" a puppy - Any animal needs to be taken care of by Responsible Adults, not children and certainly not Young Babies. Yorkies are very Small and very Fragile and I DO NOT think it is best to mix with Young Babies, too many things can go wrong. I think you need to wait a little while until your child grows up a little bit to introduce a Yorkie.

Best of Luck :D

I would tend to agree with the other two replies, I would not get a toy dog with such a small child, my grand-daughter who is 2 and half yrs comes over and we have to be extra careful of her and my dogs as she tends to want to play but is way too rough with the dogs. I would also recommend getting a bigger dog and wait a little bit until your baby gets a bit older and understand that you have to be gentle with the pooch. However you decide - good luck..:)

I have a one year old grandson and I do not feel Tink (dog) is safe around him.

These little dogs will jump up and their little claws do scratch, and they play bite, and those little teeth sure to hurt too.

My grandson has a few little scratches on his face from Tink, where she tries to play with him.

If I was you I would wait until your son is older.

We have a Yorkie who weighs 5 lbs and we got him last summer and he is great with my kids, but my kids are 9 & 7. When they were 1, I wouldn't have gotten them a Yorkie, I agree with the others.

I think you will be fine if you get a larger one.

TLC I was looking at your photos and you have the cutest yorkies. It the little white one a yorkie too? Such a beautiful dog.

I also agree with you about yorkies, I have 2 but would never have them around children unless I supervised because they are too small.

Ahh...how sweet, yes they are cute, but they are also little rascels too :eek:

The *white* yorkie is a Morkie (yorkie/maltese) - Cuddles is her name and she is a doll:rolleyes:

There are also lots of scam artist via internet..so do not wire money to anyone without knowing more about who you are dealing with..they are pros at what they do and they know a cute picture and some oscar winning acting will seal the deal. Wait until your child is older. Many dogs are given up because people don't realize how hard the puppy training months are. Remember they sometimes cry at night, and you can't travel as much and the vet bills are high $$$ even when they are healthy..take your time.

First off welcome to YT.. and I pat you on the back for first asking questions... and I am glad to see people offering nice and good advice.
If you like the yorkie breed itself I would go for a larger yorkie.. they need homes also..are not as fragile as a small one. Especially growing up around children, if they get a leg broken or something happens to them.. they are not cheap to have vet care..
They can be very protective of you and your baby beyond what you may want.. they are territorial so very easily..
I would never sell a yorkie to a person with a small child if there reason was for their child.. Is it really you who wants the yorkie and you feel you can justify wanting one by saying it is for your baby..I know us mothers tend to not want to pay money out for things we want once we have children but it is ok in our minds if we are buying for our child or children..
Yorkies are said the be the hardest to potty tain.. need 100% consistency for months in order for them to get the idea that they need to go out side to potty.. It can be a hard job to do, especially when you have a young child in training close to the same time..
I have nephews that grew up with small yorkies.. and many people do have children and yorkies.. but it is the adults that need to have the time for training and loving them and all that goes with owning a dog. Yorkies need and expect attention all the time.. when they do not get your undivided attention.. They can and will chew anything..and most of all a good breeder worries about their baby yorkie's when selling them and worry that if they are too much to handle for a young family they could end up in the shelters.. and that is really a huge huge worry for a breeder.
Hope I helped you in making your choice..and please take your time.. the longer you are on YT and the more you learn.. I know I have learned so much just since joining.. it is like a learning in progress all the time..
anne

Hi, and welcome. Some day your going to make some little doggie a great mom, but right now you have a one year old to keep you "really" busy. Your wanting a dog for the wrong reason right now. Dogs, no matter the breed need a lot of training and you can never let your guard down no matter how well trained they are. Next, they need just as much attention as any baby. Yorkies are high maintenance dogs. They need daily brushing, weekly baths and regular grooming. They can also be very difficult to house train, and some will always pee or poop in the house.
No dog is suitable for a baby. I would wait till your baby is at least 5 or 6 years old to get a dog, providing you don't have another baby by that time. ;)

Welcome to YT! I would like to say that I have a thirteen month old daughter. I recently got a Yorkie puppy who is two months old now. I also have a Chihuahua, & she is a very small dog - she only weighs five pounds. I know that everyone on here says that very young children cannot get along with such small dogs, but it really depends on how you teach your children to act around small dogs. My daughter (even though she is very young) knows to treat our Chi with respect. We do NOT allow her to pick her up, tease her, pick on her, etc. We never leave them alone together, either. I know that my Chi would never hurt her no matter how much she is poked & prodded, but we do not allow our daughter to do this in the first place. She knows that dogs, especially small dogs, are to be treated with respect. My Chi is very friendly towards her & would never bite her or even play with her at all. That being said, my Chi is not a puppy. She's three years old. I would recommend getting an older Yorkie if you're going to get one. I do have a Yorkie puppy, but we NEVER let my daughter near him. He is just too young & all he wants to do is play, & he does not understand yet that young children can't take the nipping & such. We are teaching him that nipping is not acceptable, nor is roughhousing, but he is only a puppy & sometimes he forgets. When my Yorkie is not on a leash next to me, I keep him in his play yard. In fact, I keep him in there when our daughter is crawling around, because gosh only knows that she'll sit on him, which could seriously injure or even kill him. There is no way that your son can learn right now to not sit on the dog & to be careful where he is stepping. I'm sure when my Yorkie is older though he will understand better & not play rough with her or nip her. Yorkies are very smart dogs. Like everyone else has said, you shouldn't get a Yorkie for your kid. There's NO WAY he is old enough to take care of a dog. If you do get one, please understand that you are the one who will be responsible for him, not your son. You will have to keep them apart until the dog gets older. Again, I would highly recommend getting a fully grown Yorkie.

-Amy