Do Yorkies sometimes look like Chuahuas?
 

I just got 2 Yorkies, a male and female from different litters. They look completely different and I'm beginning to wonder if my female is actually purebred. She's ACA registered but I just can't shake the fact that she looks like a mix. She has the smallest head and big ears that stood up since day one. When she runs her tail end curls up just like a Chuahua! I looked online and saw Yorkie/Chuahua mix pics and wouldn't you know....I thought I was looking at my female! When I talked to the breeder she assured me that she would look completely different in about 8 months. Have I been scammed or could this be true? Frustration..........

Can you post a picture of her?

I have a pic in my album...
 

I'm very new to this YorkieTalk site but I think I posted her pic in an album in my profile and I don't know any other way of doing it.....It took me a while to figure out how do post my original question...lol

Papers from the ACA (American Canine Association) don't mean anything. She could be a mix and still have ACA papers.

Hmm... she looks Yorkie to me. It's hard to tell when they're so young though.

Some Yorkies just have bigger ears than others and shorter hair, etc. I'm not the greatest at telling what dogs are, but she looks yorkie to me!

I just looked at her picture and she could be a mix or she could just be a poorly bred yorkie. The ears are definitely not standard but cute regardless.Some yorkies from poor breedings look alot like mixes. I think she is cute though and you should just enjoy her as a pampered pet

So, I have a mix or a poor quality Yorkie..
 

Thanks so much! I'm real bummed out though....it's a toss between poor quality and mix...

Exactly what I was thinking.

The vast majority of people on here including me have yorkies that werent bred to the standard and thats what I lean towards believing she is. If you look on here you will see alot of different looks for yorkies

awww I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt your feelings with her statement... But because of overbreeding...and many non-reputable breeders...sometimes yorkies do take on charicteristics of a mix....

However I have seen on some "reputable" breeders sites..... puppies that have ears just like your babies!!

So don't let that get you down....when I first got Tulip I was seriously worried about her coat...it just looked AWFUL....lol wiry...hardly grew at all...but at 7 months its finally growing and softening up a little....so give her time...I bet she grows into her ears!

I think she's precious!!! Both of your babies are!!!

She does look like mostly yorkie to me. I am really not an expert on the breed standard and what they are supposed to look like. These little guys are all so different looking. She will grow into the ears. My Pebbles had very big ears and now she's 1 and looks more proportioned. Your baby is a cutie pie.

Welcome!!

Either way she is sooo cute!

If you don't get a puppy from a reputable breeder who is carefully breeding to the Yorkie standard, you can end up with an adult dog that only barely resembles what a Yorkie is supposed to look like. As Chachi said, half the Yorkies here on YT are pretty far off the standard and look like mixes.

Did you see her parents? What did they look like? That will give you an idea of what she will look like as an adult.

Did you pay a lot for her? If not and she is healthy, can you live with her appearance?

She's so cute, but, def. looks like a mix, most likely chihuahua. Unfortunately there are a lot of breeders that are not on the up and up. Then there are others that breed poor quality.

Both your babies are adorable! Your little girl needs more hair to grow in I think, shes got a longer snout and bigger ears. I think she'll grow into them and look more yorkie in time, especially when her hair starts to really grow in! She is adorable! I love the big up ears! :)

i think she just looks different cuz her ears are standing up LOL i know if my yorkie ears where standing up besides flopped over she would look like that to cuz her ears are pretty long.

Thanks for the encouragement.....She's a part of our family either way. I just expected one similar to my male or better.

I paid $1,000.00 for her and I told the breeder I wanted to have the option to breed her with my male. Yes, I did see both parents but left there wondering if they were the actual parents. She has the fathers coloring but looked nothing like the mother...or rather who the breeder said the mother was...many red flags, so sorry I bought from her.....I'll still love my dog but very upset because I really wanted to have a couple of litters....the breeder told me she has 5 Yorkies of her own but I heard many many different barks coming from the celar!!!!! She can talk up a storm but not what I expected!!!!!!!!!!

You know its not meant to all Yorkies to be top models or top show dogs but they all have something in common : They will always give you unconditional love for all their lives .

I'm actually not into showing. I have a retired show bunny but NOT interested in showing. I defineately wanted a cute breedable Yorkie....not 1/2 Yorkie 1/2 something else or something that looks like a mix. Anyway, she's my daughter's favorite so whatever it is...it just is...I guess! I'm waiting to hear back from the vet on how much it will cost for a DNA test. I may be in the market for a female again....

She looks like a mix to me, and I know it's a bummer if you paid a lot of money for her. On the other hand, if you check out my avatar, you'll see my little guy, Thor. His color is about as far away from standard as you can get, and people tell me all the time how gorgeous he is. So you can still have a pretty pup. :)

I'm wondering if you have given a lot of thought to breeding yorkies? Do you have experience breeding them, or a mentor?

He is cute!!!! I don't care what color he is....My father bred Staffordshire Terriers when we were growing up and it's such a fun experience I wanted my kids to have the opportunity to experience it as well. I don't have a lot of Yorkie experience but was going to work on that while my 2 Yorkies grew up. I hate puppy mills!!!!! I wanted to be a breeder that raises them right under my feet maybe once a year when they got old enough....looks like that's not going to happen until I DNA test to make sure she is a purebred Yorkie...I would never charge someone $1,000.00 for a mix and won't breed her at all if she's a mix!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if she is not a mix and is purebred yorkie she is not to the standard and I wouldnt breed her but get her spayed when you can

Breeding so your kids can experience the "miracle of birth" is one of the worst reasons to breed. :thumbdown

Please get her spayed and don't breed her. Whether she's purebred or not, she is way off standard. The reason so many Yorkies today don't look like Yorkies are supposed to look is that people keep breeding Yorkies who are not good representatives of the breed. Today's Yorkies also have terrible hereditary health issues as a result of irresponsible breeding. Did you know that Yorkies are 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined?

Tail curling
 

If a yorkie doesn't have it's tail docked it will be longer and will curl. My vet will only do tails within the first 3 days so that the bone cartilege is soft and it isn't as painful. Some dogs have scruffier coats than others. Feed him good nutrious food and coat may improve.

the coment about she could be mixed with Aca papers is not true they have to have proof they are from pure brreeds you can call and they will tell you

My guess is she is mixed with a Chihuahua. You can have a DNA test run, and if she is a mix, you can go back on the breeder to re-coup your money. I had DNA testing done on all three of mine. I think it was $60.00 each. Just request the kit from AKC.

Unfortunately this happens more often than not with the registries other than AKC. In the quest for the smallest Yorkie, unscrupulous breeders did breed them with chihuahuas. It may have started out as accidental with some of the breeders who have multi breeds and loose security. Breeders may have even witnessed a tie between two Yorkies and felt good about registering them as such. But if they were not keeping all the other males away, there could have been multiple fathers. However it happened at the beginning, some saw a way to keep sizes down and still have most of the offspring look like Yorkies. It could have been 2-3 breeders before yours, but somewhere in the lineage there was probably a chi slipped in, intentionally or accidentally.

The AKC started putting extra requirements on frequent breeders, most notably requiring DNA testing. Breeders who had not been playing by the rules quickly flocked to the made-up registeries so they could still sell their dogs with "papers" regardless of actual genetic makeup. Yours may have been the result of breeding two Yorkies, but one or both of those two may have had a mixed past. Papers look right, but at some time there was mixing going on.

Some dogs from these other registries may look standard-perfect, but their off-spring may show more of the results of past breeding mistakes. That is why you have to look past your dog when deciding if they can be bred. You have to look at their parents and grandparents. Still within standard? No medical problems that could crop up in future generations? Sticking with AKC can cut the probability of problems in half. Still no guarantee, but you have to get as many positive check marks as you can.

My very first Yorkie was AKC but I had to spay her. She developed the shinest, wavy hair. Pretty on a cocker but not what you want on a breeding Yorkie. So, it can happen with any registery, when you get them as a puppy.

Whatever her genetics, no denying your little girl is a CUTIE! Love her, enjoy her, spay her.

I am far from an expert, but I think she looks like a mix. It's not because her ears are large and perked up though. Yorkies ears should stand up. It's the positioning of the ears that is throwing me off and just her whole look in general. She IS cute, and will make a great family pet, but I wouldn't breed her.

she really is the cutest little thing. If her DNA proves she is not full yorkie are you still going to keep her? I do hope so .