Hello and learning about Yorkies
 

Hi. My family is planning to add our first puppy to our home. I'm just learning about Yorkies and trying to decide if they're the right breed for us. We're looking for a fun companion who will enjoy our children, ages 7,10, & 12. We have raised kittens, so they know how to care for small animals. Any suggestions or info is appreciated!

Welcome to YorkieTalk. :)

I have had kittens and I don't know how to explain, but Yorkies can be much more fragile (this is coming from someone with "large" 7 and 8+ pound Yorkies). I have to do the "Yorkie shuffle" even with my big boys for fear of stepping on toes.

Depends on your kids and what they want from a dog and how they would behave with the dog.

I would also consider how the Yorkie will fit into the busy lifestyle that most homes with 3 kids have. Yorkies need lots of physical and mental stimulation. They are very social animals and don't like to be left home alone for long periods of time.

Welcome! :) Maximo said pretty much what I would have said. ;)

Expanding on what I wrote earlier....Yorkies can be rough and tumble and give the appearance of being tough, which is misleading to some kids. When my 4 young nephews visited, I ended up keeping Max in the xpen most of the time for his safety. My nephews wanted to play with him the same way they play with their cocker spaniel.

Yorkies are like highly mobile toddlers. You have to doggy proof your home and make sure dangerous things are never left within reach.

Yorkies can be more challenging to potty train. This is often frustrating to people who had no problem training other breeds.

Yorkies can have very expensive health problems.

I dislike accentuating the negatives because there are so many positive things to say about Yorkies, but these are very important considerations in making this kind of commitment.

Best wishes in your research and in choosing the right dog for your family.

Thanks!
 

What do you mean when you say it depends on what we want out of our dog? I'm assuming you mean something like, if the kids are wanting to play soccer with their pet, this isn't the dog for you. Is that right? Any specifics you would share? Thanks for your insights!

Yes, that kind of thing. Yorkies of all sizes love to play all kinds of games, but humans have to take great care not to step on them, fall on them, or knock them around in general. It sounds easy enough, but you would be surprised.

It is a matter of do your children want a dog that they have to be that careful around, or would they prefer a sturdier dog?

Yorkies are fast and fearless. They learn to get out of the way for the most part, but when they are focused on going after something, they put themselves at risk.

Picking up and dropping Yorkies is another problem even with adults. There have been many cases here of broken legs as a result. I don't like to look at my 7 pound boy's lower legs because they scare the heck out of me how fragile they look. They are the size of a pencil at the knee.

Many good Yorkie breeders refuse to sell to homes with young children. Other breeders will assess the family and ask lots of questions to help determine if this is the right breed for the family.

There are many people here with young children and Yorkies. It can be done, but it is a matter of whether or not you think your family would be happy with a Yorkie.

One of my down the street neighbors has a little boy yorkie, Snickers, weighs in at about 5 pounds, and two pre-teen daughters. They have had a great experience with him, but their biggest problem seems to be that when the kids were a little younger they would go outside without shutting the door completely. Snickers can bolt out the door quicker than you can blink. They live on a cul-de-sac so fortunately they have always been able to retrieve him safely. After one major close call - with another dog - the girls seemed to figure it out.

One of the funny things with Snickers is if he does not feel like he has gotten enough attention because they have been gone or out all day, he will not let the girls sleep until they have played with him for a bit. (Yorkies love their human time!)