A description by the AKC of what defines Yorkies. Here it is:

The Yorkshire Terrier is a tan dog with a blue saddle. Particolors exist, although they are not correct for the breed standard. The particolor coat is white with black/blue and tan. It is very rare to get a particolor, and if one is found, it tends to be very expensive.[12] Some Yorkshire Terriers are liver or chocolate, a brown color; they are unable to produce black pigment.[13] The breed is defined by its color, and such non-standard colors may indicate health problems or cross-breeding with other breeds of other colors.[4] The AKC registration form for Yorkshire Terriers allows for four choices: blue and tan, blue and gold, black and tan, black and gold. Color alone will not affect whether or not a dog is a good companion and pet. Even though off-colored Yorkshire Terriers are advertised at premium prices, being of an unusual or untypical color is neither new, desirable, nor exotic

Just like the "human breed" Yorkies come in different sizes, faces, ears, and colors. And they are all Yorkies regardless.
I may sit Gizmo next to Kaji and someone might say they don't look the same, but, their both still Yorkies.
I've seen cotton coated yorkies, silky yorkies golden yorkies, blue yorkies..The list goes on, but the end of the day, it's still a yorkie.

And with regards to size, Gizmo is almost 6 lbs...And yet the YT user Britster has a 16 lb yorkie named Jackson. Someone might argue that either my dog or Jackson is not a Yorkie but, once again, it's not the case.

I think alot of people get an idea of what an animal breed is supposed to look like from media influences as "acceptable" for a breed.
Similar as to how the media influences oh what we find as "acceptable" for a female to look...

I am not saying yorkies can't be different I am just saying there is not different types of yorkies. A yorkie is a yorkie no mater size, color or look if they are 100% yorkie then they are just a yorkie.

Firstly, welcome to YorkieTalk, I hope you enjoy it here as much as I do. Almost all of the members here are shiny red delicious apples...there are very few bad ones in the barrel. :) Your Bam is a dollbaby!

...there's no such thing as a dollbaby Yorkie either. It's a term of endearment I like to use.

I'm sorry you've had criticism in regard to your Bam...he certainly is adorable. Ears don't make the breed unless you want to show them, in which case I believe they need to stand erect in accordance with the AKC standard.

A lot of times ears stay down because the hair on the ears weighs them down, making it very difficult for them to stand on their own. Throughout puppyhood, the cartilage thickens and sets, and their ears stay floppy permanently. This doesn't mean your dog is not a purebred Yorkie.

That being said, the people who told you there is only 1 'type' of Yorkie, are indeed correct. I've learned a LOT since joining Yorkie Talk, that being one of the things I've learned, thanks to the great people here! :aimeeyork There are no teacups, minis, micro-minis, teddy-bear, miniature, or even toy...Yorkies. Yorkies are classified as a toy breed, but there are no "toy Yorkies" as a legitimate prefix type - unless it's a stuffed animal or a literal play toy. There's only one type, the standard Yorkshire Terrier. According to the AKC they can be 7 lbs and under (although I have met some purebred Yorkies myself that are over 7 lbs and they are JUST as much a Yorkie as their standard counterparts). Some people have lovingly named them "Teapot" Yorkies (a Yorkie over 7 lbs). These people know there is no such thing (just as there is no such thing as a Teacup)...but it is a term of endearment.

I think when people place Yorkies into subclasses that don't exist for the purpose of a selling point or false advertisement, or misinformation is when most of us get irritated. That and misinforming other people when there is only one Yorkie type - the standard. It really helps to know your facts before informing other people who may truly be interested in the Yorkshire Terrier breed. That way you can inform them correctly. :)

There's nothing wrong with calling Bam "Your little teddy bear"...nothing wrong with that at ALL and don't listen to people who tell you otherwise. It is a term of endearment, and as long as you are NOT using that word to misinform people or as a type of Yorkie, there's nothing wrong with it.

I call Bella teacup sometimes as a nickname. I also use Tinkerbella or Bellaboo, etc. Teacup Yorkies do NOT exist...but there is nothing wrong with using it as a nickname for your own pet. (Bella is a Yorkie mix, not a purebred..and I love her regardless of what is in her blood).

Welcome! Looked at your album and Bam is totally precious! What a darling little face:thumbup:

Welcome. Bam is so cute. I have 4 yorkies and all of them have different coat types and colors and faces. Pixie has what some call a baby doll face, Cali has the more standard face, Roxie is in between the baby doll and standard face and Nikki has the more terrier face with a longer nose and ears. No matter what you call then they are all cute!!

No matter what, they are all so lovable and will grab your heart and hang on tight...They have such a wonderful personality and their love is unconditional. I am so in love that sometimes I just have to take time to breath and enjoy my Prissy, she has stolen our heart and soul. Now I just pray that Yoshi comes around.

There are lots of "cutesy" terms owners use to describe their Yorkie's features:

teacup
teapot
fox faced
teddy bear (faced)
cottony
long legged supermodel
etc etc it goes on and on

However a breeder should never use these terms especially as a marketing technique otherwise you should not walk away from the breeder but RUN away.

Your Yorkie is perfectly within the middle of the standard 3-7 pounds.

My Yorkie (yes he is a Parti as well) is a "teapot" according to me @ 12.2 pounds to a breeder he is a (tri-colored) out of standard size Yorkie.

I have two - Lil Bit and Beamer. (Lil Bit actually was supposed to be mine, but she adopted my husband LOL). Beamer has the long hair, we keep Lil Bit short (look at my albums). Often people that come to the house will comment on Beamer being a cute little Yorkie - then they ask me what kind of dog is Lil Bit!! Because she is kept short they don't think she is a Yorkie!!!

As far as Teddy bear Yorkies go - and Teacup Yorkies. There really are no such Yorkies - but there are some (and Bam is obviously one of them) who have the adorable Teddy Bear look.
Now Lil Bit sometimes looks like Cujo:)

Omg that is soooo mean!!!!!!!! 7lbs is not even that big ne way!


Bans face and ears are super friggn cute!

Here is Lil Bit looking like Cujo!

Wow it does get confusing. When I first started researching yorkies I really felt lost. You are right...yorkies come in many shapes, colors and sizes. Many people have descriptive term to describe the fur buts. I feel the only time that is wrong if it is a marketing trick ( to get more money).

But..to repeat.. For show dogs there is one yorkie. If you watch the dog shows there are some breeds that could be in the toy group and other groups. Poodles
Is the bet example of that. There is only one yorkie..toy.

Most important, you bam is soooo cute. Enjoy him!

Oh since everyone is on about standards of colors and such it should be notice the AKC recognizes multiple different colors in their Parti versions now.

However with anything that has become common fad (same for standard colored Yorkies) always seek out a reputable breeder and consider a DNA breed identification if you beleive cross breeding was at hand.

Like quoted above many people use the term fur butt (however most Yorkies do have a bald spot there) :p

I LOVE the term skin kids and fur kids totally using what I learned here!:)

Too funny! If that was noted in the standard, it would sure make conformation shows..err...interesting, wouldn't it?
:yelrotflm:lol tears:eyetearss:clapsmile:sidesplt:

Lol...I never really thought of it that way! :eek:Whatever I love the little fur kids !

:D LoL I love to read fur butt too

But...I've a wondering mind & it (all on it's own out of my control) gets a funny lil furry image in it :eek:...can you imagine if they were all furry? :confused:

The term butt baths would be used a lot more on here!;)

...and probably become a 'technical' term...:p

have you seen an old english sheepdog in full coat? LOL There's your "all furry" "fur butt".

:rolleyes::thumbup:
OMYorkies! Ugh no...but now my curious mind will make me wanna look! :cool:

welcome to yt, my yorkie has radar ears I call them lol. I love big ears on yorkies. Your little yorkie is adorable.

Scoobers has a deer butt...

Hi welcome to Yorkie Talk. Tons of great info here and I myself am new to the world of yorkies and am still learning everyday :)

What exactly does "opted to never have his ears pointed" mean? My Bubba's ears have always been upright, and the breeder warned me that while teething they may flop? Is there something I should consider doing to either keep them up or let them flop?

I know exactly what you mean about teddy bear vs teacup, I have an english golden yellow lab and even though akc didn't allow me to change the breed, I know that is what he is because he is darker than a yellow but no way near being a chocolate. Plus, he doesn't have a boxy head, like the standard yellow lab, and doesn't look fat like they do either. Cute baby by the way.

(Patti completes post, ever so flustered at the seething sarcasm she has just spewed)

Haha! That description crack me up.

Gizmo has an arrow butt. He has an arrow shape that's dead on and in the tan color that seems to be pointing right at his nub.:p

What a cutie! He certainly looks like a little teddy bear, love the pic :)

Your puppy is just adorable - with the sweetest face in your avatar! Welcome to YT.

Bam is a beautiful baby :)

this thread has been a hoot to read, like beating a dead horse I will also state there is only one yorkie breed and that is a Yorkshire Terrier. Words you often hear when someone is selling or describing their yorkie such as teacup, toy, teddybear, apple headed etc, those are adjectives i.e. just physical descriptions. I have found that stating it simply like that to someone who is trying to ram it down my throat that a teacup yorkie is a breed of it own, helps them get it a little easier.

Also to the poster that said that there have been times people have challenged them to if their dog was real yorkie or not. I am embarrassed to say I did that once. I had just gotten my first yorkie and had done a lot of research on what the standards were and not only did I want a good looking dog I wanted once that would be small enough to take on an airplane. My pup was about 5 or 6 months and I was proudly walking him around an art fair. Someone approached me that had a shaggy silvery yellowish long haired dog that was about 15 lbs. After making a fuss over my dog I then asked her what kind of dog she had, and the lady said a yorkie, just like yours, she went on to say hers looked just like mine when it was a puppy. Well I was horrified, I didn't want some large yellow stringy haired dog. I almost physically jumped back, saying NO, NO, it couldn't be the same. We shortly parted ways and my girlfriend said, well I guess you didn't like the look of their dog, after thinking about it I felt so ashamed for my guttural reaction, but being new to the yorkie world I expected that they would all grow up to look like the ones in the picture books I had gotten from the library, (before the internet) which in hindsight were probably show dogs. Mine grew up not to be show quality but much closer to the dogs in the pictures than the one in the park. That was more than 25 years ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday

LOL, that really cracked me up. I guess you're not good at hiding your feelings? :D

;) of course I was much younger then and like to think I have mellowed and gotten kinder with age...........yeah right:D:p:D

LOL LOL... awesome post!