heres my few cents on the subject. We got Jess and it was really hard in the beginning. (I'll admit, I had buyers remorse at first)Accidents, not listening, scared of everything. She also jumped and broke her leg, they are pretty fragile) It took a good three months for us all to settle in. She is kept in a very very large crate when we are not home (she would eat anything off the floor and I dont want to worry) I bring her to her crate every few hours to pee/poo and she does, no accidents in a long time) she follows me EVERYWHERE...but she is a sweet fun dog the kids love...food is minimal, I def suggest pet insurance. and lots of comfy beds! lol She is the queen of the house..

She IS beautiful. One of my favorite breeds.

:D Such a sweet picture.

That makes me feel better! I just have had a few negative experiences on other forum sights and I really wasn't sure how to take it lol! I know my BF tries to act like a "manly man" lol but I know him well enough that if I was to bring yorkie pup home it would melt his heart as soon as it licked his face ;)

Me, too...the Shep/Lab is an excellent mixed breed, too...I have a number of that mix. Wonderful dogs.

Thanks...I caught him napping there, knowing he shouldn't. lol He was an old dog by then, so I just snapped a photo and let him use the chair to rest. He did it for a while, then went back to his beds where he had more room to stretch out. He was a sweetie pie.

Don't stress on it. I'm glad we made you feel better!!
You will get use to our sense of humor LOL. Overtime you will see how crazy we can be, but always there when you need us!

I have never seen a man that was able to have his guard up on the love that a Yorkie brings. Peanut is putty in Tom’s hands. I know he would do anything and everything for our little boy.

I hope you and your BF do get a Yorkie- they are so special.

Theres nothing wrong with your boyfriend couples should respect each others wishes especially with a pet that is a 15 yr commitment for both parties. I have found a little bartering never hurts

Don't they all? :p:D

Yorkies is quite different from sled dogs...Malamutes, etc., but DH is sooooo wrapped...:cool:

Since I was the one who offended you, I will jump in and say YES, it was a JOKE! Note the little LOL at the end?

My husband did not in any way want another small dog after my Shi Tzu passed. I waited over four years before I brought it up. Of course, he gave me all the "useless", "little yapper", blah blah, and even "I want a German Shepherd". He knew he was just needling me and relished the idea. One day I looked at him and said "You do know that if I want a Yorkie bad enough, I WILL have one?" He grinned, kissed me, then smacked my butt and went off on his merry little way. We've been together 18 years, married 17. He knows when he's going to lose.

And another one bites the dust...

Youhave gotten amazing advice here. I too will chime in as a large breed owner and breeder, and over the last four years a Yorkie owner and lover. To shorten a longish story told a few times before, my trainer of my large Black Russian Terriers(you can see a pic in my avatar and photo album), breeds Yorkies and I trained with Yorkies for at least 3 yrs. What can I say I fell in love with the breed.

Hubby was more than a tad surprised when I said I wanted a rugrat!. We were both stunned with how small a 2lb puppy is - we were both terrified of hurting that wee soul. My gawd he fit in the kitchen sink! Now to put this in perspective an 8wk BRT weighs in at 15 -20 lbs :-)

So I will say in terms of large and small dogs. First is how much prey drive does your GSD have? Does she chase squirrels or dogs?

Second as homework you absolutely must have your GSD obey you - almost like she obeys hubby. She must stop on your command. Sit Stay and Come. Do this NOW! You walk her, and feed her. You start training her.

This is important as when hubby is or is not home - you must be able to stop your dog on a dime - in case she goes after the wee one. My developmentally challenged sister can command our big boy to SIT STAY and come. And STOP

I would definitely recommend crate/xpen training for the wee one. You must keep your wee one safe at all times, but most especially in the puppy months.

If you want your dog your Yorkie to be obedience and trick trained then the best chance is to find a performance breeder of Yorkies. This is one that actually works their Yorkies, be it obedience, rally, dock jumping, flyball, agility etc.

If that is not possible look for parents with a stable but active temperament.
Good movers.

But the key here is YOU. You can take a low or medium drive dog, and train it upwards. It is your time, your commitment, your patience and perserverance that will train this wee one.

There are many videos on here of Yorkies doing lots of things. The first one who comes to mind is Britster with Action Jackson. Also you can look at my videos of Razzle and Magic dock diving.

Good luck with your search.

I remember my DH telling me before we got our first yorkie 25 years ago "Don't expect ME to walk a foo-foo little muffin dog!". Now they are the love of his life. I cracked up when he brought home little T-shirts for them last week that said "I Love Daddy!" He is also sooooooo wrapped! Lori

Gemy, thank you...your expertise is invaluable. I was going to mention this but forgot...I was at work...shhhhh (on a break...heehee), and it timed out before I could edit.

What Gemy says is all absolutely excellent. I would also say to 'copy' your BF with whatever commands HE uses for obedience. Be 'authoritative' (not mean/forceful or anything like that) in your voice when you give her a command and REWARD her every way possible when she complies. Practice with her when he is not around. He should NEVER 'usurp' your command you give her. This is very 'tempting' (instinctive?) for some people...to 'take over' when others 'correct' or 'command' their dog. If he does, he will 'undermine' your 'authority' over her...and since she is already HIS, I would call it nearly 'useless' for you to give her a command if he 'overrides' the command you gave...she will look to him for 'permission to ignore' your command...plus it may confuse her, too, and you don't want that. Others can chime in on this aspect with their experiences, but I will say that I have experienced this very thing with several dogs, where family members even try to re-train a dog I have just trained and before I have it all 'set' into them (being the control freak that I am when it comes to dogs :p)...while we are still practicing their training, and then override my commands with their own booming loud voice and different command for the same action...and I have seen the confusion in the dog's face and body movements as it tries to 'reconcile' the discrepancy of commands and choose between people it loves and wants to obey...but cannot because of the differences. This is not a good thing to have happen. You and BF MUST both be consistent...with both dogs...always...IMHO. :p

To the flip side, once I had fully trained MY dogs, those same people had NO AUTHORITY over my commands, and the dogs would only obey if the 'right' command was given. I am saying this just so you are aware...in a discrepancy, she may always look to your BF over you.

And, one more flip...I am 'sneaky' in my training of my dogs...I always use a 'key' for some commands so that not just everyone can control my dogs after I train them. I want anyone to be able to get them to stop, sit, and stay, but I do not ever want my dog to obey just anyone for any/all command. If your BF has done a 'sneaky' thing, make sure you know the secrets, and use them, too. :p

I am telling secrets here I do not normally share ;), but a GSD is a large dog and a small dog like a Yorkie may need more help than a 'like sized' dog would when 'getting along' at home with a resident large breed dog. Humans and dogs, huh? Geesh...:D

Now...

She is a small GSD based on the Belgian Shepherd that I was 'related' to. He was an absolute angel...a love...he was DOWN to 120 lbs (he weighed more than me!) when I met him because he was undergoing heart worm treatments, which made him deathly ill, too. This was prior to when pills to prevent were available at least not from his vet. Anyway, this Shepherd was completely gentle around other animals, dogs, cats, small children, etc. So, I thought not a lot about bringing my Yorkie-Poo with me. He had been around him before with no issues, this was my little heartbeat baby...who was well socialized from being absolutely everywhere since he was too young to leave his Mommy and we bottle fed him after finding him behind the church, nearly freezing to death years before...back then, dogs were welcome even in grocery stores...so he went everywhere but church.

So, standing outside one day when my Yorkie-Poo was about 6-7 years old, I set him down so he could pee, and the Shepherd did nothing. After a few minutes of both being on the ground together walking around each other slowly, sniffing the ground, ignoring each other, the Belgian got curious, I guess, picked up my little Yorkie-Poo, around his middle, in his mouth, gave him a little shake :eek:, and set him back down...completely unharmed...not a scratch on him!

I was watching my baby the whole time after I set him down, and the Shepherd, for signs (body language) of brewing issues, since my dog was on the Shepherd's territory...and so was the Shepherd's owner...as always and there were none. It was a very smooth, very innocent-looking move. This Shepherd was large enough that he was 'breaking out pieces of asphalt' from the edges of the road and carrying them off to chew on...he could carry off and chew through...bend and dent...those big super thick cardboard carpet rolls...so he definitely had the size, strength, and jaw power to do serious damage if he wanted to...but he was such a sweetie...and this is why I think it was more like an "ooooo, toy?...nope...not a fun one anyway" kind of thing when he picked up my baby. But...it could have been way worse. :(

This was many, many years ago and I was a teenager at the time. We (I and the Shepherd's adult owner) were both yelling, but I truly believe the Shepherd was just curious about the new 'toy' he found in his yard because he never did anything else...never paid any attention to my baby ever again...and the two dogs were together many times after that with no attention paid to the other by either dog. :p So, I am telling this 'story' this in case you encounter any similar curiosity later on.

I cannot wait to hear about your Yorkie...and see the pix...:D

And, gawlly, this is long enough your eyes must be aching...:p

Gemy is so right about the training necessary for your GSD or any big dog that would be around a small breed dog. There is something in particular about the Yorkie that tends to bring out the prey instincts of other dogs. I don't know if it is the fur or the way they move but larger dogs tend to think of the Yorkie as a toy to play with and I do not mean a delicate type of play.

My son has a wonderful Lab that is fine with Gracie when inside (and being watched closely) but outside he wants to play with her and he goes at her with his feet like he is trying to stomp her. Other dogs have been known to pick up a Yorkie and shake them to death. Even pet dogs that have been around the Yorkie for an extended period of time have ended up killing the poor dog in play. You must have absolute verbal control of your BF's larger dog. Yorkies are little dogs with big personalities but they do break easily.

I'm not saying big dogs can't live with small ones. There are plenty of people here who have Yorkies and larger dogs. Just don't take any chances. Bringing a small pup into the larger dogs domain can be tricky.

Gracie is quite popular with men. She has yet to meet a male person that does not go crazy over her. I am always amazed because I know that most men don't like the idea of small dogs, especially in the area where I live. Even when I have guys doing work around here they always make a fuss over her and she just loves it. Maybe it is the feisty temperament. I don't know. If you learn how to train your Yorkie right and you take the time to buy one from a good line of dogs that have a history of good temperaments your BF will probably have no issues with your Yorkie.

The Yorkie is very popular right now and there are a multitude of bad breeders out to make a buck. They are doing a lot of damage to the breed. Bad genes can cause a lot of heartbreak for a new owner both in the health and temperament areas.

I surely was not trying to offend anyone and I am sorry if it seemed that way. It really was just a joke, although I know quite a few of us here have just brought our babies home to the DH and said, deal with it lol. Good luck on finding a perfect Yorkie.

After our lab rescue mutt died, dh said "no more. Not going through that again" 5 years later, a friend said "long enough" and promised us a silky yorkie mix from her pregnant Gracie. Enter Huey. Dh didn't want a small dog, didn't want ANY dog, ever again. He won't even take a vacation without Huey now.

:thumbup::thumbup: Great posting!

So I talked about training et al in my earlier post, that how-ever did not address your question on how to convince your BF to want a Yorkie.

I am of the belief it is best to get at the minimum acceptance of the BF before bringing into your lives another dog. My husband accepted Razzle into our lives, because at the root of it, he loves me, and also of course dogs. And now like others have said, he walks him, he carriers him to bed every night, he adores the scamp!. Even when as we recently just found out he has taken to peeing in Daddy;s dressing room office:thumbdown:thumbdown He is very proud of RAzzle's accomplishments, and has no problem walking a dressed up dog.

A couple of ideas - start searching out videos of just how outrageous Yorkies can be, and the things they can do. Plenty of videos here, and of course on you tube.

Then show them to BF. Talk about why you want a Yorkie - talk from your heart.
Find out just exactly what his issues are. Think about them - and think about what You can Do to help alleviate his concerns.

Tell him what you hope to do with this Yorkie. Tell him how much you admire all the effort he put into to training his GSD, and that is what you want to do with your dog!

Share your need to bond with your own animal - for whatever are the reasons you have.

Speak to him about all the research you have done on Yorkies. Yes - housebreaking can be a pain, but that YOU commit to method A or B or C to keeping your Yorkie on track to become a great housedog and companion.

Now please do your research particularly into the health and temperament of Yorkies. Figure out how you will afford what can be very expensive health care costs, if God forbid your Yorkies comes down with a disease. Pet insurance is a good bet. There are threads on here about Pet Insurance, my advice is to get one that covers genetic defects, and to also have a kitty for pet care of at least $1500, and plan on adding to this every month some amt of $$ - even $25 a month over 10 years will add up to a lot of $$.

And because you want to train your Yorkie, add into the monthly amount some provision for training costs - including instruction, participation in events, toys and such things.

About the bladders - yes they are a lot smaller than big dogs, but my boy had no problem from 14wks onwards to sleep all night in his crate. I did in the mornings pick him up and bring him directly outside to avoid accidents in the house.

I do highly encourage owners to participate with their pets in some performance activity - it builds an incredible relationship with you and your dog.

This is such an exciting time for you, I wish you all the best with the BF, finding a good breeder, and hopefully bringing home a pup one day!