Small vs Bigger Yorkies?

[Princes mom]

Originally Posted by Maximo

My boys are close to 9 pounds (11.5 inches tall at the shoulders) and I can tell you that it is just as easy to step on them. They also have legs as small as pencils, so the risk of injury is great. (that is why I keep them covered with hair, lol, I don't want to think about it)

No matter what size, Yorkies tend to be fragile dogs. Jumping should be discouraged at any size because of the risk of LP, which can be congenital or caused by injury. Ideally, stairs or ramps should be used.

In terms of general illness, I think the smaller the dog, the faster they can go down.

In the end, good breeding is key, regardless of size.

[luvlee]

I have these fancy pet steps next to my bed. If the door bell or phone rings while we're lounging in bed, Lucy will always leap off the side like Superman & ignore the steps.

She's 6 lbs.

[Verbena]

I agree with Kristin, good breeding and health is more important then size. Galen is 3.5 lbs. He is fearless. He runs around like a crazy man. If he sees Willow on the couch I caught him jumping up after her. I would not have him jumping up or down on the couch at all. I am extremely cautious with everything we do. As said, the little ones go down quicker.

[HKFandora]

I know good breeding is important. I just wanted to have an idea on owning a smaller York. I prefer a larger one but was curious about the difference in carefulness and sturdiness. Other poster made good point about bone density because like in humans their are different body frames and bone density which makes a difference.

[mimimomo]

Mimi is the biggest here & she's 7#'s. Princess & Momo are the smallest & weighs 5#'s, Momo weighing a couple ounces less. The size difference between them is huge & when I carry them, Mimi is considered heavy loll. As far as treating them differently bc of size, that really doesn't happen bc I'm careful w/all of them equally. I won't allow Mimi to jump from the sofa bc she can still get hurt, just bc she's bigger doesn't mean she's less inclined to get hurt. I have stairs for them for my bed & sofa & gate off the stairs to go down if I'm upstairs & vise versa.
But Momo is the butterfingers accident prone one out of all my guys. He is a jumper & sprinter, a very bz body. If it's quiet & he's nowhere to be seen, he's causing trouble somewhere loll. He burns more calories & needs more food, more attention, more everything & I'm happy to oblige. I guess it would also boil down to personality of the Yorkie, how much supervision is needed when it comes to their safety.

[katy-yorkie]

Buster is five pounds and I don't let him jump off of anything unless he tries to be a smarty pants and does it before I catch him. Maggie is just over seven pounds and I don't let her jump either unless she tries to be a smarty pants and does it before I catch her. NO jumping at my house, we have stairs. Of course I don't always get my way, but I try.

[MishyMish]

I have a 4 poundish and I have no worries about him. I did initially and in fact I wanted a 5-6 pound yorkie, but now that I have him I love his size. However, he might still get bigger. He's only 7 months.

[KazzyK810]

My last yorkie, Chelsea, was 5lbs. ZoE is almost double that.

Other than ZoE being much heavier to carry & taking up more room in the bed when she stretches out, there isn't much difference. Chelsea easily jumped on the sofa, chairs, her window seat and mine & my kid's beds and ran up & down stairs no problem. ZoE does all those things too. Neither had any joint issues. I think good breeding & sound health are more important than size.

[Rhetts_mama]

I have a 14 pound yorkie and a 15 pound mix. My mom has 7 pound yorkie. Mine just "feel" sturdy compared to my Mom's. My neighbor has one that weighs between 6-7 pounds, but he is definitely more of the "sturdy" build. I have to agree with Mardelin that its all in the build and not the weight.

[Ceceandchilidog]

Originally Posted by luvlee

I have these fancy pet steps next to my bed. If the door bell or phone rings while we're lounging in bed, Lucy will always leap off the side like Superman & ignore the steps.

She's 6 lbs.

Cece does the exact same thing. I swear half the time she is most of the way down the hall before she lands. She almost always uses the steps to get up on the bed but usually launches herself off the end to get down. She is 6lbs as well.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by lovespandp

OMG So true, when Peanut is snuggled next to me I always rub him. I play with his feet and rub his legs, I feel how tiny those little leg bones are- they are so small- they feel like tiny toothpicks. So scary to think how fragile their bones are.

I do the same thing and feeling those tiny, tiny bones freaks me out.

[HKFandora]

Yea it's hard to tell the build when they are a puppy. I dunno. I'll wait and see. The puppy is not ready yet so I have time.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by HKFandora

Yea it's hard to tell the build when they are a puppy. I dunno. I'll wait and see. The puppy is not ready yet so I have time.

It is difficult when they are puppies. Max was very small and slight, but he turned out to be muscular and well-built. Teddy was a little butterball pup, but grew up to be very finely built.

[HKFandora]

Originally Posted by Maximo

It is difficult when they are puppies. Max was very small and slight, but he turned out to be muscular and well-built. Teddy was a little butterball pup, but grew up to be very finely built.

I'm sure it's a genetics thing. I can ask the breeder about past pups and see. I'll think it over though.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by HKFandora

I'm sure it's a genetics thing. I can ask the breeder about past pups and see. I'll think it over though.

It is genetics, but my boys are full brothers. The breeding pair can give you an idea of how the pup will turn out, but it all goes back generations. Max resembles his paternal grandparents.