weight obsession
 

Hi everyone,

I was in the Atlanta airport a couple of days ago on a stopover from Arizona to Maine. My Edie was with me (what a great little traveler she is). Anyway, there was a woman at the same gate with a TINY Yorkie--10 weeks old, and I would say less than a pound. Naturally, people were stopping to talk with her about the puppy (named Harley) who was quite cute.

Something bothered me though---all she talked about was the dogs weight and how she expected her to double in size by adulthood. There was no talk of the dog's personality, likes, dislikes, temperament, etc. ONLY WEIGHT. It bothered me because there is so much more to a Yorkie than size (or lack thereof). She was treating the dog like a fashion accessory, not like a living creature.

Heaven help us if our value was based only on our weight. There is so much more to all of us. If we are going to describe our Yorkies using a number, let's use another one--how about the number of squeaky toys destroyed in the last 6 months. "Hello, this is my Yorkie Edith. She has eviscerated 7 sock monkeys since July!" Now that's a number that tells me something about the dog.

I don't know if any of you have been disturbed by this weight obsession with Yorkies. You certainly don't hear German Shepherd owners talking so much about it. As long as a Yorkie is a healthy weight, who cares? Besides, I have too much to worry about with my own weight, but that's a whole 'nother story.

LOL !! What a great post - pretty funny and I agree - Some yorkie people really do put too much value on weight - Me...I just love mine just the way they are and while the subject comes up - I usually divert it to how truly FUN they are...to me - A yorkies personality is way more important than how small or big they are.

Excellent Post Alison :thumbup: and a good reminder for any of us to promote their great personalities.

I loved the part about how many toys they have destroyed in the last few months :D and we all know they are true terriers and they love the kill!

I have found that the people I have came across with the small yorkies to be a little snobish also. They act like their dog is better than yours. I am sure this isnt always the case but it has been with the ones I have ran into.

I agree and it seems like the smaller they are the more attention they get.

What a funny post...

When I am out with Sammi I always get...THATS A YORKIE...ISNT SHE A LITTLE LARGE TO BE A YORKIE (Sam is 13lbs)...And I tell them...What can I say, she is an Italian Yorkie, she likes her pasta and meatballs on Sundays :)

XoXoXo
Fran and Sammi

Just looking around and I read this.....This is great. Where did you come up with Italian Yorkie....priceless.
I can't name my 2 like that cause they eat all foods not just Italian. LOL

i know what you mean my chihuahua is 10 pounds thats not big at all hes really tiny all mussel and all i get is WOW hes huge its really annoying i even get i thought chi's only get to 3-4 pounds NO there all not the same size and color

I have had people find out I had a Yorkie and they just had to see her and when they saw that she wasn't tiny they where uninterested. It used to hurt my feelings the way people would react to her size but now I could care less. She is perfect just the way she is. My dad described Sophie best by saying she is nothing but a big bundle of HAIR and LOVE. I thought that was so sweet. :aimeeyork

I cannot remember how many calls I got during Dec from men looking for a Yorkie for their S.O. Invariably, they would say "Hi. I'm looking for a Yorkie puppy for my wife girlfriend. Do you have any that will be less than 3 1/2 pounds when they are grown?" I would say"Oh, you are looking for an adult then cause no breeder can guarantee you an adult that weight when they are selling a puppy!"

Fran...that is hilarious!! Great comeback!!Hah!

I have always had a problem with this.....so much so that I am always asking why the standard uses weight instead of height and length as the determinent for size since that is what most other breeds do like poodles for example....

I remember when I got my Chai, she is a gold and white yorkie, and I got so irritated.....I belonged to another forum at the time, not YT, and all anyone could ask about was whether she was AKC, is she really a yorkie, what did her parents look like, was I sure the breeder was being honest, etc.

I finally said "Does anyone want to know about her personality?" And I went on to talk about her temperament and how she was getting along with my other dogs, etc. They all shut up after that...lol.....go figure.....the negative is more interesting than the positive I guess...i don't know?

The question I get asked most when I am out with mine is "Are you a breeder?" because I usually have more than one with me and I talk about the others too when someone strikes up a conversation with me.

I think because of the whole teacup terminology thats what the average perdon considers great. I must say I have met many yorkie owners who stress and only talk about size and weight. I don't give a hay stack about that my girl could weigh like a mastiff and she would still be my girl. Our relationship is uncomparable. :thumbup:

I feel the SAME way :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

I think it's simple. People are obsessed with small Yorkies b/c they are uhhh small. It's funny that real dogs come in small packages. Who cares? When I see a huge dog I comment on it's size, I don't ask about it's personality. People notice unique physical traits and comment on them. Why take it personally? If you have a 2lb. dog, people are going to wonder about it. If you have a 13lb. Yorkie, people are going to wonder about it. If you have a unique colored Yorkie, people will wonder about it.