How Fragile Really Are Yorkies?

[SWHouston]

Of course IF you can give your guys accesses (stairs/ramps) you should, but, putting them in a good place for use is also an issue. If they are placed where your Yorkie has to divert a quick decent, then he probably will avoid it and may hurt himself.

But, I have noticed that there is a lot of differences in how Yorkies are built. My guys are rather robust, have rather thick leg bones, which of course contributes to all of them being Teapots. And with that, My Males are jumpers and Female not so much.

I think that is a Lineage issue, more so than a Breed issue.

[nanahas3]

We have a 5lb boy Laddy who is a jumping machine and there has never been any stopping him (I think he was a cat in his past life ) Then we have Kyra who is 3lbs and we do not allow her to jump. She has a few times when we didnt catch her in time and scared the life out of me. I tried every way with Laddy from the day he came home to stop him jumping, some are just that way. Yes they are very fragile so I don't think you are worrying to much.

[Sukey]

My first yorkie jumped off my bed when she was maybe 3 months old and sprained her wrist (was a low bed). Other than that she was a pretty hearty dog who jumped on and off beds, couch etc. She was only 4 lbs full grown but sturdy

[Rainbows]

I never let my girl on the couch or bed unless she's with me cuddling or on my lap so I can make sure she doesn't jump off. When I first brought her home she was so tiny, she fit into the palm of my hand...To make a long story short, the first few nights of settling in she slept on my pillow with me in bed and she's always been good about potty training and one night she jumped off the bed to go potty, she did a small yelp but wasn't limping or anything like that, but it gave me a scare...I was more shocked at how brave she was to jump off. I think the fall kinda just startled her really, she landed on soft carpet. I never let her do that again. I don't allow her on the couch either, unless she's on my lap and its rare, she is also too small to get on the couch herself and prefer's her comfy bed to the couch anyways...She doesn't like to be on my bed either, she likes to cuddle up in my shag rug more than anything lol. I'm the one that get's seperation anxiety ha!

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by Kips momma

I know this much: my little guy trail runs with me 6 days a week..he is still a pup at 9 mos old, but my oh my he thinks he's Tarzan! He jumps up on fallen logs, and is not satisfied to just jump back down...he has to walk the entire length of the log, even if it means ascending to the stars! Then he'll turn around and go back until he feels comfortable jumping back down, many times a distance I'm not comfortable with, but has never yelped or showed any signs of injury! This is my first Yorkie though, so hopefully I'm not just being foolish with little Kip, but my goodness he is just SO FULL OF HIMSELF running in those woods- who a, I to interfere??

Just my .02:

Please check with your vet before allowing that kind of activity out a 9-month-old. I know I probably sound like a know-it-all -- believe me, I do not know it all -- but I did the same thing when my now-9-year-old was young and have always regretted it.

I learned later that dogs have growth plates that can take a year or more to close. For that reason, most agility schools don't allow dogs of any breed to begin training until they are older than 1 year.

I encouraged my first puppy to jump over logs, up on benches, over creeks and took him on vigorous walks up mountains. Is that why he's had surgery on both back legs since? I don't know, but I often wonder.

[Marhcarter]

My little daredevil loves to jump off the bed; he has stairs to get on the bed that he uses, but rarely uses them to get back down. We have hardwood floors & he runs full tilt & slides into the wall daily while chasing his ball. He scares me to death & he weighs 8 lbs. I got insurance in case he breaks something, but I have read several threads here about yorkies falling on their heads & dying. Very, very heartbreaking. You protect them as much as you can & try to train them to not jump from elevations; you get insurance & pray that they will never be seriously injured. You don't let them be held by children or unsteady elderly folks unless they are sitting down low. Yorkies think they are bigger than they really are. Yes, they are fragile, but they are still dogs. There has to be a happy medium between protectiveness & letting them be dogs, or else you worry yourself sick & can't enjoy all the yorkie fun to be had.

[Kips momma]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Just my .02:

Please check with your vet before allowing that kind of activity out a 9-month-old. I know I probably sound like a know-it-all -- believe me, I do not know it all -- but I did the same thing when my now-9-year-old was young and have always regretted it.

I learned later that dogs have growth plates that can take a year or more to close. For that reason, most agility schools don't allow dogs of any breed to begin training until they are older than 1 year.

I encouraged my first puppy to jump over logs, up on benches, over creeks and took him on vigorous walks up mountains. Is that why he's had surgery on both back legs since? I don't know, but I often wonder.

Thankyou Alaska yorkie...no I appreciate you cautioning me. I will definitely bring this up with my vet...I sure don't want to do him harm

[docmartin]

Crystal jumps off beds and chairs, but draws the line at the kitchen table. When she has her 'Looney Tunes' half hours, she can virtually jump over the 4'6" double bed. She slides and skids on the laminate with excitement, but seems incredibly hardy at 7lbs and a few weeks shy of her first birthday. I do worry that over time, such orienteering could damage her knees and hips, witness her Dad's osteo arthritis more latterly? Alternatively she reminds me many times of a cat landing with beautiful grace and excellent judgement.

Take a look at this little character jumping off a high back wing chair! Even Crystal won't attempt that. It's the equivalent I calculate of the average human jumping 66 feet!

file:///Users/martinworthing/Desktop/Angry%20yorkie%20-

The owners should buy the dear little soul a parachute for Xmas!

[docmartin]

Sorry folks,

Couldn't edit inside the 5 minute curfew, try this

Angry yorkie - YouTube