How Fragile Really Are Yorkies?
 

My mother just bought me a Yorkie pup for an early Christmas Present, since my old dog passed away a few weeks back. I've been reading online about how fragile they are and how they shouldn't jump from high places. I've been really conscious about that, however a few minutes ago my mother was on the couch with him while I was in the other room and I guess he fell off. I heard a yelp, but he seems perfectly fine now. I overreacted and yelled at her, saying how he could've gotten really hurt.

I don't know if I'm overreacting or not. I've read a lot of stories about Yorkies breaking bones and even dying if they fall off beds or couches, etc. Should I really be that worried about it? Are they really that fragile?

Yes, they are fragile. If a Yorkie chooses to jump off the couch, my experience is they can handle it. I have a 10-pound Yorkie who jumps off occasionally with no issues. He won't jump off the bed, though, which is higher. My second Yorkie -- a 5-pounder -- won't jump off the couch. She uses the doggy stairs.

I've heard the same same stories. I know personally one person whose dog broke both legs falling off the top of the couch. I read a story on YT where a senior Yorkie died leaping off a deck in the yard.

I wouldn't freak out about it -- terriers are resilient and tough. That same 5-pounder who refuses to jump off the couch fell off the top of the couch one time when she was about 2. It scared her, but she wasn't injured. Use common sense and don't take unnecessary risks. That includes letting children pick them up without proper instruction.

Good luck

Welcome and congratulations on your new puppy. They are more fragile due to their size. My 3 all use stairs or ramps. I taught them when they first came here so they never learned to jump on and off furniture. They are also more prone to Luxating patella's where their knee caps slip out of the joint. It can be minor or major. One of mine needed surgery on her knee's. I have another one who has grade 4 LP the worst grade and we have ben able to avoid surgery so far and she's 8 1/2. Not having them jump alot helps.

I would be very careful with a small pup. Gizmo decided not long ago, but he is now 6 months old and weighs around 4 to 4 1/2 lbs, that he didn't care what I say and leaps up and down off the couch, even though I have a set of stairs for him. He just refuses to use the stairs. Unfortunately they think they are bigger than they are, so they need to be watched carefully.

The other day I was at home goods and seen they have sets of stairs for kids in their kids toy section, and they were really cheap :-) it was a set of 3 small stairs, and they had many different designs to choose from, maybe you could get a set of those if there is a home goods store near where you live :-)

The first week Simba got home, we built a temporary crate in the bathroom using baby gates. So my bf and I left for lunch leaving Simba in that crate. Before I went back into the apartment, we tried to peek through the bathroom window. Simba was ON the counter top in the bathroom. When he realized we were watching him, he decided to JUMP OFF. He climbed a 4 feet tall baby gate! He was 11 weeks!

That totally freaked me out. We have stairs for him by the bed, he uses to get on the bed, but still jumps off...

There is a really awesome xpen made by richell that you can buy a top for, and it also has a tray underneath, it's what I use for Gizmo because he's a super good climber :-) this way it keeps them safe. Also it is expandable so you can give your pup more room as it grows. Here is a link to the one I have Expandable Pet Pen Medium w/Floor Tray

Thankfully none of mine have ever gotten hurt only because they are not allowed on the furniture and mainly because I'm afraid that they will get hurt. I would rather them be on the ground and safe than take that chance of them jumping or falling and get hurt. We spend plenty of time sitting on the floor cuddling with them and making sure they get plenty of cuddles. I have heard of pups getting hurt from a fall and just recently one of the pups I sent off to their new home several months ago fell off the couch and broke her hip. She needed surgery to repair the damage and it took several months to heal and recoup from the surgery. Plus the surgery was very costly.

Have u considered getting health insurance on your new pup? Being that they are more more fragile, it may give u peace of mind knowing that your pups covered.

I have a fearless little 4 lb daredevil and I am definitely worried about him hurting himself as he likes to do foolish things....like jumping off the bed when there are doggie stairs right in front of him.

Any dog can hurt themselves by jumping but small dogs are more prone to breaking there bones when dropped or jumping off of things. I would get stairs for the furniture he gets on but as a puppy when you can't watch him for his safety I would put him in a play pen.

My puppy Lola broke her leg jumping off of someone's bed who was watching her for me. Yes, they are fragile.

Piper 6 plus will not jump off anything. Jilly is bad about jumping off of everything. Last night she jumped off my bed which scared me to death. Their bones are very tiny.

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??

Be more careful if you have wooden floors, as they slip and slide on them, it wud be worse if they jumped of couch onto slippy wooden floor:D

Yes they are very fragile,I keep my baby off the furniture. She had stairs which she would use to get up on on the couch but she would jump off so I got rid of the stairs. This pass summer my 3 1/5 pond baby was playing with her 25 pound cousin a sheltie whom I might add is her best friend and she will not play with any other dogs. He stepped on her and her hurt her back. The vet said it was either a herniated disc or a pulled muscle on her back. It was only a pull muscle she no other symptoms other than pain. Be very careful with your baby!

They're definitely fragile, but you'll feel better about it once you establish rules and learn your puppies personality. Some of my rules are that you can't hold Billi unless you're sitting down and she's in your lap (she wiggles furiously when she's excited), kids aren't allowed to hold her unless they're sitting AND their parent or I have to be right next to them.

She's not allowed in the backyard without the gate being closed and me present, she's not allowed out front without being on her harness/leash.

Thankfully Billi knows her limitations and doesn't try to jump off things. She uses her ramps that we made for her and she doesn't push herself too much. She fell off the couch once a couple days after we brought her home (about 9 weeks old) and it scared the daylights out of her. She wasn't hurt, but that was all it took and we can trust her not to jump now.

Yorkies are a lot like children and you have to take extra precautions, because even though they're dogs, they're small dogs and there's always a risk of injury and theft. The smaller your yorkie is, the more cautious you'll find yourself being. Not to make you totally paranoid. The older they get, the wiser they are, but just keep an eye out for them and make it easy for them to choose to be safe. :)

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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. :D

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

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!

Sorry folks,

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