Rescue Yorkies
 

I have been researching yorkies and rescues and I have a question. We want to get a yorkie for our family and we have a 6 yr old boy and a 2 year old girl. They want a dog and I want a yorkie. The rescue centers all or almost all say No children under 10. Why is this? Thanks for your help. Any suggestions would be great and we live in NC if that makes a difference. We are looking to get one in the next month or two.

As I understand it, Because yorkies are a toy breed they can be fragile or easily injured. Some rescued pups are coming from a situation where they may of been mistreated and therefore not suitable for small children.
The goal of a rescue is to make sure that the pup leaving their care will be in the very best situation that they can be in,with less of a chance to be rehomed again.
I hope my answer helps in understanding. Others with more knowledge may reply.

Hopefully you can find a yorkie to fit in to your home. I had a yorkie before I had my daughter. Kids can do well with yorkies as long as long as they know not to pick them up and to be very gentle. With adult supervision and a little larger yorkie it can work.

A lot of rescue dogs are coming from traumatic situations...and some yorkies just don't tolerate kids that well. I have 2 rescues. My older one does not like children and my younger, smaller dog loves kids...as long as I am holding him so they can't hurt them.


As others have said, yorkies are fragile. If your 2 year old or 5 year old accidentally fell on your yorkie or they weren't paying attention where they were going(which they often don't) and they stepped on or ran over your yorkie, they could severely hurt or even kill it. If they dropped it, they could hurt it. If they accidentally shut it in a door, they could kill it...etc etc etc.

A lot of yorkies don't like kids, and that could lead to the kid getting hurt, if the yorkie bites them. Yorkies, and smaller dogs in general, can be snappy. My yorkie doesn't like kids because they are too high strung, they are constantly busy busy busy moving around and it's intimidating to him. I am sure he's also scared they are going to be clumsy and hurt him. Yorkies can also be very protective and possessive of their owners and they may not want to share their owners with another child, so that could lead to jealousy issues. Many yorkies want to be the only kid. My older yorkie does not like it when anyone else touches me. He will bite at your hand if you try to rub my leg or back etc etc...and he will growl at my other yorkie if he's sitting my lap and my other yorkie wants some attention too.

I would think that you'd have to closely monitor your children with your dog 24/7 to make sure nothing happens to the kids or the dog. If I had small children and I really wanted a yorkie, I would be looking for one that weighs in way over the traditional standard(like 15-20 lb range). The bigger dogs tend to be a lot sturdier than the smaller ones.

I think it's going to be hard to find a rescue that is willing to adopt out a small yorkie to a family with young kids. Most rescues want to adopt their dogs out to the most optimal situation, as they don't want the dog to be displaced again and go through all the stress of finding another new home...so they tend to be really picky about who the dog goes to.

IMO, having a yorkie is very much like having a child...so be prepared to have another baby to take care of...but it's worth it. i wouldn't trade my boys for the world.

Very good answer!!

I have to agree with the other posters. I fostered a little girl who was a very scared yorkie. Jittery and always tried to run away. She was surrendered from a family with three young children. I found a huge scar by her shoulder blade. It was all healed up but scar tissue very thick and no hair grew back. I asked about it and got the "oh I never knew about that...." I think the children had an accident and that's why the poor girl was so scared. Also she was barely 4 lbs. But saying all that, a bigger yorkie could work. The hard part will be getting your application to stand out and have the interviewer want to call you and let you tell your side of the story, how good your kids are etc.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to answer my question. It sounds like unfortunately for me that we will have to look for a different breed of dog. I want my kids and my dog to grow up together. I don't want to be "one of those people that ruined a dog". This is part of being a parent and what I want is going to have to wait. Thanks again for everyone's input.

I don't know about your area, but around here, there are bigger yorkies available for adoption all of the time...and yorkie mixes, and some are on the bigger side. Have you checked out the Silky terriers?? They look a lot like the yorkie, but they tend to be a little bigger. The Australian Terriers also look similar but they are stockier and more robust.

IDK what other people's experiences are with their yorkies, but in my experience, having a yorkie is much like having a little kid as far as time and energy spent taking care of them. I've never owned another dog like it. My dogs are very high maintenance, demanding, clingy and needy...I like it that way though!!

If you don't ever get a yorkie while your children are growing up, I highly recommend getting one when they are grown and moved out. Yorkies are the perfect breed of dog for the empty nesters and the childless!!

I'm glad you've decided to go with another breed. Yorkies can do okay with kids, but with little ones, it's safer to go with a sturdier breed.