When to purchase a coat.
 

Sophie just turned 6 months. Is it safe to purchase some clothes now? I need a coat but don't want to waste the money on something that's not going to fit in another month. First Yorkie for us so unsure. She's right at 5 lbs to 5 1/4 lbs.
Thanks

Buy cheap stuff until a year old I learned the hard way Teddy wears mediums (well they're too big but small is too small) now but I have so many of his old clothes from puppy year that are extra smalls and smalls!

My guy was full grown when I got him, so I cannot help much, but may consult a weight/age chart and see what she may weigh like in at full grown.


TB98rock: Give away the extras or sell them on ebay. There is a thread on here for selling yorkie stuff too :)

Go to a cheap store, like ross, or petco and get stuff that is on sale for now.

He will eventually outgrow it all. Then you can donate it or sell it.

Zeusy was an xxs when we got him last December, and he is an xs now. He will be one year old on 10/17, so I don't see him getting out of the xs. He has a Thundershirt, Thundersweater, an Alabama Crimson Tide jersey, and several t-shirts, and they are all an xs. He weighs 4 lbs.

Walmart should be getting sweaters in and they are about $5. Or check their website for earlier purchases.

Do all yorkies need coats? I really don't like the way they look. My yorkies are 12 and 14 pounds and I am not cutting their hair until after the winter.

My boy doesn't like wind in his fur he's 17 lbs and growing his hair so it depends on how low temps are where you live and how your babies react to wind

This will be my first winter with them so I guess I will have to wait and see how they react.

Just buy one thick coat from a discount store/Walmart and then when your dog reaches 1 year old, it is pretty safe to say your dog has reached its adult size and filled in a bit and you can buy anything you want. At least that was what I did with mine and now many years later, he has too many coats lol.

I am ex-NYer, The Bronx, if you walk your boys for potty YES your boys need coats or sweaters, if you are pad training you still need coat or sweater for times you will be walking them out, NY gets cold. I mainly buy at Pet Supplies Plus cos they are the closest to me, but PetCo and PetSmart. They all have a pretty good selection of coats and sweaters. I would NOT take them out in the dead of winter without some kind of outer wear. I myself prefer a good quality sweater, I feel it covers more of their belly where hair is sparse and more skin is exposed. I always had girls, buying / making sweaters were easy, now I have adopted boy, first male I have ever had, buying / making sweaters is a bit different, sweaters you have to make sure they are cut shorter on the belly away from their wee-wee, coats you do not have this issue, they are cut higher on the belly area, same with T-shirts. I always take Cody with me so I can try them on him, stores are a distance from me for exchanging. I realize it would be more difficult taking 2 dogs and trying things on. YES some sort coat or sweater IS NEEDED for NY winters.

I would purchase a coat or sweater before you need it. You can buy a size up if you think he will grow much. I have a 9 year old Yorkie that I bought a coat for when I got him right after New Years. He came with a thick sweater so I put that on him to go outside and then bought him a cheap coat at Wal-Mart and ordered him a nice one on Ebay. May we brought home 2 puppies. I just got their coats a couple weeks ago (they match my older Yorkies coat, only they each have their own color) and I bought them the next size up from my older Yorkie as he is my smallest. The puppies are 7 months old and they would have to get pretty big to outgrow these coats. They are slightly big on them now, but not swimming in them. Most coats go by back length so if you measure your dog from base of the neck to the start of the tail that is how long the coat will be and get one that covers them entirely and if they grow a little, it will still cover most of them. That is what I did for the puppies. I had of course tried the older Yorkie's coat on them and although they could wear it, they are longer than he is so it wasn't covering enough of them.

Good luck and check out ebay, there are some really nice dog coats on there. I got one that I love that is made by New York Dog and it is suede and I love it!

I would get something to keep them warm soon in case your temps drop suddenly.

I get a lot of my clothes for Teddy from Ross, Marshalls, TJ maxx, Home Goods and the ever so awesome dollar store. My boy only weighs 5lbs at 1 year. He wears mediums but sometimes can fit in smalls too, just depends. We don't have winter in FL :( just a couple cold fronts here and there, so Teddy enjoys wearing clothes to keep him warm. If it's not clothes, then he's buried under my comforter lol

Tessa, at only 5.6 lbs., seems to really feel the cold. Maybe she gets that from me as so do I!!! She has nightshirts and a raincoat and a thunderjacket (which is terrific). I just purchased a parka for her and she has a wool turtleneck. They all do a job on her coat so you have to be very diligent about brushing but she likes wearing them!

Even though 6mths is basically considered full grown for yorkies - I'd only buy cheap stuff at this point as they can still "fill-in" quite a bit, ya know? So, I'd either buy cheap, or, buy with a little room to grow yet...