Well you certainly are not a rookie at owning dogs, you know the importance of schedules. With tiny yorkies many ppl free feed them, so a schedule may not work. Wanting a bigger yorkie and actually getting one is a challenge, all depends on what you mean by a bigger yorkie. A reputable breeder breeds to standard size which is 5 to 7 Lbs.



My pack of 3 are now all passed, 3 girls, all 3 years apart, all were mighty hunters and tom boys. When the two older ones passed the baby was 6 years old, she grieved for 7 months, so I just had to get her a BFF. My beautiful Matese as an adult weighed in at 17 Lbs lol, talk about big yorkies. I have a picture of her sleek body stalking a critter that was under a small shed, in my album. In my avatar there is a pic. of her burying a toy in one of my planters lol. She passed away in 2013 at the age of 17 years old. Not a day goes by that she is not in my thoughts and I still cry, I miss her so much.

Since you’re especially concerned about potty training, I will tell you my experience (so far) with my yorkie, Jax.

Jax just turned one year old. He was quite tiny (26 ounces) when I brought him home at twelve weeks, but he’s now between four and a half and five pounds.

Jax learned the basic idea of daytime potty training without any problem. The vet didn’t want him to go outside, so he started training on a puppy pad, which he learned quickly. After about a month, though, he started shredding the pads, so I had to stop using them, as I was afraid he’d swallow pieces and get impacted.

After a few failed attempts to find an indoor alternative to puppy pads, I finally found one that worked — a “potty box” that uses a pad covered by a grate. It has worked really well for daytime urinating. I don’t remember the last time he had a daytime pee accident. It’s been a long time. The box works pretty well for daytime pooping, too, except sometimes while he’s in the act, he starts in the box but walks a step or two and ends up depositing his poop just outside the box instead of inside the box. I don’t consider that to be his fault; he tries.

My problem is night time potty training. Jax has slept in a crate since he came home over nine months ago, and he still urinates in his crate multiple times a week. He poops in his crate less often, but he does it a couple of times a month. This despite the facts that (1) I have the majority of the crate partitioned off, so he just barely has enough room in there to turn around and stretch out and (2) I get up and take him to his box to potty every three to three and a half hours during the night, which he does. But I literally have not been in bed for four hours straight for the past nine months — and he still potties in his crate multiple times a week. He just seems to have too small a bladder to wait more than a few hours, and he never makes a sound until after he’s already done it in his crate. (The crate is only a few feet from my bed, and I’m not a sound sleeper, so I know he isn’t trying to let me know beforehand.)

Anyway, I expect my experience is fairly unusual — but my vet says this happens sometimes with very small dogs. They just can’t hold it very long.

Hi matese,

I was thinking of a Yorkie being 6 or 7 lbs fully grown. Sorry to hear about your babies passing, I know that they meant the world to you! I still remember my father's GSD dogs, especially his pal, Blackie. Blackie was the smartest, coolest, GSD I have ever met and I looked up to him, like his was my brother. He was so protective of me!!! He passed a long time ago and I still shed a tear when I think about him sometimes. Wow, your dog lived to be 17!!! OMG! Thanks is so wonderful! I saw your avatar and your dog was really nice!!

The standard is actually not to exceed 7 pounds so anything under 7 pounds is standard. About Yorkies

Have you tried making it where he can get to the potty in the night like either use a crate where you can fit a potty inside with his bed or like a play pen around he crate with the potty right outside or something similar?

Excuse me for omitting the words"not to exceed"

That's good range, a nice size, still light enough to tote around. Dogs are family too, and when it's their time to leave us the pain is strong, sometimes stronger if your relationship with the dog was a deep, strong bond.

Yes my baby lived to be 17. I have a great vet that pulled her through several different illnesses when she was 14 and 15 years old. She lived a healthy, happy life.

Even a larger sized yorkie has what would be referred to as a "small bladder". It is wise though to not look for a "tiny" as they are often not well bred...that is unless it just happens to be a small one out of a litter. Beware of bad breeders who advertise tinies, tea cups, doll faces and the like.

you said 5-7 pounds so I just wanted to clarify for someone new to the breed.

Just a quick note to the OP:

Be VERY careful. Breeders follow YT posts and often will message people when they voice an interest in a new yorkie. Sometimes these are not necessarily good breeders. I would say that if they find a need to search for buyers they are suspect.

Sadly, there are more disreputable breeders out there than reputable; but good ones DO exist. Do your research!

You are right about that and I stand corrected ;)

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I also saw a breeder on Facebook saying scammers and bad breeders were messaging people who liked and commented on her posts.

I can’t leave a crate in his pen. He can climb onto the top of it, and from there he could climb out of the pen. I have occasionally, when I’m super tired, considered leaving him in his pen overnight, but I don’t think it’s as safe as crate, and I probably would stay awake and worry rather than sleep, so I haven’t done it. In case you don’t remember, he’s vision impaired, and I worry about safety. Somebody else in the house might get up in the night and forget to close a door or reattach a gate, and he could get to one of the staircases.... I just wouldn’t sleep if he wasn’t safe in his crate.

I have considered getting a huge crate, big enough to put a potty box inside. I just kept thinking he would eventually get old enough / big enough / mature enough to learn.

You have a climber lol. I know it’s not really funny especially with his vision issues. I remember putting Joey in a pen at 9 weeks old and watching in amazement as he climbed out. I completely understand staying awake worried too, I have done that many many times.