moe
 

I havn't had Moe weighed since he went for his puppy shots, so i don't know what he weighs, but he is 16 in long and 10 in high, I don't think I would want him too much smaller as he is rough with our big dogs and if he was smaller I would worry more than i do now. LOL

Buddy is 20" long and 12" in height. He is all muscle. They are right when they
say a Yorkie is a small dog but big on attitute. He thinks he is a rotweiler!

my kirby is 8 lbs and mother was 6 and father 5 . kirby is not fat at all....he is on the skinny side but i love every ounce of him

Large, Lovable, Yorkie
 

A little late to this conversation, but my little guy is 15 pounds, and every inch a Yorkie....only bigger! I was told they breed bigger Yorkies for people who feel the smaller ones are too delicate for families.

Hey KarenV!
Well I don't think 'they' purposely breed for a larger size, it usually just happens. I have 2 boys from the same liter, litermates. One is 5.5lbs (6lbs when hes lazy in the winter) and the other is 13.5lbs. Same parents, same liter! Strange huh? :)

Hey guys, you're more than a little late - you're 5-6 years too late! (And my husband thinks I have a lateness problem!;))

hahahaaha Yeah, years late and millions $ (??) short?? LOL

By the way

Welcome to YT KarenV! Start a new thread and introduce yourself and your baby! :)

Yes, say hello. We LOVE pics if you have some to post of your little one! :D

I thought it sounded odd myself, but I wonder what causes some to be larger. My understanding is that a Yorkie should be no more than 7 pounds. My Murphy was called "tall for his breed." I guess it must be a type of genetic mutation.

Ha, I think I may be repeating myself, but...
For any of you who have a WHOPPER sized Yorkie, and haven't already
joined, may I cordially invite you to apply for membership in the
YT TEAPOT Club, at...

Applications for Membership—YT TEAPOT Club:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/general-yorkshire-terrier-discussion/65048-application-membership-yt-teapot-club.html

Additionally, you may find dialog about Teapots at...

OFFICIAL TeaPot Club:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/groups/offical-teapot-club.html

Teapot Yorkies Lovers Group:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/groups/tea-pot-yorkie-lovers-group.html

YT TEAPOT Club - Application Requirements.
 

Please excuse the double post, but I thought I might include...

YT TEAPOT Club - Application Requirements.

Name: (cute names get priority)
Age: (no age limitations)
Weight: (minimum of 7.1 lbs / 3.1 kg)
Current Picture: (attached to your Application Post)
A Brief Description: (of its demeanor/disposition)
and any other related comment you would like to give.
There is no limit to how many applications can be
rendered from a single household, but the above information
is needed for each applicant.

Some History From The U.K.
 

In another land and time the Yorkshire terrier was not a small longhaired show dog and pet. Rather, he was a larger rat killing dynamo. Tracing back to the 1600's the breed was valued in textile mills, mines and farms where pest control was important. In the 1860s era the breed was quite popular in rat killing contests - with the dog credited with being the foundation of the breed showing as well as winning many contests. Huddersfield Ben helped establish the Yorkshire Terrier.As late as the 1930's the Yorkshire terrier was said to look as they do today but were closer to 30 pounds, not the 3-7 pounds of today. They were for some time in their history a 12-14 pound wire haired dog known as the "broken-haired Scotch terrier." Today the Yorkshire terrier is in the toy, not the terrier, group. Their longer show coat is not a practical point on many farms. With their jobs reduced, they were bred down as pets, a role that they have taken on with overwhelming success.....

I'm guessing that folks with larger sized Yorkies have babies with throw back genes to what the ORIGINAL Yorkie was meant to be in size and stature.

Here are a few Old paintings to show how our Yorkie babies weren't always so teeny.More the size of the larger terrier.

I agree with much of this account except I think the original were closer to 15 pounds not 30 pounds. Huddersfield Ben is considered the foundation stock for the breed, because even though he weight between 9-12 pounds he sired stock that competed in the less than 7 pound limit, which enabled Yorkies to compete in the toy breed.

The Yorkshire standard of 1890 says "Weight divided into two classes, under five pounds and over five pounds, but not to exceed twelve pounds." There have been plenty of tiny yorkies under 5 pounds in the 1800, it's probably more recently that many breeders have learned it's not a good idea to breed Yorkies under 5 pounds. Too many complications. History of the Yorkshire Terrier by Joan Gordon

My information for this comes from a historian who specializes in original breeds of various domesticated animals, including dogs...Here in the UK it is actually documented several times some of the first Yorkies being up to 30 pounds....Ill find the passages for you.

That comes for the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America. They specialize in yorkies. :)

I collect Yorkie postcards, this vintage one is my favorite. Although it is difficult to tell, because there isn't anything in the pic that provides a good perspective, these terriers look to be on the larger side:

Wow, thanks! Very interesting, I'm printing this out for my vet! It is great to see so many Yorkies the same size as my Murphy.

Great pictures! It is amazing to see how these dogs have evolved over the years. Looks like my little guy is part of an earlier generation of Yorkies---I will put him to work!:D

Neat! I'm learning so much about Yorkies on this site!

I don't doubt Yorkshire Terrier Club of America knows quite a bit about American Strain Yorkshire Terriers, but when looking into the actual origins or the breed you would need to look to Scotland and the border regions, the Yorkie as it is now known by was named so due to it's further development and breeding being done in Yorkshire(50 miles from me) But when someone asks about a larger sized Yorkshire terrier you must also look at ALL lineage as there is always a chance for the older genes to shine through , and the FACTS in UK documents(where the breed originated) states some were KNOWN to be up to 30 pounds in weight, this is not saying that this was the average or common weight, only that it wasn't un heard of.The average and more common weight of the breed BEFORE Yorkshire took over it's gene pool, was 12 to 20 pounds.Then durring the victorian age the ladies decided to make it a fashion item, therefore to make it easier they were bred smaller at that time.Any Terrier originating from Northern England and Scotland HAD to be tough and robust, simply to survive the natural climate to these areas,not to mention the rough terrain a dainty lil frufru would never have lasted very long doing the jobs the Ancient Yorkshire terrier type dog had to do....yes Durring the Victorian age there would most likely have NOT been a 30 pound Yorkie around....but this breed is much older than that and sadly it's down to poor record keeping very few have access to the actual facts of this beautiful creatures past, but in Scotland and the borders some records and accounts of the ORIGINAL dog does exist.

I believe that "today's" Breed, is or has the tendency of increasing (inadvertently) in size. Most that seek a Yorkshire, and view the Puppies, almost always "favor" the Pup who is active, jumps, runs and plays, and those guys are on the larger end of the Litter. I think as time passes that finding a Yorkie that's even in the lower "standard" weight range, is going to become more and more difficult.

Yorkies, like people, can be in different sizes.
Fido my yorkie is 14 pounds :) He's a purebreed yorkshire terrier though, both his parents are between 6-7 pounds but he just got too big.

Extra large yorkie
 

Greetings,

My much much loved Yorkie was 20 pounds and that was not fat!:)

He was so active and intelligent and loving and defensive of our home. We purchased him from our Poodle groomer, because our Yorkie was too big even as a pup for show and breeding purposes. I was interested in neither option and love him deeply and lastingly.

In every way, he was a Yorkie, just a big Yorkie. We love him dearly.

missing you

My so called teacup, which he's not is 12 lbs and 5 years old. My other so called teacup is 5 lbs. And 9 months old. Was told by the two different breeders they will not grow over 4 lbs. Who was she kidding??? Such a catchy name (teacup) just to make more money to fool people!!!!!

I read somewhere once that Yorkshire terriers used to be heavier set dogs (twenty-pounds) before people started breeding them for smaller sizes and then the breed standard was set.... I don't know if this is particularly true BUT if you think about it one of the dogs used to create the Yorkshire terrier was the Airedale or "waterside terrier" (at least that it what I read on the breed history??)... and they are big dogs ... This is more of a theory or hypothesis than anything else because I don't have any factual information to back it up... just stuff that I have heard before.

Clyde is a larger Yorkshire terrier at 12.5 lbs, and at the moment Dexter weighs 9 lbs. Some Yorkies are just larger while others are tiny little things! All very cute, though.

Hi Chinalee and Clyde Dexter,

Many thanks for your replies. I had no idea about how our yorkie was so big. We guessed it was a 'throw-back' gene somewhere and it turns out we were right. I appreciate all the details you share. I will keep my eye looking for any item about our topic and let you know.

Happy Holidays,

missing you

If you read about Yorkie history on the YTCA website they tend to say that the Yorkie has been on the small side for about a century. The response above by "dezertblu" states that may be true but you have to go back further in the history to really see the whole gene pool. Don't know who is right.

If the dogs ancestors were quite large then they would still have those genes some where in the pool. Very reputable breeders today may occasionally have a larger pup but it is not (should not)be the norm. This is one reason why these dogs, like every purebred, have to be bred carefully by people who know a thing or two about the genetics of the breed. People who just breed one cute dog to another bring out the recessive genes that the dogs are carrying. So the traits that a good breeder has been trying to breed out of their line can easily be brought to the forefront by a bad breeding. Several bad breedings will continue to bring out the characteristics that a good breeder is trying to avoid. Then a new owner will look at their maturing pup and say, " I wonder if my puppy is really a purebred?" The gene pool gets so large that there is no consistency like there should be in purebreds.

And yes, people who advertize "tea cups" are trying to rip you off. They always promise that the puppy will not get any bigger than 4lbs. There is just no way a breeder can honestly make that promise. They are also increasing the gene pool even though they are breeding two small dogs together.

I know this thread is older, but I find it interesting. I have a 10lb yorkie, she's not overweight and like some of the other responders I'm glad she not real tiny. She is constantly under our feet and if she was smaller I'd be afraid to step on her. When she was a puppy we kept bells on her, now that she's older and bigger shes easier to notice.

xtra large
 

Charlie is 12.8lbs he doesnt look it but he is, when I was looking for a yorkie I was looking for a tiny one (not knowing better) but I am glad he is big, his health issues would have surely done him in had he been a tiny.