in the uk where yorkshire terriers came from there WAS 2 weights for showing over and under 5 pounds.
yorkies were a LOT bigger than they are today some 18 pounds when the breed first came about.
the ONLY reason why the larger yorkie was dropped from showing was cos not enough people wanted to prance about in a ring with them as they were working class people who had yorkies.
the standard WAS CHANGED and whos to say that they didnt have it right the first time around.
to say larger yorkies all should be spayed and not bred from is not fare, some of us wanted larger yorkies, the way they use to be b4 it became fashion to bred them down insize.
some of us just wanted a yorkie a pet, a family member and it didnt matter what size they were when adults, it didnt matter if they had champs in there pedigee, it didnt matter if they could be shown, it didnt matter if they were classed as breed standard, the breed standard what was drawn up by men in suits and stuck up breeders, all we wanted was a yorkie we could love.
my sasha was over breed standard and had 2 cruff champs in her pedigree, my scampi had 5 cruff champs in his and was over breed standard and they gave me tye and zac, so to say they shouldnt of been born i find very upsetting, i couldnt give a flying bleep about them being over breed standard, imo the breed standard is WRONG AND OUT OF DATE.

As FLDebra said: QUOTE FROM YTCA.org: "Almost all of the classes were divided by weight. The classes were for Broken Haired or Rough Scotch Terriers less than 5 lbs. or 6 lbs. and under; Toy Terriers 4 lbs. and under, or 5 lbs. not exceeding 7 lbs., or 6 lbs. and over; or Blue Scotch Terriers under 7 lbs. or 7 lbs. not exceeding 9 lbs. The largest weight class in which they were reported to have been shown was for Broken Haired Scotch Terrier 9 lbs. not exceeding 12 lbs. This record should prove that although there were larger Yorkshires they were not being shown at the dog shows. The record proves that the small size was available for breeding from early days." ........AND.... "The Yorkshire standard of 1890 says"
"Weight divided into two classes, under five pounds and over five pounds, but not to exceed twelve pounds."
." http://ytca.org/history.html Now one breed that went into the MIX to make a Yorkie was larger -- the Clydesdale -- but the Clydesdale was only part of the Yorkshire makeup.

No doubt there were some biggies then as now -- but the standard is now "not to exceed 7 pounds" and that should be what is strived for in breeding. No matter how careful a breeder is, there are bound to be some that wind up over the standard, just as some will have floppy ears, soft coats, and mismarked colors....and we love them all.
__________________________________________________ ______________

Orginally yorkies were not bigger, they've gotten bigger as the breed has become more and more popular and more people start breeding them.
I have nothing against people who want or have large yorkies. I don't fault them whatsoever, but to breed for a yorkie thats 18 pounds?? Yes, I find that unethical and not right. I believe in sticking within the standards and that is under 7 pounds. If they wish to change the standards in the future to 35 pounds then I'll advocate that they stay under 35 pounds but so far the standard hasn't been changed and in my opinion shouldn't be changed. Its been this way for so long now and just because some people like the larger yorkies why should we change what they really are? If you want a larger yorkie why not consider a different type of the breed like a silkie? They still look like a yorkie but it is within their standard to be bigger.

My Jaden has 67 AKC champions in his bloodline and is AKC and only 4 pounds. He was meant to be a show dog and was perfect in every way, proportion, size, coloring etc. However, he is extremely nervouse which is a tempermant that is not beneficial to the breed. Because of this I wanted him to be nuetered. I would never, ever breed him because his pups might be of a nervouse tempermant the same way he is and in my opinion that isn't bettering the breed. Now, I could've said, he's gorgeous, he's a $5,000 dollar dog, and I am going to breed him because I want his babies, but I didn't because it wouldn't have bettered the breed so I did what I believed was the correct thing to do. If someone wishes to breed two yorkies that are over the standard to have puppies in my opinion, I think that's wrong because its not bettering the breed. When those pups are grown whose to say whoever gets them doesn't decide to breed them to something else or another large yorkie and then 10 years down the road guess what...the 20 pound white fuzzy short haired dog over there is a yorkie!:eek:


The breed standards are stated for a reason, not because some men in business suits just wanted to write up some contracts. They have the dogs best interest in mine, a yorkie was meant to look and act a certain way and if they are kept within the standard they will.

In my opinion too many people out there breed because they just love their dogs and want more of them or want more yorkies instead of doing whats right for the breed as a whole. I say leave breeding up to the profesionals who really know what they are doing and do their research and breed yorkies that are within the standard. We have enough dogs in shelters because too many people start breeding when they shouldn't and sell pups to people they shouldn't and then the dogs end up being given up or taken away and where does that leave them? Its not their fault they were bred, its not their fault someone bought a puppy looking for a 4-5 pound yorkie and ended up with a 15 pound yorkie that they gave away...ultimately we must remember that even though they are dogs they feel and hurt just like we do. Why in the world would you want to breed something and sell something that someone would buy thinking it would be one thing and it would turn into something entirely different. Not everyone in the world are like people here on YT. Some people will give a dog away or put it down if its not what they had in mind...why would you risk doing that to something? I know I never would.

yorkies started off being bigger than they are today thats a fact, just cos they were not in the ring doesnt mean a thing , the people who had the first yorkies were working class and did not show them.
as for why not get a silky, well cos i wanted a yorkie and have had them over 20 years, its not just about how they look its about how there are.
i could say if someone wants a tiny dog why dont they get a chi.
they have the dogs best interest in mind?, if thats so what happened to bulldogs?
bred to have such flat faces they cant breath, heads so big they cant give birth.
thats just one of the breeds thats got health problems due to breed standards.
if someone got a puppy that got bigger than they thought it would do so dumped it in a rescue imo they dont deserve to have a dog in the first place if they are that shallow.
you said why breed something that someone might buy thinking it will be something else and turn out not to be, in the uk the larger yorkies are more the norm so here most people would expect the larger yorkie anyway.
i kept my tye and zac but if i had of homed them i would make sure they went to a good home where the owners cared more about the dogs than what they looked like and made them give them back to me if they could no longer keep them, and i would expect any good breeder to do the same.
i wonder how people would feel if the breed standard was changed to say under 5 pounds is not breed standard.
if every breeder stopped breeding yorkies over breed standard, they should also stop breeding ones with floppy ears, the wrong colour coat, ones without a silky coat, ones with short legs, big heads, and any thing thats not the perfect breed standard, where would that leave us? with hardly any yorkies left thats where.
you said you wouldnt breed your little one cos he hasnt got the terrier personalitiy, well that would also add all yorkies who dont act like a terrier cant be bred with, so if your yorkie isnt hardy,fiesty,likes killing small furies and fighting with bigger dogs than its self, oh and no terrier would let anyone put a dress on it so none of them should be bred with then ?.
as ive said its all about choice, i think this post might of been started cos some people with the tiny yorkies look down on are biggies as if they are not good enough to be called a yorkie.
its all about choice, its YOUR choice to buy a tiny and its MINE to buy a biggie.
one is not better than the other tiny small middle large or the size of a cow, they are all yorkies and i love them warts and all.:)

Ok, well, I guess we can just agree to disagree about if yorkies were bigger or not to start with.

You proposal about the chi isn't exactly the same. Yorkies are meant to be under 7 pounds so my wanting one under 7 pounds isn't asking for a yorkie that is not what it was supposed to be. Those who specifically breed and want biggger yorkies are looking for a yorkie that is not within the standard.


There are so many types of dog breeds and each and everyone has its own problems, that goes for bulldogs and for yorkies and everything else. The point of the standards is to keep a bulldog looking like a bulldog and not a yorkie!

I agree with you that if someone would dump a dog into a shelter due to it not turning out to be the rights size, they do not deserve to own a dog...it doesn't change the fact that they can and do buy and own dogs.

If in the UK the norm is larger yorkies and more people expect them to be this way than maybe you guys don't have as much of a problem as we do over here with "Big" yorkies being let go or not treated properly.

You sound like you are a breeder that really cares about your dogs and would find them good homes if you did sell them and I give you props for that. However, in my opinion, most people over here that breed very large yorkies are careless breeders that do not care and are just looking to make a quick pup. They breed and sell them while they are young so people think they are buying a little yorkie and then suprise, they realize what they bought was not what they intended.


If the breed standard was changed to not under 5 pounds, then I'd want a yorkie that was not under 5 pounds and if I was a breeder I'd only breed a yorkie that was not under 5 pounds. Standards are set for a reason and that is why, in my opinion, a lot of the time you see dogs that are not registered or are registered with lesser oorganizations with lower standards than the AKC.

I believe every breeder should stop breeding yorkies with the wrong color coats, the wrong type of coats, ones with too short of legs, too big of heads and anything that is not within the breed standard. I don't think anyone can realize how many puppies are out there in puppy mills because of this mentality that we will not have enough yorkies if we don't breed the ones we have....its not true. Perhaps if the lawes were laid downa little firmer and people were made to go by the standard we wouldn't have puppy mills anymore, we wouldn't have thousands of yorkies that are not within the standard being euthanized every year.


I didn't breed Jaden because he's very nervouse, When he sees strangers, we go to a new house, there's loud noises, other dogs, it scares him badly. He starts shaking and spinning in circles and I have to sit and calm him down for about an hour. We've tried medication, toys, taken him to several doctors everything you can think of and nothing helps because that is just the way he is. I make his life as easy as possibly but I still know its hard for him to be around new people, to be around loud noises, all of these things are hard for him. Why in the world would I want to pass that trate on to another dog? Why would I want to make them suffer those same feelings that he has? It doesn't make any sense...


I don't think a yorkie hsa to be hardy or fiesty and like to kill small fury things or fight bigger dogs but they shouldn't have a trait in their personality that makes their life more difficult. Whether that be one that is incredibly shy or too nervouse....some yorkies can be cuddlers, some can be more fiesty, some can be outgoing, some can be total love bugs. That's variations of personality and I have no problem with that. Its the personality traits that aren't helpful to them, the ones that cause them stress and anxiety, I don't see why anyone would want to kee those in this breed or why anyone would want to make another dog suffer with those same traits.

That being said, I believe this thread was started because Carol was looking for information about why people choose to have the tinier ones. I don't think she meant for it to get as esculated as it did. I certainly don't look down on people who own big yorkies...my goodness, I love them all and wish for every yorkie to have a wonderful home. I respect them as much as a yorkie that is within standard but to say they are same they aren't. One is what a yorkshire terrier is supposed to look like and one is not. One is within the standard and one is not. That doesn't make the bigger one less loveable or likeable or anything of the like, it just makes them different. Certainly people have the right and choice to do whatever they like to do, I've never put down a bigger yorkie and I never will. My whole point of posting on this thread was to say that everyone seems to think because you own a tiny one , you must have all these problems and I say no, I own yorkies that are healthy as can be and within the standard. Having an extreme either way...too tiny or too big can cause problems so whether you own a 1 pound dog or an 18 pound dog you'll still have issues and you'll still go to the vet...such is life.

Though we disagree on a few things I know we can both agree that we both love yorkies regardless of their size or any flaws in their looks or traits. They are a special breed that should truly be treasured no matter how big or how little they are.

www.doggroups.com/breeds/item/32 www.barkbytes.com/history/yorkie.htm
i agree a bulldog should look like a bulldog and a yorkie should look like a yorkie, but with bulldogs its gone to far and is causeing damage to the health of the breed, and i think larger yorkies still do look like yorkies but saying that i think it has got something to do with where you live as here in the uk as i said larger ones are the norm so we are use to them and no one bats an eyelid if they see one but if they see a tiny they ask if its a cross, and i understand its the opposite in the usa.
your right we dont get many yorkies in rescue centres at all, and the ones that are are all sizes tiny, middle and big.
im not a breeder, i only had 2 pups from scampi and sasha which like i said i kept, i couldnt breed as i couldnt part with them and id end up over run with yorkies lol:D
scampi and sasha were both fiesty terriers but tye and zac are complete wimps and nothing like there mum or dad so temperment isnt always pasted on to pups but i agree temperment should be considered.
and i agree to many horrible breeders are just about the money.
id also say most dogs are not registered in the uk if they are not going to breed them or show them, if they are just family pets theres not much point, ive never registered any of mine.
i also agree i dont think just cos its a tiny it must be unhealthy.
i think we can both agree we love are yorkies no matter what.:)

You sounds like you are a great mommy to your dogs! I know I could never breed because I would end up with a house full of dogs no matter what they looked like! LOL

Yorkies are wonderful pets no matter what they look like, If I had my wish every yorkie that was born would be in a wonderful home with someone that loved them as much as you seem to love yours!

I'll second that!
 

That is a great thought to wind up a long and sometimes contentious thread!

aw thankyou you sound like you are too:)