Is It Possible to Tell How a Puppy Will Mature?
 

I have an idea in my head of what my "ideal" Yorkie would be. My problem is, when I am sent a photo or see a young puppy in person, I can't look at it and visualize what it will mature into. For instance, how can you tell if a puppy will be square-bodied vs. long; "baby doll" face vs. a somewhat more prominent snout; coat; solid vs. wispy; size? I realize that we are dealing with wonderful, unique living beings, and that there are never any guarantees, but there must be some guidelines... Of course, we all know what happens, you find the one that steals your heart and that's it! The "wish list" goes out the window.:)

Good question............I wanna see answers too! lol

I don't think you can guarantee what they will mature to, bit their parents are a good indication. Cali was 1 lb at 10 weeks and at 19 months is 5 lbs. SHe is longer bodied short legged none of which you could tell at 10 weeks. I just got a 13 month old because I wanted toknow what she would be like now.

Show breeders don't sell their show dogs much before the age of 7 months old. At that age they can pretty much access what a puppy's potential will be. Prior to that they are watching temperament, bites, structure on a daily basis. And even then a puppy can fall apart at anytime...you just hope and pray that the two dogs you did so much planning on were the right choice.

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Find a breeder who has type you like and if that breeder breeds to type to type, especially line breeding, then you have a better chance.
Pictures of adults from previous litters can be very helpful.

My friend has a Yorkie who I think is adorable, so I had her send me pics of him as a baby so I would kind of know what to look for in a pup. I also think pics of both parents can be helpful. My little guy looks alot like his mom.:)

This thread provides some "clues" that might help: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16045

Other than that, looking at the parents and previous litters that have now matured are a guide too. Pictures alone are difficult to see puppy potential. A tilt of the head, a different angle of the camera -- all can mislead and hide a multi-tude of "faults." I have pictures of my two that make certain features look entirely different. My larger, longer-legged female can look just as small and squat as my male, depending on the angle. Their colors can look almost washed out with too much light and darker than real if the lighting is poor. No substitute for seeing them in person!

Look hard at puppies from good lines, so you know ahead of time what to expect. Even poorly bred pupppies can look so adorable! I had a difficult time with one -- she was obviously not a good breed representative but she was the cutest thing and so loving -- I bought her anyway and had her spayed. I was never sorry as she was a wonderful pet. But when I got Ben and Sadie, I wanted to ensure they at least had the potential to be breed standard. That is the look that first made me seek out Yorkies instead of another breed. So, I was more particular and so far have two that seem to be maturing very nicely. I do not know yet if they will be show/breeding quality but they definately look like Yorkies. ;)

In the book "The Complete Yorkshire Terrier by Joan Gorden and Janet Bennet, they go into great detail to describe how the coat changes from newborn to adult.

They describe the necessary qualities in a puppy coat that will become the show quality adult coat. Which characteristics produce the proper texture, color and length.

It is the best explaination I have ever seen of the differences in coat color and texture.

I know what you mean. I have been emailing back and forth with the owner of Abbies big sister Hannah from a previous litter. Her owner says Abbie looks just like Hannah did at this age. I hope so because Hannah is a little angel. You just don't know until they mature...There like a little surprise package :)

What is the difference, I see ads with "baby face" doll face" I wanna know what kinda face Abby has LOL

I have heard yorkies called magic babies. Watch them grow.
Mollymae and Abbi's Mom

I would like to know that also because I always thought Reesie looked like a little teddy bear face, but my Abbie looked completely differant. A smaller more petite face. Your Abby is very cute by the way...

I believe "baby face" and "doll face" are the same, they are the shorter noses. The "teddy bear" face has the longe nose.

If you go to my website you can see the difference between Ollie's baby face and Chachi's teddy bear face.

What are the chubby faces called?, are they baby faces then? When they are adults, are there still diffrent faces?

That is what is quoted in the link: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16045 so if someone does not have the book (which I highly recommend!) they can still read excerpts at the link above.

I have several Yorkshire Terrier book, but this is my favorite. It has amazing history on the YT!