Is A Yorkshire Terrier Right For Us?
 

My wife fell in love with a relative's Yorkie when visiting so we are considering getting one but we consider it as adding a family member for 15 years so I want to make sure that it's the right breed for us. I am hoping you guys can help us determine that.

We have two high school age kids and we had the best labrador reteriever in the world for 13 wonderful years and miss her dearly. The house just isn't quite the same without a dog. Anyway, we would love another Lab but want to get a much smaller dog this time so we can take it with us easier etc.

Our Requirements:
We don't want a dog that mindlessly barks/yaps all day regardless of training.

We don't want a dog that will *need* attention all day. Once he is not a puppy anymore our dog may be at home by himself for 6-7 hours a day.

We need a dog that will not chase/harass our two cats. We have two old cats and we can't have them harassed. This issue worries me a little bit because sometimes it's in a terrier's blood isn't it? On the other hand, I have heard that maybe you can prevent any dog from chasing cats if you have the cats first and bring the dog in as a puppy?

That's the main stuff. Can you help us determine if a Yorkie is right for us?

Thanks!!!

Hi and welcome to YT!!

First let me say I think its great your doing research before just rushing out to buy a pet.

Your first requirement seems to be a fair question to ask, I have several here and none of them bark alot at all. However I did have one who barked at every weird noise he heard, so its fair to say that some can be barkers, but IMO not many of them are. As long as you remember dogs do tend to bark at noises I think you should be fine.

Second requirement is abit more of a concern with Yorkies especially if you get a tiny one. I would recommend getting one in the 6 to 7 lb range ( still standard size but will have less hypoglycemic concerns). Also if you free feed leaving food down all the time I think it will be abit easier to leave one home alone for that long.

Thirdly I breed Yorkies and have a cat who has been here way longer then my dogs and they all get along fine. I do feel you can teach any dog to leave a cat alone with proper trainning.

I can tell you they are a wonderful breed and I adore mine, but they do require more grooming and bathing then labs such as your previous pet.

With that all said I wish you the best in whatever decision you make about Yorkie's. Good luck!!!

Great questions, glad you are doing your research!

Yorkies can make great pets. When I first adopted my 2 they were 1 1/2 and I had 2 older cats. The dogs have never chased the cats. Rather the cats set the mood & can sometimes be found laying with the dogs.

I intially worked from home, but now I am at work 8-plus hours a day and my dogs do fine. I do not free feed. They eat once a day in the morning.

Being gone for 8 hrs, they do need attn from me when I get home. They want to be loved and talked to

The other thing I would add, is that each dog or pup has his/her own personality & I think often fall in line with their owners.

Love is the most important thing to make them part of your family

We have labs here and what a difference in having a yorkie now. We were so used to our labs eating everything and never getting sick and with yorkies they're so delicate that you have to watch what goes in their mouth. We free feed Cody, he is 4 lbs which when you're used to labs there really is no difference but with yorkies a pound or two makes a big difference. I got Cody when he was 5 months and he has never gotten sick (knock on wood), we leave food and water down for him at all times. We were worried about him barking all the time too because the only ones we were ever around barked constantly, IMO he's not a barker because he's not around a barker. He's in the house with the cat (who is his best friend). It took about two weeks or so for the cat to warm up to him, she would swat at him but as determined as he is she just gave in and started to play with him but when she's had enough she swats at him and will bite him to leave her alone.

lol well skoshi doesnt bark unless someone knocks or walks in the door which i consider a good thing and its not a yappy bark. but others on here do have yappers lol.

Yorkies do need tons of attention though IMO. well mine do anyways.


my new puppy harasses the cat to a certain extent. My cat is a huge obese lol sorry but she is and shes mean. she only likes to be petted when she want to be. So usually kiele will back away when the cat hisses. skoshi still harasses her sometimes. but most of the time they steer clear of each other.

Welcome to YT.

Here are my opinions to your questions.

1) Mine doesn't "typically" bark mindlessly. He does bark if we have him confined to the kitchen while we are cleaning, or when the cat provokes him. He will also bark when he hears a knock at the door, or prior to an earth quake. He doesn't bark when we have Typhoons. The lightening/thunder and fireworks do not bother him.

2)As far as *needing* attention. My husband is home all day with the kids and our pets. Our yorkie is fed in the morning and at night, and he has water all day as well as a pee-pad for any 'acciddents'. He is taken outside numerous times during the day, potty training can be a hard thing to learn. My baby boy is a little over a year and is still not 100% potty trained.

Now as far as needing affection... this breed was bred to be companion animals. They NEED human affection and companionship. They don't do well (imho) alone all day long. The want and need to be with their humans. BUT, I think if you spend a lot of time with the new puppy as soon as you get home from work and throughout the evening, as well as early in the morning prior to leaving for work then the new baby should be fine.

3) As far as chasing cats... mine tried to play with my cat when he first came home. I think he thought he could play with the cat like he could our golden retriever. The cat put him in his place quick! He barks at the cat on occasion now, but, he knows his boundaries. I think he will learn what the cats will and will not put up with and not need much training.


Hope that helps you. I know my hubby was concerned with having such a small dog, and was having the samne concerns that you are : barking, house training, attention ect. But, as long as you are aware that the breed needs love and patience then I think it should work out. Also, there are a lot of ppl on here that hire dog walkers during the day. Or, they come home on their luch breaks to take their baby out during the day.

Some days Lacy is really quiet and other days (like today) she is kindof barky. I guess overall she's a pretty quiet dog most of the time though. So far as the cats - I have two cats and my roommate has one. We had two of the cats in the house when I got Lacy as the puppy (mine was 5 years old and my roommate's cat was only like 6months old at the time). With my roommate's cat they get along fine and will play sometimes and chase each other. With my cat, Lacy has always harassed and chased her and no matter how hard I have tried to make her stop, she won't. My cat is very skittish and won't stand up for herself though and will run if threatened so Lacy's chases her. Yorkies have that high-prey drive and when they decide to go after something, it's hard to stop them unless you have ahold of them. Lacy wanted to chase my cat upstairs and I literally held her for 10minutes as she whined and as soon as I set her down, up the stairs she ran. I got another cat a few months ago and she is almost 10 months now. She and Lacy really get along great - better than her and my roommate's cat even. Sometimes Lacy will try to chase her too but if the cat doesn't want to put up with it she won't. So with the cats - it's going to take a lot of training on your part and also just having cats that will put the puppy in it's place and not let it chase it.

Hi and welcome to YT!!

We have always had big dogs too and still have a larger dog...a 5 year old Boykin Spaniel but I have always wanted a yorkie.

My dogs love to be with me at all times when I am home..if not with me then with some member of this household. I am fortunate enough that there is always someone home but when the time comes to go in a crate they are ok with that too.

Reece is now 13 months old and Soleil is 15 weeks old. I wouldnt consider them 'mindless' barkers..they do bark at strangers walking past the house but so does our Boykin..otherwise I hardly hear a peep out of them..except at play time.

We have two cats also. Ming is a 5 year old rescue himalayan who we brought in to the home about 9 months ago...the dogs respect his space as he dosent like to play or be chased..he gave them each a good swat and hiss and put them in their place very quickly. Hope on the other hand is a 7 month old ragdoll who craves their attention...ragdolls are dogs wrapped in cat bodies though so that was easy..but I think once your cats put a puppy in its place you wont have a problem.

Yorkies are the perfect dog to me..compact and easy to travel with and loving faithful companions...once you have one you will see what I mean. I will never go back to having large dogs again now that I have yorkies. The non/low shedding factor is a huge plus too...something you can probably appreciate after having a lab...consider a yorkie a lab in a small body...very loyal and loving and all around great dogs!!

Good luck with your decision...you just cannot go wrong with a yorkie!!

Dawn

If those are your top concerns about a dog, you are wise to investigate your breed choice.

I really don't think the cars will be too much of an issue. As previously said, I expect they'll quickly put the puppy in his place.

The other two things, though, might be tough. Many - not all - but many Yorkies are barkers. Search the board for 'barking". You'll see alot of threads about problem barkers. Yorkies as a breed also tend to require quite a bit of attention. It will be very difficult to housebreak a Yorkie who is left alone for 6-7 hours a day - not impossible, but difficult.

Thats my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

Let's see I have one that barks for everything, and one that never barks. I'm really working hard at getting her to stop the barking, and we're getting there slowly, but surely.

If you get a pup, and free feed you might have a little more problems with the potty thing. You might want to feed when you get home at night, and leave water out all day. You'll have to train him/her to go on the pads when you're gone.

Mine love the cats who were here first. Hope I answered some of your questions, and good for you researching first.

Yorkies can be needy and some can be barkers so that is a consideraton. I have always been home with them but In Oct. I may be going back to work and they would be home 6 hrs. I imagine they will sleep while I am gone. I have a cat. They dont play together but do cohabitate together okay

it is SO great to see someone doing their research before buying a yorkie :)
While Yorkies have quite the rep of being yappy dogs.. Layla doesn't bark simply because we don't let her. She is at work with my parents almost every day and barking just isn't an option there.... so it can be done... the problem with Yorkies i think is that they are so tiny and so cute that it can be hard to say no because that "little" bark is just so cute!! but if you can nip it right away... there should be no problem!

Yorkies can be as independant or as dependant as you want them to be. i know Layla is very dependant but can be left for a few hours if need be,, but that has been our choice.... Yorkie puppies need a lot of attention and you are up at night for a few months until their little bladders can hold it all night... however once you are past the puppy stage they can be very dependant dogs from what i've read on here.

I think as long as your cats are prepared to put the puppy in its place.. things should be fine.... If you are gone for the day your pup can stay in a large x-pen where she has lots of room to play but there is still a barrier between her and the cats.. and then once she is old enough and the rules between her and the cats have been set there shoudlnt' be a problem leaving her to the whole house.

hope that helps :) glad you found us before making the leap :) every dogs has its ups and downs but there is nothing like Yorkie love :)

Our yorkie Gizmo is very quiet also. VERY active, but quiet. I think that's one reason the little furbutt gets in trouble so easily. :rolleyes: He's also our only pet right now and that might be one reason. He almost never barks, and when he does, there's a reason. For example, he doesn't bark at people or animals passing by the house, but he does bark if someone knocks at the back door. We haven't trained him not to bark or anything, I think it's just his nature.

He did try barking once to try to get us to feed him from the table, but a firm no and a loud noise (can with marbles) stopped it.

Unfortunately, I can't offer any insight about your other two issues. We don't have cats, and someone is home all day in our house.

Good luck with your research. :)

I have 2 yorkie babies AND a lab.. they are completely opposite on the dog spectrum to me... my lab is always happy, always friendly and never barks unless there is something there to bark at.
My Hopey, the yorkie, barks at EVERYTHING! her breeder once told me that her mom would "bark if a fly tooted"... haha.. it is TRUE!
my larger yorkie Tootie never really barks until he hears her going off...
my cat was grown when the babies came home and the all do fine... Me-Kitty will just go where they cant get him if he doesnt want to play..
I hate leaving mine home alone eventhough they have each other but I think any pet learns to occupy himself.... I dont agree with crating them for hours but leaving them confined to a specific room is always good...
good luck to you!
d

Welcome to YT!!! I have a yorkie who is not a yapper..he is almost 11 months old and when he barks its during playtime, first thing in the morning when he wants to go out, if he is out of his playpen and his food is in it, and he wants it he will stand by the playpen and bark til i come to take it out:) or if he hears something outside or someone comes to the door..other than that he is relatively quiet and that maybe because its just me and him !!! I work 4 days out of the week and he is home alone for about 6-7 hrs on those days but he is fine and will wait til I come home to go to the potty ...once i am home he has my undivided attention til i go to bed and he is fine!!! I think it has a lot to do with the personality and how you start them out ....I do take him out on playdates with other animals also so he gets his social time as well!!! Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!:D

-Barking isn't an issue for me at all. Wobie whines a lot when he's lonely, but a simple "quiet" will stop that.

- In my opinion, yorkies need a lot of attention. The more time they spend with their family, the happier they are. I think your baby will be fine by himself all day, as long as the minute you get home, and on weekends, you are devoted to giving him attention and love. I have a feeling that this may not be practical in a family with two parents working full-time and two children in highschool, because life is just too busy.

-Wobie chases my family's cats. There are 12, so its hard to keep them separate. I'm working very hard on training, but I'm having very little luck with that...

Good luck with your decision. :D

Before we got Lillybelle, I too, did much research on getting a small dog. We had always had cats and larger dogs. When my boys were 20 and 17, I was lonesome, only working 2days a week and decided I needed company at home, while waiting for everyone to come in and out of their daily routines..I had some of the same concerns. I did not know a "Single Thing" about small little indoor dogs...so I just starting doing internet searches..and thought the Yorkies were cute...but thought...they live 15yrs, thats a big commitment, they are expensive, etc, etc. I went to a local pet store just to hold one...
It took me months to decide, searching ads in the newspaper....but the day I went to see Lillybelle-it was "Love at first site!!" really it was just like that...she is not a dog like our other dogs have been...she's a person...really..
We celebrate her birthday (im sure there are photos if you look at my old posts), worry over her like a child, dress her....it really can get carried away...YOU MAY TURN INTO ONE OF US!!! if you get a Yorkie! I WAS NOT like this before with any other pet ..ever.

Your issues:

My son did bring home a cat (that had 4 kittens)...Lilly did fine...(they learn the world no and anything else for that matter very very fast).

She does bark if she hears the dogs in the neighborhood barking, but if we say no, she will stop. She does get in a panic..if someone comes to the door..we just pick her up.
I work at home..and the barking could be an issue...but at first I just bought a small water bottle and if she barked (she sleeps on my desk), i just sprayed her...and said no..only took about 3x of that!

Leaving her at home....would be the ONLY REALLY BIG issue...LILLYBELLE actually GRIEVES when we leave her alone..we find her hiding in the very back of the closet every time....We solve that by just taking her most places...If I had to be away all day....my boys or my husband would come home at lunch to check on her and take her out.

Lilly craves and needs lots and lots of Love and attention...she gets it from EVERYONE in our family....someone is always holding or caring her...

Good luck in your decision...you sound like a good yorkie parent...be careful...you could get carried away!!!!