This is exactly what happen to a person who tried to darken her Yorkie at a dogshow . It wasn't funny for the dog but we had a good laugh , when we saw the face of the exhibitor .

When I brought my little 8-week-old pup home, he had thin, almost white hair on the top of his head. But - it didn't look like he had white hair - it looked like he had "no hair." Everyone thought he had a bald spot on the top of this head. So the next time I colored my hair (dark brown), he got a little dye job too.

And - immediately, you could tell that he did, indeed, have hair on the top of his head. He was not bald after all.

By the time the dye grew out - he had thicker hair and it had turned from white to tan. He no longer looked bald and needed no more dye jobs.

Unfortunately, my hair did not get thicker and turn tan. I still need dye jobs.

Bye - Carol Jean

Kool Aid dye ratio...
 

NOT that I would do this on any Yorkie, or any of my show dogs...but those w/ pets should be more than welcome to dye their pets.
Just out of curiousity (so I can pass this on) what is the ratio to dye w/ Kool Aid??

Yes it does happen. Buy why. Is it misrepresenting the dog as being something it is not? Same with other alterations. In dog shows you are simply evaluating breeding stock. If I had to change the dog in order to make it more toward what the standard calls for in the way of evaluating breeding stock? I may be wrong but I would like to have the dog that has it all - unenhanced. The Yorkie is very difficult to breed true. It is not one of those breeds that have been around 6,000 years. The blue is a different gene from the gold....then beside color, you are concerned with structure, nice topline, good angulation, good muscle structure. I think Yorkies are one of the most diffcult dogs to breed. In showing I feel it has to be about the dog and quality of the dog and that should stand on itself unaided - but difficult.

To dye or not to dye...
 

Let me just say, so I'm not catagorized w/ those who do this.
I DO NOT agree w/ dying a Yorkie's coat (anywhere) if I were going to be SHOWING it in any venue or BREEDING it. Hopefully the second comes after the first! ;)
Even as a pet, I have never done it, but don't necc. disagree w/ a neutered pet being dyed.
I imagine that it'd be fun and there is no need to worry about misrepresentation! The Yorkie in question isn't going to be adding to the gene pool and therefore color matters little! It's no different than someone dressing up their child for halloween in my opinion.
Just know that I would NEVER dye my Yorkie's coat for any reason if I were showing her (which I am) and/or breeding her (which I may-if she turns out, but even then, probably not. My mentor will advise me!).
jm2c

My groomer threatened to cut Dublin in a Mohawk and dye it green for St Patricks Day!!! :eek: :D

Isn't there dye in CC products? Are they then not allowed at shows?

No there aren't "dyes" in CC's...the correct term is "color enhancers". You can define your own line. I understand what you're point is, but yes, you can use color enhancing shampoos on show coats and not receive any penalties for it. EVERYONE uses color enhancing shampoos.
Funny thing too, (not so funny) is that a lot of novice people are using some of these blueing shampoos that have a high alkalinity and that winds up as a lightener-when the user is thinking that it will enhance dark colors, it does quite the opposite despite the labeling. Not enough people learn about chemicals before using them and just trust the labeling. Not a good idea. FYI.

Oh, and DON'T use Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo on your yorkie. The alkalinity test we ran on it rated about an 7. You can start dying hair at salons when you reach 8! *cringe*
(send me an e-mail at: topsredhead@yahoo.com if you want to hear me rant more on this! lol, not an expert, just experienced...i.e. I've made my mistakes.)

color
 

after all my years of showing, i can say about 3/4 of show people use black rage color on light dogs. i would not do it.www.:thumbdown dyannasyorkies.com

I have heard that some of the top winning Yorkies are dyed and I find that very sad. It is bad enough dying a Yorkie so you can finish it but to campaign your dyed special to make it a top winning Yorkie just blows my mind. To me it is unethical but I know it goes on and will continue to go on because some people just think about winning.

the lady that dyed her poodle pink was fined 1000 dollars

Dyeing a yorkie is wrong but I wouldn't say it's unethical at least it's not a health issue or a crippled rear, bad front and bad top line. I'd rather see a dyed yorkie in the ring vs. one with a crippled rear like I see alot in the ring LOL...it's like taking a yorkie that is oversized or ears out to the side of it's head, bad bites, none of that should be taken in the ring and I see that all the time. If I'm beat by a dyed yorkie I wouldn't think twice but if I get beat by a dog with a bad top line or a crippled rear then I have a problem LOL. It's all wrong but it happens and unfornuately it's gonna continue.
JMHO

A light coat or black is now a disqualifying fault (unfortunately), a bad rear, bad front, bad topline, etc are faults but are not disqualifying faults unless the dog is crippled or is a real mess and those are usually excused, not disqualified. Most faults are obvious to the judges eye but I really don't know if judges can tell if a dog is dyed or not since I have never done that. There is no perfect Yorkie and they all have faults, some more than others. I totally agree that soundness is of the utmost importance but if you have a ring full of quality Yorkies then the dyed Yorkie should not be winning as the best representative of the breed if there are equally sound dogs in the ring. Maybe it is not unethical since so many show people (not just Yorkies breeders) alter the appearance of their show dogs but I consider it cheating, just like athletes that use steroids, many get away with it so does that make it okay? If you want my honest opinion, I wish the Yorkshire Terrier standard did not put so much emphasis on coat color so breeders and handler would not be so compelled to color their dogs. The emphasis should be on soundness and coat quality and texture. JMHO