Yorkshire Terrier Dog Breed Guide
I’ve had them since 1981. Got my first one
as a present. This is Autumn who is about
the seventh generation down from my first
Yorkie. They’re just great wee characters
and once you’ve had one, they get their wee
paws round your heart. Big dogs in wee dog’s
bodies.The Yorkshire Terrier makes an ideal
family companion. They are a very compact
dog but you should remember that they are
a terrier. They can be very active and boisterous
but they can behappy to sit by your side as
well so they do make an ideal family dog.
The Yorkshire Terrier is a fabulous little
dog. It may be a little dog but it has a huge
personality. She’s an absolute hooligan. But
she’s a great wee character. She’s into everything.
Just a character. Yorkshire Terriers. Fun
little dogs. They have a long coat that needs
lots of grooming. You need to keep on top
of. They do like longer walks but don’t have
excessive exercise demands. We would often
re-home them as companions for somebody more
mature or somebody who just wants that little
friend. A lot of people have the misconception
in my view that they’re yappy wee dogs – they
would be if you let them. But I’ve got five
in the house. If anyone comes to the door,
they make a fuss for two or three minutes
then they settle down and that’s it. We have
bred them in the past to kill small furry
rodents, so you need to be thinking about
putting some training in to play such as a
leave or a watch me or a chase recall, getting
those execises in quite early so you can control
some of that prey drive. Training I’ve found
very easy. I’ve got one who adores agility
. She just loves it. They’re wee dogs who
want to learn and they like to please you.
They want to please you. They can be very
barky in class because they’re very reactive
to the environment around them. So you need
to do lots and lots of early socialisation
and really kind positive training. Because
you’ve got a fun dog and you can have lots
of fun with it, but you must control those
instincts. They’ve got the look that butter
wouldn’t melt in their mouths, but don’t be
fooled. Do not be fooled. If they can get
away with it, they will be in charge in the
household. So you’ve really got to let them
know that you’re the gaffer so to speak. If
people keep them with a long coat, it’s fairly
intensive grooming required. For the majority
of Yorkshire Terriers are pet dogs. I would
always recommend to people that if they’re
not showing them, to have their coats clipped
out. They’re much easier to manage. There’s
nothign on the Kennel Club watch as health
problems for them. As with lots of other small
dogs when they’re losing their puppy teeth
they sometimes have a double dentation which
means that the second teeth come in before
the puppy teeth are pushed out. And sometimes
they have to be extracted. Again, in common
with other small dogs, they sometimes have
a luxating patellar which is the keecap at
the back. It tends to be mechanical rather
than painful. As they’re running the kneecap
will just click out of joint and you’ll see
the dog run on three legs for a few steps
– then it clicks back in and they carry on
regardless. There are degrees of luxation
and obviously in pretty serious cases they
would resort to surgery to sort it out. But
it’s not particular to Yorkshire Terriers,
it’s a small dog problem. They do make an
ideal member of the family – but like all
dogs, they’re not a toy. They’re a member
of the toy group, but they’re not a toy and
do require a certain amount of care. So they
do make an ideal companion in the right hands.
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