Is a Yorkie right for us?

[citygrl310]

This is my first posting here. We lost our dog in Hurricane Katrina. He was a big guy that we could not evacuate and a friend was SUPPOSED to be taking care of him but he escaped from the yard. Hard to talk about. I love dogs and miss having one. Figured a small dog would be great that way I KNOW I will not have the same problem again.
Been researching yorkies and the more I see the more I fall in love, but I have concerns. I want to make sure that this breed would be a good choice for my family and also that my family would be a good choice for a Yorkie.
I am a 38 year old stay at home mom. My hubby and I have 5 children. (Kind of a brady bunch thing) The 3 youngest still live at home. A 12 year old son, an 11 year old daughter and our little surprise package 3 year old daughter. I also babysit at times a boy that is almost 3.
Even with the demands of having children I still feel that I have lots of love for what I read are grooming and attention demands of this particular breed, but I have heard mixed opinions on if this is a good breed with children and would also love some tips on picking a breeder.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[Lexi Rae]

so sorry you have to leave your puppy behind in katrina...so sorry he is gone.
i personally dont think the yorkie breed is a good breed with young children around especially at age 3. they are very very fragile and do needs loads of attention...me, i wouldnt do it, but thats just me...as it is now, im constantly stepping on her and she is always in the way..and its only me and her in the home...of course my puppy has all my undevided attention all the time, its
easier for me to handle... you need to take precaution with youngsters around.. i guess if you can teach them from the begining about the puppy and you do have time for it, why not?

[yorkieusa]

Well, there have been instances where kids being kids were playing and roughhousing and stomped the yorkies. However, every family is different, so you might want to read this before you decide.

http://www.mylittlemia.com/toydog.html

In fact, the whole site is informative, so you could check out all of the links here:

http://www.mylittlemia.com/

[pkpate]

I moved from New Orleans 2 yrs ago but will always take it with me wherever I go. It has been horrifying to watch and I hurt with you.

As for being a potential Yorkie owner; it's for very similar reasons to yours that I chose a Yorkie over larger dogs I had owned previously. My Peanut is 5 pounds and 5 years old. Since I got her, everyone who meets her wants her or a Yorkie like her. I am truly blessed. When she was a puppy her "accidents" were so tiny it was no trouble to clean up after her. Toy dogs are so easily portable. It also doesn't hurt that they're adorable and they get lots of attention from strangers .... which makes you proud

Now, your situation with children is something that you are right to ponder in light of adding a new "baby" to your family. However, Yorkies will adapt well to children and enjoy playing with them very much. My sister got a Yorkie last year and she has two VERY rambunctious boys aged 5 and 7. They pester that dog all afternoon, but he seems to put up with it and even loves them. What I'm saying is it's all in how you RAISE them..... both the kids and dog. Raise your children to be kind, gentle and patient, and raise your dog to be well-mannered and you'll have a great combination.

Also, Yorkies do have a delightful tendency to want to be near you all the time, so be sure to watch where you step to avoid stepping on them! Not sitting on them on the sofa is also a good idea! I attached a bell to all of Peanut's bows so that I can hear where she is.

I have had dogs of all breeds and sizes during my life, including toy dogs, and I haven't found a breed better (or often as good as) a Yorkie. You'd be making an excellent choice.

[chachi]

With your children I would look for a yorkie thats gonna be on the larger side. I have a 9 lb yorkie and a 6 lb yorkie. The 9lb yorkie will play with my 5 year old daughter very well. The 6 lb yorkie doesnt and runss and hides from her. You will have a much better pet with a larger yorkie. They are still a small dog.

[pkpate]

A larger Yorkie would be less fragile. However, a word of advice: the Yorkshire Terrier breed standard for size states that weight should not exceed 8 lbs. This is useful to know to prevent yourself from being duped by unscrupulous breeders into buying a dog that can never be bred or shown.

For more info on the Yorkshire Terrier breed standards check out this site:

http://www.ytca.org/

This is also a great place to find a breeder in your area. Email some of the breeders listed there.....they should be glad to answer your questions!

Good Luck!

[livingdustmops]

Hi,

As I am sure you know there are 1000's of animals that are in desperate need of a new home because of Hurricane Katrina. You might want to go through the Petfinder Database to look at different dogs. They have small dogs to large dogs. I don't want to give you hope about your dog as I don't know the circumstance but maybe. There are many dogs that are available for adoption and I would hope you would consider one of these.

http://disaster.petfinder.com/emerge...cgi?type=found

You can also go to Best Friends Organization who is heading up the rescue's that have been left behind and read about their shelter in New Orleans.

http://www.bestfriends.org/

As you will see going through the websites even Yorkies were left behind for many, many reasons but one of the biggest reasons was because FEMA would not allow people to take their animals even if they were small. Until the laws are changed this will happen again.

I am sorry if I am bringing up any past pain for you as this must have been very difficult for you and your family.

Now on to your question about Yorkies and kids. I would also add I am not a big believer of small children and Yorkies unless the dog weighed at least 8 lbs. If you go to any Yorkie Rescue site you will see that most of the rescue's will not adopt to people with children under 10 or 12. Every situation is different but even on our group we have had broken bones and Yorkies that have bitten children. I (IMO)think the smaller the dog is the greater the chance is.

I have 2 Yorkies that were turned over to rescue because they bite the children so I hope you understand why I say what I do. There are many members on here who have not had any problems and their children and Yorkies get along just fine.

Good Luck with your decision and hopefully you will spend some time reading all of our threads which will give you a general understanding of these little dogs.

[SnowWa]

A larger Yorkie would definitely be the best idea. But - if you get your larger Yorkie (as a pup) it is going to be very very little for a long time.

I'll bet it's hard to find an older Yorkie - you could try a dog rescue program. Lot of people find wonderful older dogs there.

And as far as size goes....even a larger Yorkie is a very small dog. And, who among us (except for some) intends to breed or show our dogs. Most of us just want a pet.

Carol Jean

[My2Furbabies]

I personally think that if you do your research and decide you really want a yorkie then go for it! And I would definitely make sure your children know how to handle it! But my son is 18 months old and just loves Gidget to pieces! We have had to teach him though, and sometimes he still wants to play rough, but he is learning! And she is really good with him too!

[chachi]

Originally Posted by pkpate

A larger Yorkie would be less fragile. However, a word of advice: the Yorkshire Terrier breed standard for size states that weight should not exceed 8 lbs. This is useful to know to prevent yourself from being duped by unscrupulous breeders into buying a dog that can never be bred or shown.

For more info on the Yorkshire Terrier breed standards check out this site:

http://www.ytca.org/

This is also a great place to find a breeder in your area. Email some of the breeders listed there.....they should be glad to answer your questions!

Good Luck!

I didnt get the impression from this poster that breeding or showing was anything that they planned to do. It just sounds like they are looking for a companion pet so I stand behind telling them to look for one thats going to be on the larger side. This was based on my personal experience with kids and yorkies.