Hello and help requested by a yorkie newbie!

[rinnah]

Hi, I just found this wonderful forum yesterday and joined right away! What a wealth of information there is here!! I am new to yorkies, but I have had experience with small dogs. (I owned a maltese for many years until she passed away last year.) So ...I am on a new adventure with a new pup on its way in another month or so from a lovely breeder in New York, whose husband is a veterinarian.

So..what's the problem, you ask?? Well.. It may just be nerves..but I'm not sure I picked the right pup. As I said before I had a lovely Maltese for years, but although she was the sweetest thing on the planet, her coat was not. It was lovely white as snow but not silky so it was not the easiest to groom. I really do not want to have a dog with that grooming issue. Now when I look at yorkie pups, they all look the same to me..I can't tell cottony from silky or soft (?) coats in pups. It is easier to see adults of course..lol. I was told she is AKC as are her parents. Her pics are from about six weeks. But now, after reading here for much of the day..I think I just bought a cottony dog. Is there ANY way to tell at this age? I know it's not the end of the world, but it is a large investment and I want to make sure I bought to he right pup. Thanks for listening..and I so glad to meet you all!

[Wylie's Mom]

Hi and WELCOME to YT, glad you found us ! I don't know how to tell coats at this young age, but maybe someone else will.

[matese]

Just want to welcome you to YT, I also cannot answer your question, even tho I had 4 yorkies as puppies, they all had silky hair as pups and adults. You will get your answer shortly from other members. Silky / cottony the breed is still awesome, and you will love her to death.

[rinnah]

Originally Posted by matese

Just want to welcome you to YT, I also cannot answer your question, even tho I had 4 yorkies as puppies, they all had silky hair as pups and adults. You will get your answer shortly from other members. Silky / cottony the breed is still awesome, and you will love her to death.

Matese-- you are right!! I know I will love her regardless!

I think I was just feeling nervous when I posted that yesterday. After reading this site I was a little concerned but later I read some more and decided not to stress about it. I know I will lover her regardless and she is the perfect choice for me!

I would like to know if there is any way to tell the coat at an early age other than looking at the parents of the dog, just for future reference though.

Wylie's Mom- thank you for the lovely welcome and your reply! I guess it is hard to tell for anyone at this early stage. I'm feeling more secure about my puppy choice today. It will be interesting to see how I her coat changes as she blossoms into an adult. I'm glad to meet you and so happy to have found this site.

[nanahas3]

Welcome to YT! Our Kyra has a what I call a modified coat because she does tangle but as long as I bathe her weekly and brush her a couple times a day we don't have much of an issue. If she gets a mat it is usually under her little arms so we keep that part cut short.

[yorkietalkjilly]

With a puppy, you usually have to be a far better Yorkie expert than I to tell what a puppy's coat will be like. I've had Yorkies before with hard, silky coats and their puppy coats were thinnish and sparse-looking when they were about 4 - 5 months, and one was like a chow-chow when I first got him at 10 or 11 weeks - can't recall for sure Scotty's exact weeks' age when I got him. But it thinned out, got sparse-looking but finally grew in long, hard, silky and shiny. Jilly was 4 1/2 mos. old when I got her and her coat was quite sparse when I got her, but she too had a silky coat, not as fine or hard as Scotty's but still silky, though it would'nt grow as long, even if I'd wanted it to.

My Tibbe's coat tends to be cottony-like except it doesn't mat. I brush him every two - four days as he's not overly fond of brushing though he never fusses. His coat is not silky and shiny but is thick, full, and kind of stands out, including his mustache, is kind of curly or tousled-looking and the short hair on the top of his head tends to stick up a bit. Is makes for a cute, four-square, solid, different-looking Yorkie but I came to love him crazily, even without a correct coat. He's the biggest ham, is smart as a whip, does a lot of tricks with lots of vim and vigor(for which everybody watching smiles every time) and is always on the go and has a big opinion on everything in life!!!

Sadly, unless the breeder represented that the dog's coat was AKC standard quality or sold her as having a show-quality coat, something like that, I doubt you can get any redress. I know you'll love her no matter the kind of coat she has.

[pstinard]

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but there is the famous "photo flash eye color" theory. Bella had a blue flash as a puppy and now has a silky coat, so the prediction worked for Bella. Here is some info I found on the web:

Yorkie Eye Colors & the Correlation to the Coat

The Yorkie, and all dog breeds and humans, have a reflective coating along the back of the retina called the tapetum. This layer provides the ability for light to reflect. Sometimes this tapetum is colored and sometimes it is not.

When a human has red blood vessels showing in the whites of their eyes, this is because that tapetum is not colored.

A Yorkie who has red vessels showing on the eye has a colorless tapetum.

A Yorkie with blue or green eyes, has a colored tapetum.

The color of the Yorkie’s eyes is directly related to its coat. Those who have clear colored tapetum (and get “red eye” when having photos taken) have a bronze casting on the coat. Those with green or blue eyes will hardly ever be able to show that “red eye” effect in photos, and the coat of the dog will have a blue casting. Most Yorkies with blue or green eyes have more silky coat. Most Yorkies with other eye colors will have a thicker, softer hair.

From Yorkshire Terrier Information Center | Yorkie Eye Care

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but there is the famous "photo flash eye color" theory. Bella had a blue flash as a puppy and now has a silky coat, so the prediction worked for Bella. Here is some info I found on the web:

Yorkie Eye Colors & the Correlation to the Coat

The Yorkie, and all dog breeds and humans, have a reflective coating along the back of the retina called the tapetum. This layer provides the ability for light to reflect. Sometimes this tapetum is colored and sometimes it is not.

When a human has red blood vessels showing in the whites of their eyes, this is because that tapetum is not colored.

A Yorkie who has red vessels showing on the eye has a colorless tapetum.

A Yorkie with blue or green eyes, has a colored tapetum.

The color of the Yorkie’s eyes is directly related to its coat. Those who have clear colored tapetum (and get “red eye” when having photos taken) have a bronze casting on the coat. Those with green or blue eyes will hardly ever be able to show that “red eye” effect in photos, and the coat of the dog will have a blue casting. Most Yorkies with blue or green eyes have more silky coat. Most Yorkies with other eye colors will have a thicker, softer hair.

From Yorkshire Terrier Information Center | Yorkie Eye Care

Tibbe has the red-eyed look whereas each of my previous Yorkies had green eyes in some of their photos.

[BabyGirl Rosie]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but there is the famous "photo flash eye color" theory. Bella had a blue flash as a puppy and now has a silky coat, so the prediction worked for Bella. Here is some info I found on the web:

Yorkie Eye Colors & the Correlation to the Coat

The Yorkie, and all dog breeds and humans, have a reflective coating along the back of the retina called the tapetum. This layer provides the ability for light to reflect. Sometimes this tapetum is colored and sometimes it is not.

When a human has red blood vessels showing in the whites of their eyes, this is because that tapetum is not colored.

A Yorkie who has red vessels showing on the eye has a colorless tapetum.

A Yorkie with blue or green eyes, has a colored tapetum.

The color of the Yorkie’s eyes is directly related to its coat. Those who have clear colored tapetum (and get “red eye” when having photos taken) have a bronze casting on the coat. Those with green or blue eyes will hardly ever be able to show that “red eye” effect in photos, and the coat of the dog will have a blue casting. Most Yorkies with blue or green eyes have more silky coat. Most Yorkies with other eye colors will have a thicker, softer hair.

From Yorkshire Terrier Information Center | Yorkie Eye Care

Now that's interesting! My soon to be Miss Lily is showing blue eyes in her pictures. Curious to see if this is true!

[lisaly]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but there is the famous "photo flash eye color" theory. Bella had a blue flash as a puppy and now has a silky coat, so the prediction worked for Bella. Here is some info I found on the web:

Yorkie Eye Colors & the Correlation to the Coat

The Yorkie, and all dog breeds and humans, have a reflective coating along the back of the retina called the tapetum. This layer provides the ability for light to reflect. Sometimes this tapetum is colored and sometimes it is not.

When a human has red blood vessels showing in the whites of their eyes, this is because that tapetum is not colored.

A Yorkie who has red vessels showing on the eye has a colorless tapetum.

A Yorkie with blue or green eyes, has a colored tapetum.

The color of the Yorkie’s eyes is directly related to its coat. Those who have clear colored tapetum (and get “red eye” when having photos taken) have a bronze casting on the coat. Those with green or blue eyes will hardly ever be able to show that “red eye” effect in photos, and the coat of the dog will have a blue casting. Most Yorkies with blue or green eyes have more silky coat. Most Yorkies with other eye colors will have a thicker, softer hair.

From Yorkshire Terrier Information Center | Yorkie Eye Care

My Katie has an extremely thick coat of hair, but it's pure silk. I don't think it ever was sparse. I didn't have her until she was an adult, but I've seen photos of her.

I can see the green eye shine just by looking at Katie in a darkly lit room. It's very obvious in photos unless I bounce the light. In the attached photo Katie had just gotten home and was so happy to see her dad. I didn't want to run to get my external flash, so I quickly took this photo. I was unable to avoid the green eye shine.

I wish you much love, joy, health, and laughter with your new pup.

[rinnah]

Thank you all for the kind words of welcome and all the wonderful information you shared.
I really appreciate your input. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with your yorkies. I really found the information on the correlation between eye color and coat interesting. Thank you, pstinard for sharing that. It will be interesting to see how my new little one turns out and if the eye color test will be an indicator. That was really something I never ever expected! I am really appreciative of everyone's help and kindness here! :-)

[Marhcarter]

Originally Posted by pstinard

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but there is the famous "photo flash eye color" theory. Bella had a blue flash as a puppy and now has a silky coat, so the prediction worked for Bella. Here is some info I found on the web:

Yorkie Eye Colors & the Correlation to the Coat

The Yorkie, and all dog breeds and humans, have a reflective coating along the back of the retina called the tapetum. This layer provides the ability for light to reflect. Sometimes this tapetum is colored and sometimes it is not.

When a human has red blood vessels showing in the whites of their eyes, this is because that tapetum is not colored.

A Yorkie who has red vessels showing on the eye has a colorless tapetum.

A Yorkie with blue or green eyes, has a colored tapetum.

The color of the Yorkie’s eyes is directly related to its coat. Those who have clear colored tapetum (and get “red eye” when having photos taken) have a bronze casting on the coat. Those with green or blue eyes will hardly ever be able to show that “red eye” effect in photos, and the coat of the dog will have a blue casting. Most Yorkies with blue or green eyes have more silky coat. Most Yorkies with other eye colors will have a thicker, softer hair.

From Yorkshire Terrier Information Center | Yorkie Eye Care

Rings true here. Huey is very silky and I only brush him once or twice a week. He doesn't mat at all. His eyes glow green in pics.

[rinnah]

Thank you, Marilyn. It does look as though this may be a great indicator for things to come!