What's Your Opinion on Yorkies?? (or any small dog for that matter)?

Question

I hear a lot of people say that Yorkies are little rats who do nothing but yap. I don't know where these people get their references from, but they are way off. Anybody who thinks that usually:
1. Owned a "bad" Yorkie, which in that case makes them a terrible owner for not training their dog.
2. Had experiences with a "bad" Yorkie, which makes them ignorant for believing every Yorkie is like that.
3. Has had no personal experience with any Yorkie, but believes whatever they hear.

If it's #1, shame on you. What, did you think you weren't going to have to actually WORK when you got it? Did you bring it to puppy classes, obedience classes, socialize it properly with other dogs and people?? If not, then it is your fault. Did you think "It's to stubborn and hard to train, so I'll just give up"? If you're the slightest bit responsible, you should've known what you were getting yourself into before you got it, because every single page on the breed says they can be hard to train!! Did you do any research at all??
If it's #2, just because you had an experience with a "bad" Yorkie before DOES NOT mean that EVERY Yorkie is like that! That just means that you ran into ONE bad Yorkie and ONE bad owner. Do not put down the entire breed just because of one. How would you feel if someone put your favorite breed down because of ONE bad experience with ONE dog from that breed??
If it's #3, do you believe everything you read in magazines?? So why would you pass judgement on a breed or situation that you have no personal experience with?! It just doesn't make sense.
My yorkie is almost two years old, and he is one of the best dogs I have ever had! I did my research before I got him, so I knew he was going to be a challenge to train and potty train. I took him to puppy classes and obedience classes and to the dog park every weekend, and I worked with him and trained him everyday. I think I've only heard him bark MAYBE four times in his entire life. And he knows over 20 different tricks to date. That's what happens when you actually do your job as an owner! You respect your dog and your dog respects you, and it's a good situation.
Thank you to anybody who actually read all of this, I just had to vent because I get so fed up with ignorant people who think like that.

PJ · Answer

I love your write up. Your right people need to do there home work and find a good breeder that will work with them if they have questions on training, and after finding a good pup it's time for the new owner to start training right away. If they won't do the training then there the one that's screwing up the dog. I have 2 yorkies one 11yr male very smart and was very easy to train and the other is a 3yr female also very smart sometimes almost to smart for her own good, training went pretty easy with her too. Ours are not real barkers they will bark when the door bell rings and a little bit when someone comes it the house but once they've said hi that's it, they don't stand outside and just bark for no reason. The people next door to us have Chihuahua's and they bark almost non stop all hours of the day and night. You get what you put into your dog no matter what the breed so do your research plus ask for references. Well breed and raised Yorkies are Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

eharri3 · Answer

I think ALOT of small dogs can be vocal and rather obnoxious, but I blame the owners and don't consider these character traits to be related to the breed or size of the dog.

1) Small dogs spend the majority of their time in their owner's laps or arms, at or near eye level with other humans, confirming in their minds that they are equals with the humans they encounter.

2) When they act up, people tend to try to calm them down with soft speach and physical affection, inadvertantly nurturing bad behavior.

3) Smaller dogs often get little or no obedience training, pack structure work, discipline, rules, or boundaries. It's simply viewed as not necessary, or some people think having some rules and boundaries would break these dogs in half or hurt their feelings. Some people have convinced themselves that small dogs and toy-breeds need to be raised and trained differently from larger ones. As a result many of them mature without having a basic sense of respect for the owners or for other humans.

I believe we have to strike some sort of balance where you can cuddle and be affectionate with these dogs in the appropriate situation, but remember that they're dogs and not cuddle toys. They should be raised and treated like DOGS and there need to be times when they experience the world from their own four feet. If a rottie is snarling and barking and being an onboxious little twit, I probably wouldn't scoop it up in my arms and pat it on the head while softly begging it to be a good dog for me, so it shouldn't be handled any differently if it's a Yorkie or Chihuahua.

When I hear all these stories of 10-12 pound dogs terrorizing family members and causing chaos in the house, my first inkling is to tell people, if you can't figure out a fair and humane way to earn the respect of a dog that's the size of a football you might as well just hang it up.

Jenna · Answer

I for one absolutely love yorkies. they are wonderful little dogs with the right training. I actually know a yorkie that knows two languages! They are so intelligent and can bark but are not yappy if you teach them not to be. I own a Yorkie/maltese mix and she is a joy and is easy to care for! My friend also recently got a yorkie and it is a delightful dog.  With no training any dog breed can be "bad" so i dont get the terrible stereotyping against yorkies. Have you ever met one?! I LOVE YORKIES!!!!! :)

Anonymous · Answer

I like Yorkies. Yes, they can be spolied and bark alot but all small dogs do that. And Yorkies barks are loud so that's why they get blamed. I think with training their great dogs. They look out for you and they shouldn't be treated this way

Skylar Styles · Answer

I have a Yorkie and he is the most non yapping Yorkie i have ever laided my eyes on! People say that it's a ugly loud rat, but no. The cutiest little things!
The spoiled Yorkies you see in movies, well their owners made them like that!
Look at the links below for info and pic of Yorkies.

http://yorkiela.tripod.com/id4.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Interesting-Yorkie-Facts&id=1917314
http://eonlineads.com/wp-content/uploads/wpclassifieds/2011/04/27/78183-1.jpg
http://puppies4adoption.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/530848.jpg
http://www.mydogbreed.com/images/yorkie-health.jpg

Ralphie da Monkey · Answer

I love yorkies! And I'm a "big dog person"... If they are trained properly, and not allowed to rule the house, they are lovely little dogs.

? · Answer

I have 3 of them and I love them!

Trending News

What's Your Opinion on Yorkies?? (or any small dog for that matter)?

7 Answers