Yorkshire Terrier puppies

About the Yorkshire Terrier

The Yorkshire Terrier was created in the mills and mines of northern England in the nineteenth century, bred down from working terriers brought south by Scottish weavers and used to kill rats in the factories before they became a Victorian lady's companion. This is a tiny dog carrying a fine, straight, silky coat in steel blue and tan that grows much like human hair. Underneath the coat is a genuine terrier: bold, opinionated, quick to bark at the door and thoroughly convinced of their own importance.

A full coat needs brushing every day and a bath about every week, and the hair over the eyes has to be trimmed short or pulled into a topknot to stop it irritating them. Plenty of owners have the coat clipped instead, which is a reasonable choice. Exercise is a short walk twice a day plus play indoors. Jumping down from furniture should be limited, especially in puppyhood, to protect the knees. Carry a Yorkie everywhere and skip the training, and you will likely end up with a noisy, anxious small dog.

What to expect at eight weeks

At eight weeks a Yorkshire Terrier puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A toy breed puppy at eight weeks is small enough to be genuinely fragile. They can be hurt by a jump off a sofa and by being stepped on, and toy breeds are prone to low blood sugar, so they need frequent small meals rather than two big ones. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and they will need a job to do long before they need long walks. Grooming needs are high. Start daily brushing and short, positive handling sessions at eight weeks, well before the adult coat arrives, or the first professional groom will be traumatic. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything they meet calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of their life.

Health worth knowing about

Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.

• Patellar luxation, with a patella evaluation recommended by the national breed club
• Eye disease, with an ophthalmologist evaluation recommended by the national breed club

Your Yorkshire Terrier puppy's first six months

• Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
• Worming and parasite schedule.
• Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Toy for a Yorkshire Terrier.
• Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 3.2 kg adult range.
• Puppy names and the first week checklist.

Kit sizes: crate 22 inch (22 x 14 x 16 in, 56 x 36 x 41 cm) for an adult of up to 3.2 kg; chew toys made for small breeds. Worked out the same way as the crate size calculator. PetMD bases a crate on the dog's own measurements, not weight or breed alone, so measure once the puppy is home.

Buying guides for this

• Puppy pads: are they a good idea, and how to pick ones that do not leak
• Best crate for a puppy: wire, plastic or soft, and how to size one with a divider

Other toy breeds

More on the Yorkshire Terrier

Previous: Yorkipoo · Next: Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog (Sharplanina)

Sources

• akc.org for adult weight and height, life expectancy, energy, grooming, shedding and the temperament ratings, coat type and health notes
• fci.be for country of origin
• Health notes from Yorkshire Terrier breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/yorkshire-terrier/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.

Photo: Gandalfelrojo2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. All photographers are listed on the photo credits page.