Pros and Cons of Having a Yorkie, from Someone on Her Payroll
Category Life with Pets
A Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog with a large administrative style. She will love you, supervise you, and submit feedback on your life choices, often by barking at them. Whether that sounds charming or exhausting is the whole decision.
This is the friendly version of the truth. The pros are real. So are the parts that do not fit in a caption.
Table of Contents
The Pros
She Is Genuinely Portable
A healthy adult Yorkie is small enough for a flat, a train, and a shop that allows dogs, provided you are not the sort of person who swings a bag around. Errands become a two-creature project she did not formally apply for and will take very seriously.
Portable is not the same as durable. A dog this light can be hurt by a drop, a clumsy cuddle, or a game with a much bigger dog. Hands stay low. Sofas get a step. Children learn that “tiny” means careful, not toy.
The Loyalty Is Not Subtle
Yorkies tend to pick their person and then become the department of following that person from the kitchen to the hallway. It feels like devotion because it is. It also means a dog who was bred to stay close does not experience an empty Tuesday as a nice rest.
If your day is mostly out of the house, read how long you can leave a Yorkie alone before you fall for the lap photo. The attachment is the feature and the catch.
The Coat Is Hair, Which Is Both a Compliment and a Chore
Yorkies shed very little compared with a double-coated dog. That is a real advantage if dog hair in the butter is your enemy. It does not make them hypoallergenic, and it does not cancel the brush.
The hair keeps growing. Leave it and you get mats against the skin, especially behind the ears, under the legs, and around the sanitary area. Do Yorkies shed? covers the allergy question. Grooming at home covers the part where the coat sends you a bill either way, in time or at a salon.
The Personality Does Not Scale Down
People expect a quiet ornament. They get a terrier. Yorkies were bred to hunt rats in mills, not to match a cushion, and a lot of them still have that wiring: alert, busy, and personally offended by the letterbox.
That bravery is why they are fun. It is also why a four-pound dog will pick a fight with a Labrador if nobody teaches her that courage and good decisions are different skills.
They Often Live a Long Time
Many Yorkies reach their teens. A long life is the prize, and it is also a long stretch of teeth, joints, and twice-yearly vet visits. The dogs who do well are usually the ones whose owners treated dental care and weight as ordinary habits, not emergencies. Senior Yorkie care is the chapter nobody reads on adoption day and everybody needs later.
The Cons
The Barking Comes Pre-Installed
A Yorkie often believes silence is a missed opportunity. Doorbells, footsteps, other dogs, and the suspicious behaviour of a crisp packet can all qualify.
You can lower it. You cannot buy a breed famous for alerting and then act surprised that she alerts. Why Yorkies bark, and how to stop the extra is the practical version. Neighbours with thin walls should read it before the puppy arrives, not after the third note under the door.
Grooming Is a Subscription
Even a short “puppy cut” needs upkeep every few weeks if you want it to stay short. A long coat needs line-brushing, a plan for the face, and someone who notices a mat while it is still a tangle.
Baths, tear stains, teeth, nails, and ears are part of the same appointment with reality. Skip them and the cute face becomes a skin problem. Tear stains and dental care are the two that get ignored until they are expensive.
House Training Takes Repetition, Not a Clever Trick
A bladder that small cannot “hold it like a normal dog,” and a puddle that small is easy to miss, which is how a habit starts in a corner you thought was clean. This is mechanical. It is not a moral failing and it is not proof the breed cannot be trained.
Yorkie potty training works when the trips outside are frequent and the accidents are cleaned properly. It does not work as a weekend project.
Small Dog, Full-Size Invoice
The food bill is modest. The vet bill is not trying to be. Dental disease is common. Low blood sugar can be an emergency in puppies. Kneecaps slip. A collapsing trachea can start with a lead jerk on a tiny throat, which is why a harness beats a neck collar for walks.
Insurance is dull and worth pricing before you fall in love with a specific puppy. “She’s only little” has never once reduced an anaesthetic fee.
They Have Notes, and They Will File Them
A Yorkie is not a Golden who lets it go. Move the routine, skip the walk, invite a stranger to pick her up, and you will hear about it. Training helps. It does not delete the terrier.
People who want a dog with no opinions should get a cushion. People who like a dog with comic timing often end up completely outmanoeuvred and somehow grateful.
Who Actually Suits a Yorkie
A Yorkie tends to fit a home that is:
- Around enough that she is not alone for a full workday
- Willing to brush, or to pay someone who will
- Patient about house training and barking practice
- Careful with children, stairs, and bigger dogs
- Ready for a dog who wants to be in the room, not in the garden by herself
She is a poor match if you want a jogging partner, a dog-park free-for-all, or a pet who is emotionally fine from breakfast until dinner without you.
A Fair Scorecard
| You want | A Yorkie says |
|---|---|
| A close companion in a small home | Yes, enthusiastically |
| Very little shedding | Mostly yes |
| Very little grooming | No |
| Quiet neighbours | Only with training, and not always then |
| All-day alone | No |
| A sturdy dog for rough play | No |
| A long life you will have to keep up with | Often yes |
If the yes column is the one you wanted, you are not imagining it. They are funny, loyal, and far more dog than the weight suggests. If the no column is a problem you hoped would be optional, it will not be.
The biased breed ranking still puts her first. This page is the terms and conditions underneath the trophy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Yorkies good for first-time owners?
They can be, if the first-time owner expected a terrier and not a stuffed animal. The hard parts are barking, grooming, and toilet training, not intelligence. She is smart. She is also busy.
Are Yorkies good with kids?
Some are, with children who can be gentle and supervised. Toddlers and toy-sized dogs are a risky combination: squealing, grabbing, and falls go both ways. Never leave them alone together, and do not let a child carry her around.
Do Yorkies smell?
A clean, dry, brushed Yorkie usually does not. A matted, damp, or dental-problem Yorkie does. Smell is a care issue more often than a breed curse.
Disclaimer: This is a general guide, not a substitute for veterinary advice. Health risks vary by dog. Ask a vet about diet, teeth, and any coughing, shaking, or collapse before you decide it is “just a Yorkie thing.”