What Are Yorkies Like to Live With?
Bigger than they look, in every sense but the literal one. Yorkies are confident, spirited, affectionate with their people, and often convinced they’re a large dog. That terrier streak means they’re smart and trainable but also opinionated, and they’ll bark at the world unless taught otherwise.
A couple of honest notes. House training tends to be slow with Yorkies, partly because of their small bladders and partly because of their stubbornness, and consistency matters more than correction. And their size makes them genuinely fragile: a jump from the couch or a misjudged step can injure a dog this small, and they’re easy to trip over. Households with very young children need to be mindful of it.
The show coat is high-maintenance, so most Yorkie owners sensibly keep them in a short, practical trim.
Why Are a Yorkie's Teeth Such a Big Deal?
Because the same full set of dog teeth has to fit into one of the smallest mouths in the species.
The crowding is severe. Teeth sit tight together and often crooked, trapping food and plaque in places a tongue never reaches, and many Yorkies keep their baby teeth when the adult set arrives, which packs the mouth even tighter. The result is periodontal disease early and aggressively, frequently by age two or three, and in a mouth that small, infection and tooth loss follow faster than owners expect.
This is the single most important part of caring for a Yorkie, and it’s very manageable. Daily home brushing does more for a Yorkie than for almost any breed on this list, and regular professional cleanings keep ahead of what brushing can’t reach. We often recommend looking sooner rather than later in this breed, because staying ahead of the crowding beats treating its consequences.
What Do We Watch For in Yorkies?
- Teeth. First and most important. Bad breath, dropping food, or chewing on one side all warrant a look.
- Windpipe. Yorkies are prone to a collapsing trachea. A honking, goose-like cough, especially on excitement or pressure from a collar, is the classic sign, and it’s the reason we recommend a harness rather than a collar for this breed.
- Knees. Patellar luxation is very common, showing up as a skip or hop.
- Liver. Yorkies have a higher rate of liver shunts. A puppy who’s small, slow to grow, or off after meals should be checked.
- Heat. Small airways plus warm weather mean they tire and overheat faster than they let on.
- Low blood sugar in puppies. Tiny Yorkie puppies can drop their blood sugar quickly, so weakness or wobbliness in a young one is urgent.
How Do I Keep My Yorkie Healthy?
Brush the teeth daily and stay on top of dental care, walk them on a harness rather than a collar, keep them at a healthy weight, and protect them from the falls and rough handling that their size makes dangerous. Attend to the mouth and the windpipe, and most Yorkies stay bold and busy well into a long life.