Black and Tan…Not For Long

A Yorkshire Terrier puppy is born with a black and tan coat.  As they begin to grow the color of their coat will change drastically.  An adult Yorkshire Terrier should not resemble the color which it was as a puppy.

The ideal coat color for a Yorkshire Terrier is blue and tan.  “Blue,” in this case, is really a steel gray color.  The AKC will also recognize black (although rare) instead of blue and gold instead of tan.  The optimal color combination of a Yorkshire Terrier is:

• Blue and gold
• Blue and tan
• Black and gold
• Black and tan.

These color combinations should appear on a particular part of the Yorkie.  Their body should be blue or black from the back of the neck to their tail.  Their head should be a combination of tan and gold with their ears and muzzle being slightly darker.  The chest should be gold or tan and the legs also gold or tan.

Although you may love the look of a black and tan Yorkshire Terrier puppy I promise that you will love them just as much when they mature into their adult coat color!

Yorkshire Terrier Ears

The ears of most Yorkshire Terrier puppies will stand up by the age of 6 to 8 weeks.  Although this is the average age, some Yorkie ears may take longer to stand up, especially if they are rather large.

If the ears of your Yorkshire Terrier are not standing up on their own by the age of 6 months you may have to help them stand up or you could just not worry about it if you like floppy ears like I do!

If you would like the ears of your Yorkie to stand up, which is the breed standard, it is best to keep the hair of the ears trimmed.  This is especially important when they are puppies because the weight of their hair can prevent their ears from standing on their own.  The trick to trimming their ears is to use clippers and trim the front and back of their ears from the tip to half way down the ear, and always trim in the direction of hair growth.  Make sure that your Yorkshire Terrier is secure and comfortable before you do this.  A trick that I learned with my dog is to let her smell and listen to the tool that I am using before I touch her with it.  This helps to increase the comfort level of your dog.

Make sure that you are very careful when trimming your Yorkies ears.  Ears do bleed a lot and if there is bleeding you can apply styptic powder to help with the bleeding.  If you are not comfortable with this process be sure to take your dog to a professional groomer. 

You also want to make sure that you keep your Yorkies ears clean.  The supplies that you need to clean their ears are an ear cleaning solution, which you can purchase at the pet store, and cotton balls or q-tips.  You do not need to reach deeply into your dogs ears; just keep clean the areas that are easily accessible and you will decrease the risk of injuring their internal ear when cleaning.

Yorkshire Terriers, like all dogs, are able to show lots of expression through their ears and it is important to keep them clean and healthy!

Puppy Training Must Start From Day One

When it comes to training your new Yorkshire Terrier, Cavachon or Yorkie mix puppy you want to start right from day one.  It is very important to decide what behaviors you approve or disapprove of from your puppy and have a plan of how to address these behaviors.  If you allow them to do a particular behavior one day and then scold them for doing the same behavior the next day they will become very confused and not know what you are expecting of them.

When I picked up my terrier, Lizzie, the first thing I decided was that she was not going to beg for food.  I know many dogs who have to be placed outside, in a cage or are just plain obnoxious when their family is eating a meal.  I did not want that to be an issue in my home. 

I am the type of person that eats most of my meals on my couch while watching TV.  It is particularly easy for a dog to hop onto a couch when they are very small.  The first night I brought my puppy home she jumped on the couch while I was eating dinner.  I gently placed her back on the floor.  This process continued over and over for a few weeks.  She would jump and I would put her on the ground.  She would jump up again and I would put her back on the ground again.  After a few weeks she realized that while we were eating dinner she was to sit quietly on the ground.

Training a new puppy, or even an older dog, is all about repetition.  You have to decide what you want them to do and show them by repeating the process over and over again.  It also helps to have treats handy!

Fun Fact: Superior Hearing

Humans have the ability to hear from a range of about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz.  Our dogs have the ability to hear a range of about 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz.

Daily activities that we may not find irritating or scary have the ability to affect our dogs differently, especially when they are puppies.  They may chase the vacuum cleaner, bark when we are drying our hair, become scared if a motorcycle drives by while out on a walk and bark when we do not hear or see a thing.

Yorkshire Terriers, Cavachons and Yorkie mixes will use their keen sense of hearing to alert their loved ones when they hear noises that they are not familiar with.