Physical Characteristics of the Yorkshire Terrier

Know your Yorkie. Have you ever went to look at a yorkie and you swear it was mixed with another dog? Here is the standard characteristics of the Yorkie breed.

EARS- Small, v-shaped, carried errect and not too far apart

HEAD- small and kind of flat on top, the skull of the head not

                to big and not too round.

EYES- average size,not too big, dark in color and sparkling,

               eye rims are dark. (standard color Yorkie)

NOSE- Black (standard color Yorkie)

MUZZLE- Not too long

FORELEGS- Straight, elbows neither in or out,dewclaws removed.

BODY- Well proportioned and very compact.The back is rather short.

TAIL- Docked to a medium length and taller than the back.

COAT- Hair should be glossy (shows health) Fine  and silky or thick

                and silky.

HING LEGS- Straight when viewed from behind,Dewclaws removed.


Keep in mind that there are now Parti-Yorkies that will not be silver or black in color,They are Recognized by AKC and should show in papers

that they are Parti-colored.

What is a Parti-Colored Yorkie? - Parti-colored Yorkies are usually white and black in color, sometimes more than 2 colors. There is also a chocolate colored Yorkie which is all brown. I have not seen where AKC is recognizing the Chocolate color of a Yorkie. Some people will tell you that they are a rare color in the Yorkie breed. Not true. The chocolate color of a Yorkie puppy comes from the lack of pigment in the gene when born, this is a defect in the genes.However people have started breeding this color and have named it chocolate.As far as the Parti-color this color has been around for a long time, But has just now become popular.


Some people that are wanting a Yorkie dont care if they have papers, They just want a Yorkie, which is fine, BUT you really need to make sure that you are getting a quality Yorkie for your money. If you are looking for a Yorkshire Terrier, Make sure you buy a Yorkshire Terrier.

In my opinion I would not buy a puppy WITHOUT Papers. I feel that the registration is kind of the puppies Birth Certificate and you should care enough about your puppy to want to know where he/she came from.