Yorkshire terriers

Before they were categorized as toy dogs, were first working animals. Their instinct is to obey commands from their masters. And they have exuberant energies but they are not prone to bursts of temper. Yorkshire terriers are among the most active toy dogs but their spirit is tempered by intelligence.

Yorkshire terriers have long straight coats that fall like elegant soft curtains down their sides. The strands are silky and fine. They are soft to touch and they yield with a gentle touch. The coat is usually separated from the end of the nose going straight to the end of its tail.

The body of this dog is relatively solid and the posture always conveys a poised alertness. Such trait is probably due to the honorable working heritage of its ancestors. The average Yorkshire terrier weighs roughly seven pounds.

The face of the Yorkshire terrier is one if its distinguishing features. The head and skull is comparatively smaller and flatter than most dogs. The muzzle is not too prominent and this is accented by a customary black nose. The twinkling eyes are placed in front and meant to look ahead. This gives the impression that the Yorkshire terrier is weighing something important in its mind.

The dainty triangular ears are erect and do not droop. These are partly concealed by short hair and are located not too distant from each other. Most ears of Yorkshire terriers have a deep brownish color. The mouth has a well-aligned and complete scissor bite. That is, the strong upper teeth snugly overlap the lower teeth.

The shoulders of the Yorkshire terrier appear confident and the forelegs are sturdy and straight. These are draped with long, shiny, dark bronze hair, in which the strands appear a tad darker at the roots than at the tips. The straight hind legs are also covered with the same kind of hair.

Most Yorkshire terriers have docked tails, but there are a few which have undocked ones. The docked tails are regular in length, not too long nor too short. Many of such docked tails are covered by abundant hairs which are often blue in color. These tails are lifted somewhat higher than the back. The undocked tail, on the other hand, is quite longer and it appears straighter. Similar to docked ones, the undocked tail is covered by the typical lush hairs and lifted higher than the dog’s back.

The color of the Yorkshire terrier is described by most veterinarians as “dark steel blue” But the there are also other hairs present that are of different colors, such as bronze and tan. These differently colored hairs do not mix with the dominant blues. For example, the chests have tan hair only.