In 2007 I purchased my first dog, he was a tiny toy yorkshire terrier priced at £300. At the time he weighed just 2lbs but now at his fully grown weight weighs around 7 and a half pounds (still tiny). My yorkie was quite difficult to house train but this could be because when he was a puppy I lived in a flat and he had to use a balcony when he wanted to go outside. However when we moved to a house he quickly learned and became fully house trained.

Although my dog is extremely loyal and affectionate with those that he knows well such as my self, he does become quite aggressive around strangers. Although this is just all noise and he does not bite. This can be a little embarrassing on walks when he is persistently barking but I have met many yorkies who do not do this and so this behaviour is not necessarily representative of the breed.

Another point to make is that my dog does seem to be ill with tummy upsets quite a lot of the time which the vet has told me is common in yorkshire terriers. Most of the time this just means cleaning up a small amount of vomit but occasionally can be a little more serious and requires veterinary attention which obviously incurs a cost. In my case this means £21 for the vets time plus the cost of whatever treatment is provided. I am told that this is quite a reasonable price and so when considering buying a yorkie please also take these sorts of costs in to consideration.

One really good advantage of owning a yorkie is that if like me you are usually allergic to dog hair you are less likely to have a reaction to this breed as their hair is very similar to human hair.

In summary these tiny dogs make fantastic companions and have very strong characters. They are perhaps not for everyone but I personally wouldn't choose another breed.