Currently, there is an incredible demand for incredibly small dogs. This means there are many people who will pay for the smaller of two dogs that are identically bred. Sadly, wherever there is a demand, there is a supply, even if the supply is of living, sentient beings. Although Yorkshire Terriers are the second most popular purebred dog in America, sellers of these puppies have convinced a lot of people that there are smaller breed Yorkshire Terrier types.

If you are looking for a Yorkshire Terrier, be very clear what the individual breeder considers a Toy Yorkshire Terrier. Most will call any Yorkshire Terrier a Toy Yorkshire Terrier. The Yorkshire Terrier is in the Toy group of dogs for showing purposes after all. But there are some breeders who will insist that Toy Yorkshire Terriers are of a certain weight - four to six pounds. The average weight for a show quality Yorkshire Terrier is seven pounds.

What do you think you are getting with a Toy Yorkshire Terrier? You are expecting a dog of about four pounds when full grown - smaller than a cat, and a heck of a lot more fragile. They will look cute, but that cuteness wears off for many. Toy Yorkshire Terriers need to be brushed everyday, need at least twelve trips to a professional groomer in a year, and are considered delicacies by bigger dogs.

If you discover that the puppy you are interested in is expected to turn out to be less than five pounds, run far away. These puppies are sickly, short-lived and overly excitable. They often have problems with housetraining, separation anxiety and biting. They are also incredibly fragile and can be killed if you drop them. Breeders of these kinds of Toy Yorkshire Terriers hope you know nothing about dogs.

However, even puppies advertised as Toy Yorkshire Terriers or even Teacup Yorkshire Terriers (which come to an adult weight of two to four pounds) can suddenly grow up into hefty ten pounders. They are still purebred Yorkshire Terriers, but they just grown up bigger than expected. This happens in any breed of dog - and even in people, too.

However, there are ethical breeders and Yorkshire Terrier rescue groups who call all Yorkies Toy Yorkshire Terriers. Some well-meaning but misinformed animal shelter worker may even mislabel a Yorkie a Toy Yorkshire Terrier based on the Yorkshire Terrier information found from the top web sites on Google -which are usually ads from kennels. The term Toy Yorkshire Terrier doesn't always mean a very tiny Yorkie.

In conclusion, you don't really know what to expect when a dog is labeled a Toy Yorkshire Terrier. Be sure you know what the seller, breeder or animal shelter is talking about.

You always should meet the dog before you take him or her home. If you are getting a puppy from a licensed breeder, you need to check out the kennel to see if it is a healthy place and check on what kind of dog Mom is. Mom will teach the puppies how to behave.