What is the average weight of a Yorkie?
The AKC breed standard says a Yorkshire Terrier must not exceed seven pounds, and AKC lists the breed at 7 pounds and 7 to 8 inches tall. That figure is a limit rather than an average, so the practical answer for any one puppy comes from its parents.
What does the breed standard actually set?
The standard gives a ceiling and no floor. It says weight must not exceed seven pounds and gives no minimum, so a three or four pound adult still meets it, and so does a dog right at seven. A Yorkie that grows past seven pounds is still a Yorkshire Terrier, because the limit is what judges apply in the show ring.
What do teacup, toy and standard mean for a Yorkie?
None of them is a size in the breed standard. The standard describes one Yorkshire Terrier with one weight limit, so a size word in a listing is the breeder's own description. When you see one, ask what the parents weigh as adults, since that number means the same thing from one breeder to the next.
How can you estimate a Yorkie puppy's adult weight?
Start with the mother and father, because a puppy from two parents at four and five pounds has a very different likely range from a puppy whose parents weigh eight and nine. Get both adult weights, check that the parents are fully grown, and ask about any older puppies from the same pair.
If a breeder offers a prediction for a single puppy, ask how it was worked out.
When does a Yorkie stop growing?
Expect a Yorkie to be at or near adult size before its first birthday, since VCA Animal Hospitals puts small breeds at 6 to 12 months and some very small dogs at 6 to 8.
A Yorkie's coat changes as it matures too, because the standard notes that puppies are born black and tan, usually darker in the body than an adult, with black hairs mixed into the tan until they mature into the adult blue and tan.
Why does keeping a Yorkie at the right weight matter?
A study of middle-aged, neutered dogs seen at North American veterinary hospitals compared dogs in normal and overweight body condition within each breed. Among the Yorkshire Terriers, normal-weight males lived to a median of 16.2 years against 13.7 for overweight males, and the females were 15.5 years against 13.5.
On a seven pound dog one pound is about a seventh of its weight, so ask your vet to score body condition as well as weigh the dog. The World Small Animal Veterinary Association publishes a body condition chart for this, and on it an ideal dog has ribs you can feel easily under a thin layer of fat and a visible waist from above.
What health checks relate to a Yorkie's size?
Yorkies used for breeding should have a knee evaluation and an eye exam by a veterinary ophthalmologist, which is the club's recommended pair. AKC notes that luxating patella, a kneecap that slips out of place, is one of the conditions breeders screen for, and suggests limiting how far a Yorkie puppy jumps to help avoid it. Request both parents' results from the breeder.
See Yorkie puppies
Yorkie breeders post their own puppies on Puppy Connection. Open a Yorkie's listing to see the litter and ask its breeder how big the parents are.