cairns and yorkies compatable?

[sheila and Misty]

As much as I love cairns ,I also love yorkies &, lashas. I would love to get a yorkie, but would really like some honest opinions as to how risky or difficult that situation may be-Misty is a little over 6 weeks -some breeders have advised me against the idea because of the size difference and delecate terrier vs sturdy..then Ive heard that any animals can learn to adapt. any helpfull input?

[Maggie15]

Our neighbour has two yorkies that maggie plays with sometimes, they are more timid and maggie is alpha in that group. there are also two other yorkies in the area that are bigger than maggie, and on a walk they bothed attacked maggie...so i'm not sure how much more delicate they are!! this is generalization, but it seems yorkies are more 'nippy' and bark more as well... Generally i dont see any real problems with having the two together than what you might expect with two terriers...

a

[Kirby's Mom]

How is your dog with a smaller dog? Some terriers tend to bully smaller dogs, because it's so rare they get the upper hand-many dogs are larger than they are. And Yorkies can be more delicate, and need more special care than a Cairn or Westie-your current dog will be twice the size of a Yorkie. On the other hand, depending on the personalities of both dogs, they may be best friends.

It also sounds like you would have two puppies at the same time-it's a lot of work. You may want to wait until your current dog is a little older.

[Cairnmania]

"Wait" is the best advice before adding another puppy. :-)

[chrissysb]

Cody has tried to play with the Yorkie down the street. I was promplty told that Cody plays too rough for the little Yorkie and to please not walk him past the house anymore. I would have to agree that he can "bully" smaller dogs. Labs, German Shepards, and Great Danes seem to suit him just fine though

[Amber and the zoo]

Your puppy is only 6 weeks? Maybe you should wait to see his personality...see if he is dominant, etc. That might help make your decision. I think in this case it truly is the size of the fight in the dog...not the dog in the fight.

[jodi0553]

After Currey finished all his shots, we set off to socialize him. We took him to a "small dog play hour" at a local training facility. I thought it sounded great - $10 for play with other dogs under 20 lbs, and even the puppies had to be of breeds that would be under 20 lbs full grown. He was about 14 weeks old the first time we went, and maybe 6-7 lbs. He was such a bully, that after 3 weeks, the trainer asked us please not to bring him to small dog hour again. He has certainly mellowed out as he has gotten older, but I won't forget him going seriously nutso on a young chihuahua and an adult cavalier king charles spaniel (who belonged to the trainer!). He still scares some more skittsh dogs who are twice his size with his very physical playing style, but has gotten much better, mostly because of proper training. We go to a dog park regularly, and I still keep a very close eye on him if there are any other dogs his size or smaller. Fortunately, since there sre many very very large dogs at this park, many folks with smaller skittish dogs take theirs to another local park with separate big and little dog enclosures.

[Marge]

In puppy class and obedience class, Bear did not get along well with any of the dogs that were smaller than him, eg, Yorkies, Maltese, etc. He loved to romp with the bigger breeds, eg, Labs, Border Collies, Boxer, Bernese Mountain Dog. I thought it was because he was used to being around bigger dogs because of our Golden Retrievers. I was told by a breeder that Cairns tend to prefer bigger dogs. I remember reading or hearing that a Cairn is a big dog in a little dog body. Perhaps, you should expose Misty to a Yorkie or other smaller breed and see how she gets along with it. My Bear was 8 months old when we brought Oliver (Golden Retriever pup) home. It was not easy. Our lives revolved around puppy classes, obedience classes, and standing outside in some very unpleasant weather waiting for puppies to do their duty. Looking back, it probably would have been wise to have let Bear get more established in his training before getting the next puppy. However, that's just how it worked out. Fortunately, I am home a lot and am able to give them both the attention young dogs need. Bear will be 2 yrs. old in June, and Oliver is now 1 yrs old (Jan.). I must say that Bear and Oliver do entertain each other and help each other run and play off all that energy. I love them both, and they bring be a great deal of pleasure. I'm even hoping to bring another Cairn puppy into our home in May. Some think I'm crazy.

MAKE it a GREAT day!!!

Marge

[kcsdogs]

If your dog is good around other dogs it should be fine if the Yorkie is a reasoable animal. Since your puppy is pretty young that can be difficult to determine.

If it was me I would wait until the Cairn is a little older (just to maintain my own sanity) then add a new puppy, while the Cairn is still a young dog and not terribly set in her ways.

It would be good to determine if your dog had a high prey drive since Yorkies can come off as prey to a hardy little Cairn If your Cairn ends up being dog reactive then it may not be a good idea.

As far as the size difference I think I would be more worried if you were going to add a large breed dog. Cairns are bigger than Yorkies yes, but not by so much that two adults couldn't live well together if trained properly. Just do your homework that is the best that can be expected of anyone.

FYI I placed a German Shepherd in a home with a TINY little Yorkie and it couldn't be a better match, you just have to know what you are dealing with as much as possible before hand.

[bubba]

Our oldest dog is Cooper, the cairn. A year after we got him, we added Yoda, the schnoodle to the mix. They have always gotten along well, even though they never cuddled up to each other while lying down. This past October, we (in a moment of sheer idiocy) added Oscar, the weiner dog to the clan. Cooper was not too sure about this, and Yoda would have nothing to do with him for the first two months he was around. In the past six weeks, they curl up in a big ball together, chase each other around, etc. . .

So even though the first two got along, they are three get along even better than before. I think if you get dogs a chance, they get along w/about any other dog.

pat.

[sheila and Misty]

great advise but I messed up.. Misty is 6 months 1 week exactly sorry about that ,I use to have a yorkie and a lasha together ..but the lasha was adopted after the yorkie was 9 years old.that was her territory ,she won in dominance,

Now Misty tried to be. but realizes now that I am.

she has only socialized through a fence since she was 3 months..with a female lab age 9 and a male maltese 7 months.They sniff noses , try to dig through to each other..but cant really.and run up and down the fence. have never been without a fence between them -I'm afraid..maybe this summer.

Just didnt know if anyone actually saw the two breeds(-cairn and yorkie) interact together. If waiting would work out better I'm all for that I just didnt know if a cairn would be more aggitated when more mature with a puppy nipping all the time I'm afraid Misty would swallow it whole. My other cairn scruffy almost swallowed a whole bird as a pup. got stuck in his throat we had to pull it out by its feet.UGH and a baby yorkie isnt much larger. thats my concern. but It would be nice for her to have a friend, Thanks all you caring people. I'll keep checking in in case more responses are added.

[we love izzy and ollie]

My sister in law brings her yorkie over to play frequently. It did take them awhile to get used to each other and play nicely though. The yorkie (male) was probably 6 mos when she brought him the first time and he right away was submissive to Izzy. The whole time he was here those first couple of times Ollie barked her head off at him nonstop. It was chaos! but now when he comes over they play like they love each other. We just keep the chewies and food out of the equation. Also, he's a bigger yorkie than I've seen before.. He's not quite as fragile looking as other ones I've seen.

kasey

[Greg]

Isnt there a full size Yorkie and a Toy. I saw one the other day that the owner said was 12-13 lbs. Might consider a bigger size one.

[kjwarnold]

An acquaintance had two little Yorkies, both the same age as or just a little older than Packy. He thought they were rodents and the "earthdog" instinct kicked in. No, he didn't catch them and shake them to death, but you could see that look in his eyes! Good thing I can sometimes read his mind -- I kept him on a short leash... On the other hand, he loves big dogs and the rougher the play, the better!

Most of the time, I've heard it's best to wait until your Cairn is at least 2 yrs. old before getting another puppy. They're more mature then and you know what their personality is like. Now that Packy is 2 1/2, I'd sure like to get another one!