Yorkshire Terrier

One of the most pressing concerns owners of Yorkshire Terriers have has something to do with grooming. As with any long-haired breeds, grooming is a very important part of pet care. The Yorkie’s coat is its crowning glory.

In fact, you can easily recognize a Yorkshire Terrier dog from standard photos of the breed with their long hair draped over their small bodies and a top knot tied with a bow. The Yorkshire Terrier’s long beautiful locks don’t get to become like that if you neglect the grooming aspect of pet care.

However, owning a Yorkshire Terrier puppy does not always mean spending lots of money to get the desired look. In fact, a simple brushing down and regular baths can make your Yorkshire Terrier look its best, even minus the ribbons and bows.

There are two basic coat styles developed by Yorkshire Terrier breeders. In this article, we offer a brief explanation of each style as well as tips to help you in grooming your Yorkie.

Long Coat

This is the coat style of typical Yorkshire Terrier puppies and dogs you find gracing the glossy pages of magazines, breeding books, and many websites dedicated to this breed. As to why this look is most accepted among Yorkie owners, the reason is obvious: it is the style standardized for dog shows.

Now, as already mentioned, the Yorkie’s coat is its glory. It is one of the most recognizable features of Yorkshire Terrier dogs. In fact, various breed standards even go to such lengths as to include the description of the color, length, and texture of the coat as well as the preferred coiffure (either single or double top knot). So you can see just how much emphasis breeding organizations place on the coat and the long coat is the style that shows off the Yorkshire’s glorious mane to best advantage.

If you want to follow this coat style for your Yorkshire Terrier, keep in mind that it takes a lot of dedication and care. In other words, you may have to spend a lot of time combing and grooming your dog’s hair in order to keep the locks long and silky.

Moreover, your grooming task does not end with the coat covering your dog’s torso. The top knot is a must if you want to achieve that traditional Yorkshire appearance. In this regard, you have two choices: a single top knot in the center or a double top knot placed on each side of the head.

Short Coat

There are many variations to the short coat style. However, the most popular has got to be the puppy cut. As its name suggests, the puppy cut is based on the typical look of a Yorkshire Terrier puppy: coat trimmed into short layers.

There is also another popular variation of the short coat style and that is the modified Schnauzer cut: coat trimmed short all over the body but left longer on the legs. The hairs around the face is trimmed to create a Schnauzer moustache or a Westie cut.

There are two advantages to the short coat style. First, it eliminates some of the grooming issues that occur in most long coat styled Yorkshire Terriers. With a short coat style, the dog requires less grooming. With just a few brush strokes, your dog will emerge looking spritely and adorable in its short-trimmed coat.

Another advantage is that the dog is less likely to get dirty. Unlike long coated Yorkshire Terriers, especially the males, short coat dogs do not get urine on themselves. Their coat remains out of the way, lying close as they are to the dog’s torso. This means, of course, that there will be less bathing required to get that undesirable smell off your dog.