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Hi, I have been considering purchasing a male Yorkie puppy. But, I have 3 German Shepherds. My sister-in-law has a Yorkie and would "dogsit" my dogs while we went on vacation. While she dogsat, she would have her Yorkie with her. My dogs adored her female Yorkie and were very gentle with her. Her Yorkie is about 4lbs. Does anyone else own large dogs along with their Yorkies? Does it or can it work??

My German Shepherds are

9 yr old female (raised with cats, other german shepherds, and a welsh pembroke corgi- good with rats, turtles, and iguana)

3.5 yr. old male (raised with other german shepherds, good with rats, turtles, and iguana)

4 yr. old female (rescued- but good around the rats, turtles and iguana)

>>Hi, I have been considering purchasing a male Yorkie puppy. But, I have 3 German Shepherds. My sister-in-law has a Yorkie and would "dogsit" my dogs while we went on vacation. While she dogsat, she would have her Yorkie with her. My dogs adored her female Yorkie and were very gentle with her. Her Yorkie is about 4lbs. Does anyone else own large dogs along with their Yorkies? Does it or can it work??
>>
>>My German Shepherds are
>>
>>9 yr old female (raised with cats, other german shepherds, and a welsh pembroke corgi- good with rats, turtles, and iguana)
>>
>>3.5 yr. old male (raised with other german shepherds, good with rats, turtles, and iguana)
>>
>>4 yr. old female (rescued- but good around the rats, turtles and iguana)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Yorkies are terriers and many a Yorkie has started a fight with a GSD and refused to back down. Yorkies have died this way. The size difference is so great, and the dog is just not willing to work out a pack order--terrier fighting is not about pack order, it's about gameness.

Since you already have dogs of both sexes, you would have to violate the advice of terrier experts not to keep a terrier with another dog of the same sex. This could go really badly. If you want a fourth dog, your best bet is a dog not as small as toy size (too easy for a dog the size of a GSD to break a toy dog's bones by sheer accident) and not a terrier.

If the Yorkie wound up killed by one or more of the GSDs, you'd never be able to look at that GSD the same way again, and yet it wouldn't be "murder" or other intentional viciousness. It would just be the natural result of combining those dogs. I wouldn't do it.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

We brought a 4 month old 5 lbs. female home to live with a 85 lb lab mutt-male, 55 lbs. mutt-male, 25 lbs. beagle-female. The 55 lbs dog is the alpha male and he took approximately 4 months to warm up to a new puppy, but the other two just LOVED her from the beginning. They get along great now, its been just over 8 months.

Thanks for sharing your happy ending! I ended up deciding on a Siamese cat rather than a Yorkie. I got my kitty, Mieko, at the beginning of August and my dogs accepted him right away. I was thrilled! The kitty, however, took a few days to adjust as usual for cats. But now, he sleeps curled up next to the dogs all the time. So I think a Yorkie would have been just fine at my house if I would have chosen to take that route!