The Yorkshire terrier is a small but interesting breed that many dog owners have grown to love over the years. Independent and boisterous are some of their more well-known traits.
Another one being that they love to bark. Like any other dog in the terrier family, these dogs have been bred for a long time to explore, defend their territory, and chase small critters; traits that you don’t often seem to encourage needing bonding and closeness.
When thinking of Yorkies, thinking about them being cuddly is not usually the top thought you have. This can sometimes deter someone from wanting to own a Yorkie, especially someone who is looking for a dog to cuddle up on the couch or in bed with.
Well, I’m here to tell you that, despite what is often assumed about this dog breed, Yorkies do like to cuddle and are great loving companions.
Reasons Why Yorkies Like To Cuddle
There are quite a few reasons why Yorkies love cuddling with their owners. Once you break down their tough exteriors, Yorkies are big softies and love spending time with their humans. Here are just a few of the many great reasons Yorkshire terriers love to cuddle.
Reason #1: Loyal
Yorkshire terriers, like all terrier breeds, are viciously loyal and always want to spend time around their humans and other pets they form attachments to. This comes naturally to your yorkie, so don’t be surprised once you form a strong bond with them that they want to be around you most of the time and are even asking for more cuddle and petting time.
Reason #2: Love Affection
Yorkies are dogs that absolutely love attention and being the center of it. You will find your pup often begging for attention that definitely includes cuddling and petting.
This is a great way to make your Yorkie feel special and fulfilled. They love knowing that you care for them and spend the extra time to make them feel loved and form bonds with them.
Showing affection will strengthen your owner-Yorkshire relationship, and will make training and listening much easier as your dog will want to please you and do well.
Reason #3: Like To Be Held
Yorkies are small dogs and often like to do things that make them feel tall or bigger than they are. This can be things such as barking to appear more menacing, wanting to be on furniture, and, which pertains to this article, wanting to be held by their owners.
Yorkshire terriers are usually always okay with being picked up, except in instances such as when they are chasing a squirrel or making friends at the dog park. Either way, your Yorkie will not typically put up a fight if you want to pick up and cuddle them.
Quite the opposite, they’ll love it.
Reason #4: Playful
Yorkshire terriers have a playful side and they can sometimes see cuddling as a sort of playful time with their owners. Cuddling is not always necessarily play time, but often we, as dog owners, can make it something like that without even realizing.
Doing things such as talking to your pet, encouraging playful behavior, and petting in a playful manner while cuddling can all make your Yorkie feel special and excited that they get to have this great bonding time with their owner.
Reason #5: Cuddling Supports Bonding
This idea has sort of been floating around in all the previous points already, but one of the most obvious benefits of cuddling with your Yorkie is being able to have special bonding time with them. Because terriers are such a loyal dog breed, them feeling safe enough to let down their guard around you is a great way to support bonding between the two of you.
You and your dog will both feel this benefit. They will feel loved and you will be able to teach them new and strengthen old commands that they will want to perform well for you.
Reason #6: Growing Old
You might notice your Yorkshire terrier growing cuddlier over the years, especially if you’ve had the dog in your life for a while. Building bonds and spending many years with your dog will strengthen your sense of comfort and them wanting to be around you more of their time.
Strong bonds can sometimes take a long time to build, but once your dog trusts you, they will want to be in your space as much as you want them there.
Reason #7: Happy Feelings For Both
Cuddling is a great way to release serotonin, ease anxiety, and reduce stress. These are great benefits for both you and your four-legged, furry friend!
Not only will you feel better after a good cuddle sesh, your dog will too. It’s been proven a few times over that our dogs gain the same benefits during cuddling that we do.
This is great news for owners that want to cuddle with their dogs but fear they are being a pest or detrimental to the dog’s well being. More cuddles for everyone means more happy feelings for all!
Negatives Of Over-Coddling
There are a few things that we should talk about when it comes to cuddling. Yes, your Yorkshire terrier loves to be the center of your affection and attention, but there are a few negative impacts cuddling and coddling your dog too much can have.
Here are a few of the big ones.
Negative #1: Tangled Fur
Yorkies have long hair that needs care and grooming. Their hair easily gets tangled and needs to be brushed often, especially after cuddling.
Your Yorkie’s hair tends to tangle easily and knots can form quickly, which can be painful for your dog. Keeping a close eye on hair care if you are going to spend a lot of time cuddling your puppy is necessary when it comes to Yorkies.
Negative #2: Loss Of Adventurous Nature
Yorkshire terriers, like all dogs in the terrier breed, are meant to be independent, adventurous, and love exploring. Over-coddling your Yorkie can lead to a negative impact on these skills and could also impact their social skills.
Making sure to still encourage people to go out and explore on their own is a must–even if you just want to cuddle their cute little faces all the time! Making sure your Yorkie is still able to be adventurous, chase squirrels at the dog park, and interact with other dogs is crucial.
Cuddling and separation from social interaction can definitely cause problems in social behavior. However, it’s absolutely possible to find a nice balance of both these things to round out your dog and make sure all their needs are being met.
Negative #3: Separation Anxiety
This is another thing you don’t want your dog to experience from too much coddling. We all love spoiling our pups, but we want them to still be able to not worry while we’re away.
Going along with the previous point, you don’t want your dog to be so dependent on you that they can’t form social bonds of their own, are too nervous to play, and become incredibly anxious while you are away. Cuddling your dog is a great thing and encouraged!
But, remember to still also support independent behavior so your Yorkie is able to enjoy life while they are away from you such as while you are at work or out running errands.
Negative #4: Lower Social Skills
If your dog is spending too much time cuddling with you on the couch, your Yorkie may forget how or get anxious when they are around other dogs or humans.
This can lead to negative behavior such as barking, biting, or shaking. Be sure to encourage your dog to form social bonds with other dogs and reward them for good behavior around friends, strangers, and family members that aren’t a part of your household.
Yorkshire Terriers Are Smart
Yorkies are especially smart dogs so it is certainly easy to counterbalance all these behaviors. Encouraging healthy terrier behaviors to make sure your dog doesn’t feel separation anxiety or lose social skills is a great way to keep your dog happy while you both also get to enjoy the benefits of cuddling your pooch.
It’s definitely easy to train your dog on proper social cues as well as letting them know and encourage them to understand that they don’t have to rely on you for everything. This is especially important if you are away for long periods of time so your Yorkie doesn’t experience a great deal of anxiety while you are gone or fear other dogs or neighbors that they shouldn’t be barking at.
Encourage good behavior with treats and affection–such as cuddling!–while encouraging negative behavior with a stern tone and a time out, such as some kennel time.
Yes! Yorkies Love To Cuddle!
They sure do! So go grab your Yorkie and spend some bonding time on the couch with a good movie or have a jam session listening to all your favorite songs.
Despite their loud barks for such a small dog, Yorkies do like to cuddle and will love having that special bonding time with their humans.
They love the attention and will crave to be around and held by you.