Yorkshire terrier sweater and coat sizes

The Yorkie problem is hair, not size. The breed standard caps them at 7 lb, so almost any small-dog size closes around the body; what goes wrong is a sweater that drags the coat the wrong way going on, mats it under the arms, or sits so close that the dog is being brushed by its own clothes all day. Pick the piece with the fewest openings and a little room, and measure over the coat as it lies.

What a Yorkie measures

• Height and weight: 7 to 8 in at the shoulder, up to 7 lb (AKC breed standard).
• Chest: 12 to 16 in over the coat on the breed charts; the Doggie Style Store chart lists 12 in, TARIGS 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 in), and The Foggy Dog puts Yorkies in its "up to 16 in" size.
• Neck: 6 to 12 in (Doggie Style Store), 25 to 30 cm (TARIGS). Most adults sit around 9 to 11.
• Back length: 25 to 30 cm (TARIGS), 10 to 12 in. Yorkies are a touch longer than tall.

A Morkie (Yorkie × Maltese) lands in the same ranges or an inch above. Those are published charts of measured dogs, not a standard; they differ from each other by an inch or two, which on a 13 in chest is a size. The tape wins.

The sizes those numbers land on

Worked out from the size charts on the product pages for the measurement range above. Your dog's own tape measurement is what decides it.

The jacket column needs a word. A 12 in chest in a 13.4 in XS jacket is loose but closes with the chest zip, and the gap is where a knit goes in cold rain. It is not a snug fit; on a very small Yorkie the vest is simply not an option, so for wet weather it is the XS jacket or nothing.

The hair, and how to dress it

The Fireside Cable-Knit is sleeveless: two armholes, a collar, and nothing for a leg to catch in. That is the right design for a long coat, and the one to buy first. Put it on from the front: collar over the head in one motion, then each front leg through its armhole, then smooth the body down. Done in reverse, it rakes the coat up the body.

The Heritage Turtleneck has ribbed cuffs on the front legs, so there are two more openings to pass a leg through; it is warmer and it stretches, and on a Yorkie with a puppy cut it is no trouble. On a full show coat, the Fireside.

Whatever goes on, take it off indoors. A knit worn all day on a long single coat makes mats behind the elbows within a week. A walk's worth is fine; a day's worth is grooming you will pay for.

Cold

Yorkies have a single coat, like human hair rather than a dog's double layer, with no undercoat to trap warmth. At 5 lb there is very little body to warm it. They shiver in weather other dogs ignore, and a knit for any walk under about 50°F is sensible rather than fussy. For cold rain, the jacket with a knit underneath; for a spring or autumn stroll, the trench, which drapes over the coat without flattening it and is sized by neck and weight for exactly this kind of dog.

The trench, specifically

The trench runs XS (up to 3 lb, 8.3 in neck) through XL (up to 16 lb, 11.4 in neck). A 6 lb Yorkie with a 10 in neck is an M by weight and an L by neck, and the neck decides: L. It is washed cotton, not a rain layer, and that is its charm on this breed; nothing rustles, nothing clings.

Shipping and returns

Free US shipping, ships in 1 to 2 business days, usually arrives 4 to 9 business days after that, and 60 days to send it back if the fit is off (Shipping & Returns). If you have never measured a dog, how to measure for a coat takes two minutes; for a Yorkie, measure over the coat, not pressed flat.

Questions

My Yorkie is 3 lb. Does anything fit?

The Fireside XS (10.2 in chest) and the Heritage Turtleneck XS (11.8 in, for 2 to 6 lb) are the two smallest knits; the trench XS is cut for up to 3 lb. Under a 10 in chest the Fireside XS is still loose, and a loose knit is warmer than none.

Will a sweater mat the coat?

Worn for a walk and taken off, no. Worn all day, behind the elbows, yes. Brush after each wear if the coat is long.

Puppy cut or long coat, same size?

Measure both over the coat as it lies. A long coat adds about an inch around the chest on a dog this size, and an inch is a size here.