The Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog, also known by its very popular name the Shorkie dog, is a designer dog breed that comes to life after cross breeding one Shih Tzu dog with one Yorkie (Yorkshire Terrier) dog.
Besides its very popular name “Shorkie”, the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix is also very often referred to as the following:
- Yorkie Tzu
- Shorkie-Tzu
Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix Recognition
The Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog is not officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) since it’s not a purebred dog, but is officially recognized as being a designer dog breed by the following institutions.
- Dog Registry Of America (DRA)
- Designer Dogs Kennel Club (DDKC)
- Designer Breed Registry (DBR)
- American Canine Hybrid Club (ACHC)
- International Designer Canine Registry (IDCR)
Shorkie Appearance
Size, Height & Weight
Upon taking a first look at the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog, the first thing you’ll probably notice is how tiny it is in size, which is why there’s a general agreement to the classification of this dog as a toy breed dog.
In general, Shorkies stand at a height of 6 inches to 14 inches tall (15 cm to 35 cm) and weigh anywhere between 2 kgs to 6 kgs (4.4 lbs to 14.4 lbs), so you can imagine just how small and tiny of a dog this actually is.
Coat Color
The following list describes the most common colors that the Shorkie’s coat is likely to come in.
- Black
- White
- Silver
- Mix of black and white
- Dark yellow (tan-ish color)
- Light yellow (gold-ish color)
- Light brown
- Red
- Dark brown
Yorkie Shih Tzu Mix Temperament
Affection
If there was ever a definition for love and affection, the Shorkie dog would be it.
Just ask any Shorkie owner out there what their pooch does the second they get home, how they greet them and just how hyper and excited the Shorkie gets – it’s a magical feeling of its own!
Training
Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dogs aren’t exactly the easiest of cross breeds out there to train, even if you were to start off the process of training them from a young age when they’re still young and growing puppies.
If you do have previous experience under your belt when it comes to properly training puppies before, then chances are you can cope with the difficulties that the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog will throw at you, but if this is your first ever experience owning a dog, then the Shorkie may just be a little too much for you to handle.
The hardest difficulty you’re most likely to come across when training a Shorkie puppy is during potty training, so be prepared to have to go through the tough times yourself or hire a professional dog trainer to do it for you.
Once you manage to get through the hard times that the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix throws at you during training early on, you’ll notice just how intelligent this dog really is and how fast they learn once they put their mind to it.
Good Watch Dogs/Guard Dogs
Even though a dog as tiny in size as the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix can almost never challenge any intruder lurking around your house to cause harm, they do nonetheless make very good guard dogs/watch dogs because of their vocal abilities and high levels of alertness.
The Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog comes from two parents that have excellent guard dog abilities themselves, the Shih Tzu being the very alert dog it is that barks to inform you whenever anything suspicious is going on, and the Yorkshire Terrier having excellent vocal abilities that allow it to excel in being a watchdog for your house.
Shih Tzu Terrier Mix Living Conditions
Living Indoors
For those of you reading this who might not live in a house where a backyard is available for medium/large sized dogs to properly spend most of their times in, small sized dogs are perfect candidates for living indoors in an apartment, and this is exactly the case with a cross breed like the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog.
Exercise
Because of how tiny in size the Shorkie dog actually is, they don’t need nearly as much exercise as other medium/large sized purebreds or crossbreeds out there.
Both the Shorkie’s parents, the Yorkshire Terrier dog and the Shih Tzu dog, need minimal amounts of exercise in a day’s time because of their tiny size and in order to remain happy and healthy, and the same holds true for their Shorkie offspring.
Only a 15 to 20 minute walk outside the house a day is sufficient to satisfy this tiny being’s physical activity desires and have them feel accomplished for the rest of the day.
Some of the favorite physical activities you could ever give a Shorkie are letting them run around wherever they’d like to in somewhere like a dog park, as well as taking them swimming.
Some days you’ll find that you don’t even need to take your Shorkie outside the house for exercise, since they’ll have gotten their fair share of physical activity just moving around the house and being active.
However, it is a good idea to take them out at least once a day so they can get a breath of fresh air, even if you were carrying them with something like a dog carrier sling or rolling them around in something like a dog stroller.
Kids At Home
If you’re considering adding a Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog to a household where young children live, then there’s two sides you need to know about this, a side which carries good news and another side which carries some bad news.
The good news is that Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dogs, thanks to being such tiny creatures that have such heartwarming, loving and delicate souls that love nothing more than cuddling and snuggling with your little ones, make the perfect playmates for little kids that are also tiny in size themselves.
Not everyone is comfortable having their three year old playing with a German Shepherd, for example, so such a loving and tiny dog makes the perfect family addition to many.
However, this is all a double edged sword in the end, as this dog’s tiny size means it’s very physically fragile and should be handled with the utmost of care and delicacy, something that’s fairly hard to have young children abide by.
Young children may feel like showing a dog as tiny as the Shorkie just how much they love them by hugging them a little bit too tight, may think they’re just fooling around with the Shorkie by playing physically rough with a little bit too much physical contact, etc ..
All of these issues ultimately mean a toy breed like the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog can get easily injured from because of how fragile they are.
If you’re able to have a system put in place at home where the only contact that young children ever have with the Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dog is under your supervision, then that’s perfectly fine and the dangers will be greatly minimized.
However, successfully pulling something like that off is easier said than done, so you have to know about these dangers beforehand.
Yorkie Tzu Health
The following list depicts some of the most common health problems that Shorkies are prone to suffer from during their lifetimes, most of which they take from either side of their parents.
- Hip dysplasia
- Eye problems
- Bone problems (much due to the fact that this dog is so tiny in size and has very fragile bones)
- Hypoglycemia (a very common problem in toy breeds)
- Thyroid irregularities
Generally speaking, and assuming that your Shorkie lives a normal life under normal circumstances given all the care it needs from a dog owner, you can expect them to live a lifespan that lasts anywhere from 13 years to 16 years, which is on the lengthier side of dog lifespans.
Shorkie Tzu Care
Grooming
For those of you looking for a hypoallergenic cross breed dog, then there’s some great news in store for you, as Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dogs are known to shed hair very minimally, something which makes them an excellent addition to your household and family if avoiding allergic reactions is a main concern for you.
However, the bad news is that Shorkie dogs almost always have long coats to them that need to constantly be groomed and taken care of on a strict schedule in order to avoid any problems or inconveniences from happening.
Generally speaking, you’re going to need to brush your Shorkie’s hair and coat at least once a day, sometimes even multiple times a day if the need arises.
To minimize the grooming practices and strict brushing schedule you have to stick to when it comes to taking care of a Shorkie-Tzu, most people find that getting this dog’s coat cut short and maintained that way makes all of this much easier and much less demanding.
You can do this yourself if you have enough knowledge and expertise in this field and have access to professional dog grooming clippers at home, or you can delegate this chore to a professional dog groomer if you feel more at ease that way.
Either way, most Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix owners find that giving this dog’s coat a fine cut once every month or two at most does the trick just fine.
As for how often Shih Tzu Yorkie Mix dogs should be given a shower, you’ll be more than fine bathing this cross breed once every 2 to 3 weeks, as soon as the need to do so arises.
