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Mostly yes. Our record rates Yorkshire Terriers as Usually good with dogs, and that usually is worth respecting in both directions: do not assume a problem that is not there, and do not assume every Yorkshire Terrier adores every dog it meets. This is a Toy breed from Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, weighing 4 to 7 lb, rated Alert with strangers, and Better with older children where children are concerned, a profile of a dog that is social but not indiscriminate. Given normal introductions and the breed's 20 to 40 minutes of daily exercise, most Yorkshire Terriers share homes, walks and play happily with other dogs. Well matched playmates and a sensible owner make the usually reliable; rushed introductions, entire males meeting entire males and boring days make it less so. None of that is unusual, and none of it outweighs a fundamentally willing nature.
Inside every Yorkie is a working terrier that once cleared rats from mills, wearing a silk coat and a bow. Yorkies were not bred to be ornaments, and the ones treated as dogs, walked, trained and given jobs, are far happier and better behaved than the ones carried in handbags. Most live peaceably with other small dogs and cats. The Yorkie is a terrier in a seven pound, silk coated body: brave, busy and utterly devoted. They make lively, portable companions for owners who respect the terrier under the bow.
It helps to see the verdict in context. The Yorkshire Terrier is a toy breed, 7 to 8 inches at the shoulder and 4 to 7 lb in weight, with a lifespan of 11 to 15 years. Its energy is rated 3 of 5 and its exercise need at 20 to 40 minutes daily. The breed needs 20 to 40 minutes of exercise a day, stands 7 to 8 inches tall and belongs to the Toy group, with roots in Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom. Read together, those lines describe exactly the dog other dogs meet.
Living with another dog suits most Yorkshire Terriers, with the introduction done properly: neutral ground first, a parallel walk, then shared space with the valuable things, food bowls, chews and favorite beds, managed separately until the relationship is proven. The breed's Toy heritage gives it a clear sense of social rules, and a resident Yorkshire Terrier usually enforces them fairly. Same sex pairings deserve extra thought in this breed, as they do in many: two adults of the same sex and similar age are the combination most likely to test the usually in the record, whatever the breed. None of those are breed failings. They are matchmaking notes, and owners who match playmates by size, age and energy rarely see the sharp edge of the usually in this breed's verdict.
Let a Yorkie be a dog and it will reward you with outsized character. The terms and conditions are terrier shaped: they are alert and bark, they are fragile around clumsy handling, and they suit older children and adults far better than toddlers. Long lived and bright eyed into old age, a Yorkie is a small dog with a full sized personality and a sixteen year commitment of entertainment.
The rest of the record rounds the picture out. The record's color line for the Yorkshire Terrier reads: Steel blue and tan (puppies are born black and tan). The health list behind the breed, Dental disease, Collapsing trachea and Patellar luxation, shapes its later years, when senior status arrives around age 10 years and social rounds get shorter and gentler. Read whole, the record describes a dog whose social settings change across its life while its underlying disposition, the thing this page's verdict rests on, stays recognizably itself.
Start with the first name on that shortlist, the Affenpinscher, and the difference is already instructive: two breeds can share a build, a coat and a working past and still land on different dog to dog verdicts, because the verdict follows recorded behavior, not appearance. The Yorkshire Terrier's Usually good with dogs rating is a measurement of this breed alone. Cross shoppers get more from comparing the full records side by side than from any single line, which is why each name on the shortlist carries its own page on this site.
For a multi dog home, add the second dog like you mean it: parallel walks before shared rooms, separate feeding until the pattern is set, and individual training time for each dog so neither lives in the other's shadow. If friction appears between household dogs, look for the resource at the center of it, because with a breed rated Usually good with dogs the argument is almost never about dominance in the abstract; it is about a bed, a chew, a lap or a doorway. Remove the contest, keep the dogs, and the Yorkshire Terrier's underlying willingness usually reasserts itself within days. If a meeting is not settling within a few minutes, it is information, not failure: thank the other owner, walk on, and choose a better match next time. A breed rated Usually good with dogs thrives on well chosen company, not on maximum company.
With lifespans of eleven to fifteen years, seniors deserve twice yearly checks from about ten: watch dental pain, coughing from the trachea, heart changes and keeping warm. Adults stay lively and terrier keen for years, and the standing jobs are teeth, weight in grams rather than pounds and harness walking.
A few record lines deserve a place in this decision. The Yorkshire Terrier is a Toy breed from Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, carrying a silky steel blue and tan coat, rated 4 of 5 for grooming effort and 1 of 5 for shedding. The cost record puts food near $7 a month for a typical 6 lb Yorkshire Terrier and insurance between $40 and $70 a month.
Generally yes, with the size arithmetic respected. With the Yorkshire Terrier, whose typical weight runs 4 to 7 pounds and whose lifespan reaches 11 to 15 years, the honest answer also changes a little across the dog's life, from puppyhood to senior status at about 10 years. A Yorkshire Terrier weighs 4 to 7 lb, so play with much smaller dogs should be supervised until styles are proven, whatever the breed's intentions. The verdict behind the pairing is Usually good with dogs; the management is about physics, not temperament. Teach a reliable recall and a gentle play style early and the size gap stops being the story.
Start by checking the boring causes: pain, poor sleep and too little exercise, since a Yorkshire Terrier needs 20 to 40 minutes a day and an under exercised dog has a short fuse. The Yorkshire Terrier's own numbers frame it: shedding at 1 out of 5, grooming at 4 out of 5, and a height of 7 to 8 inches, which is the household this social pattern has to fit into. Then work at distance with a qualified, force free trainer: parallel walks and calm repetitions, not flooding at the park. Individual temperament varies inside every breed, and a single difficult Yorkshire Terrier does not rewrite a record that reads Usually good with dogs; it just gets its own plan.
The record says the opposite for most: rated Usually good with dogs, a typical Yorkshire Terrier enjoys canine company and often plays and rests better with it. For the Yorkshire Terrier specifically, a Toy dog whose exercise needs run 20 to 40 minutes a day, that plays out in daily routines rather than in occasional big outings. Only dog homes still work when the social need is met another way, through play dates, classes and dog walking company. What a Yorkshire Terrier does not do well is being an only dog and an ignored one: its moderate energy and social rating both point the same way, toward a life with company in it.
Last updated: November 10, 2026