Tiny and adorable, the Morkie is an affectionate crossbreed who loves people and pets.
Morkies are playful and will run to chase a ball for quite some time.
They will surely keep older children busy playing and then cuddle up in their beds at night to sleep.
The Morkie attaches to his family quickly. His love for the family is easy to see, and they are a loyal breed.
Morkies are small dogs and so this crossbreed does best with families without toddlers in diapers.
He can be happy with a big yard in the suburbs or in a miniscule city apartment.
Not requiring too much exercise, the Morkie will be happy going on a few, short walks each day.
Although they have plenty in common, each of these dogs, the Yorkie and the Maltese, has unique characteristics, advantages and
disadvantages.
Meet the Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkie is a terrier – so he’s spunky, energetic, inquisitive and bright.
And terriers can be barkers too … and even aggressive.
The Yorkie’s playful energy and curiosity make it a lively, amusing companion.
It’s an extremely loyal dog, and often acts like “the big dog in a little dog’s body.”
Yorkshire Terriers are a relatively new breed, developed in the mid-1800s to chase
down rats and other vermin in factories and coal mines in northern England.
Once upper class ladies saw the cute Yorkshire Terrier (much larger then), the dog
became a favorite of the wealthy class and the Yorkie’s popularity has never slowed
down since.
The Yorkie is a perky little dog, originally bred as a terrier to chase down rats and other vermin in factories in England during the 1880s.
Yorkies are active, bright little
dogs with very big personalities.
In fact, they need plenty of
socialization and training to keep
that ‘big personality’ on track.
They’re very affectionate and loyal.
Though small, the Yorkshire Terrier
is active, loves attention and is protective of his
owners. The Yorkie is no lapdog!
Originally part of the Terrier family of dogs, Yorkies were bred in the 1850s in northern
England, where they were first used as working dogs to chase rats and other vermin in
factories around Yorkshire. Even today, they like to have a job to do, and like most terriers,
Yorkies can be stubborn and aggressive.
Today Yorkies are classified in the Toy dogs category, along with the Maltese. However
they retain their original terrier character.
The Yorkie Coat
Yorkshire Terriers have a long, single coat that’s glossy, fine, straight and silky.
This coat takes a lot of care, with daily combing and brushing, although some owners
prefer to keep their Yorkies in the short “puppy cut.”
Born almost pure black, it takes Yorkie puppies about 3 years to develop their final color.
Adults are black and what’s called “steel blue,” (a blue-gray) with tan on the head, high
chest, and legs.
The Yorkshire Terrier is high-spirited, confident, feisty and very loyal and affectionate. However, Yorkshire Terriers can be very “assertive”.
Meet the Maltese 
Maltese dogs, one of the oldest breeds known to mankind, were
always meant to be lap-dogs… so they are gentle, very loving and
loyal. It’s believed that the famous philosopher Aristotle, had a
Maltese, around the year 330 BC! The Maltese temperament is
calm, very affectionate and easy-going, although Maltese will bark
when someone unknown comes to the door.
They’re fiercely protective of their owners, and take on a big-dog
guard role at times.
The Maltese is part of the TOY family, not terriers. It’s an ancient breed, treasured for centuries as a lap dog.
Like the Yorkie, the Maltese features a beautiful, flowing coat – but in pure white… no other colors are allowed in a purebred Maltese although
they were originally bred in different colors, hundreds and even thousands of years ago.
That hair must be perfectly straight, and the longer the better.
In a show dog, the hair hangs to the ground.
Like the Yorkshire Terrier, Maltese do not have an undercoat.
Black lips, dark brown eyes and a black nose complete the little Maltese – which shouldn’t exceed 7 pounds.
Maltese have a slightly rounded skull, with a finger-wide dome, and a black button nose and eyes.
The body is compact and fine-boned but sturdy; it’s slightly longer than it is tall with a level top line. The Maltese chest is deep.
The Morkie
The Morkie, as you’d expect, is a blend of both breeds. But how do you
know if your Morkie will be “more Yorkie” or “more Maltese?”
In a nutshell, you don’t know. It all has to do with DNA and genetics,
and if the dam or sire is a Maltese or the Yorkie…
Morkies come in a wide range of colour combinations –
from a solid black, solid beige, to black and white; black and tan; chestnut, tan and brown, gold, tri-color or white and cream.
We LOVE the Variety of colors of our Morkie babies!!
Their behavior can on the gentler, Maltese side or more like the feisty Yorkie.
That’s why it’s so important you understand the Yorkshire Terrier and the Maltese, to understand how the Morkie may behave and look.
or
WHAT IS A MORKIE?
Morkies can look like any combination of the Yorkie — black haired, pointed ears – or the Maltese – pure white, floppy ears.
So what’s a Morkie?
A Morkie is the result of breeding a purebred
Yorkshire Terrier and a purebred Maltese dog.
A Morkie’s looks, personality and health are
inherited from both breeds, and not always in equal
proportions.
The more you know about both Maltese and
Yorkshire Terriers, the easier it will be for you to
decide if a Morkie is right for you.
Or if you already have a Morkie, the easier it will be
to understand your pup’s behavior and
characteristics.
Size: Like their parents, anywhere from about 4 or 5 pounds to 8 to 9 pounds and stand from 6″ high at the shoulder up to 11″ high.
Morkies have a compact body, and the traditional canine head: rounded dome and mid-length muzzle.
Yorkshire Terriers and Maltese are considered non-shedders, because they have hair instead of fur.
However, all animals shed to some degree, but with a good quality diet and exercise, with daily grooming, you can limit the
amount of hair that is shed.
Just like when we brush our hair, and some comes out in the brush, this is how it is with Morkies as well.
When you wipe your hand across their back, you don’t end up with a handful of fur.
Therefore, this breed is more acceptable for those with mild allergies. Proper diet and exercise though is a must! 