Maltese Yorkie Mix

Maltese Yorkie Mix is a cross of purebred Maltese and a purebred Yorkshire Terrier, also known as Morkie, or Morkshire Terrier. Morkies are relatively small dogs at about 6 to 8 inches tall, weighing around 4 to 8 pounds, while Teacup Morkies are tinnier. Morkies average lifespan is between 10 to 13 years.

Things You Should Know

The lovely little Morkie is a great candidate as a loyal lap dog and is becoming very popular with style-conscious dog owners. However, before you welcome one into your home, here are a few things that you should bear in mind.

• Training

Training a Morkie is not hard because they will be eager to please you but it will take perseverance and patience. They are clever but they can also be stubborn and may not bend easily to your will.

Always be positive about training and reward good behaviour rather than punishing bad behaviour. They can become uncooperative and sullen if they are treated harshly. Dog clicker training works very well with Yorkies. You can use a special pet clicker to make a sound as soon as your Morkie has done something that deserves praise. They will soon learn that a ‘click’ means that a food treat is coming! It’s more useful than your voice because it is consistent (your tone of voice is influenced by your mood) and it is very quick. The timing of a reward is very important to Morkies and a quick reward establishes trust.

Morkies love to play games with you and will relish a training session. They actually need a lot of mental stimulation to stay happy and all that one-on-one attention will maintain good behaviour.  It won’t take them long to pick up tricks.

Separation anxiety is an issue that you will have to work on the right from the start. You can begin with short periods of separation and build it up. However, it is important to realise that a Morkie is never going to be a big fan of being left alone for long periods.

Overall, the best advice for training your Morkie pup is to start early and set out some clear objectives. In the early days, you should be focussing on:

• Toilet training to eliminate ‘accidents’ in the house
• Socialisation with other dogs and humans
• Nipping bad habits, such as destroying furniture, in the bud
• Stopping excessive barking
• Following basic commands such as ‘sit’

Then you can move on to more complicated tricks and tasks such as giving a paw and rolling over.

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• Feeding

For such a small dog, the Morkie has a big appetite! This is something you will have to keep an eye on because left unchecked they can become obese. Morkies that are overweight are very likely to have heart problems and issues with their joints. Be strict about feeding unhealthy snacks and keep to structured meals. Treats should only be given when training your pup.

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Kibbles are a good choice for Morkies because they promote dental health. The firm texture gives the mouth plenty of exercise and scrapes plaque off the dental surface. It also helps to reduce the incidence of gum infections and tooth loss and you’ll notice that their breath is a lot fresher too!