Pomeranian vs. Yorkie: a coat that sheds versus a coat that needs cutting

Both cap around seven pounds and both are toy breeds, so size will not decide this. The Pomeranian sheds a double coat and is never shaved. The Yorkshire Terrier sheds very little and has to be cut. Pick the grooming routine you will actually keep up.

Same size, same group, different week

The Pomeranian standard gives 3 to 7 pounds. The Yorkshire Terrier standard caps the breed at around seven pounds. Both are classed as toy breeds. On paper they are near neighbours.

So the useful question is not how big either dog gets. It is what you will be doing every week, for as long as you own the dog. One breed means a brush and a lint roller. The other means a standing groomer appointment. That is the whole comparison.

Side by side

Weights, colours and trimming rules below come from the breed standards, the group placement from the standard toy-breed groupings, Alopecia X from PetMD, tracheal collapse from VCA.

The Pomeranian: hair on your clothes, and no clippers

A Pom wears a double coat and it sheds. That is normal, not a fault, and no grooming turns it into a low-shedding dog. You brush, you vacuum, you keep a lint roller handy.

What you do not do is take it down. Veterinary guidance from Dr. Jerry Klein warns that shaving a double coat “eliminates that insulating layer of fur”, and that afterward “the undercoat hair will grow back faster, and sometimes will crowd out the slower-growing guard hairs.” A groomer who knows the breed tidies a Pomeranian; one who reaches for clippers in June is the wrong groomer.

PetMD lists Alopecia X among Pomeranian health concerns. We will not say how common it is or how it is handled, because neither could be sourced well enough. Mention it to your veterinarian if coat loss turns up.

The Yorkie: almost no shedding, and a standing appointment

The Yorkshire Terrier coat behaves more like hair. It sheds very little, which keeps the sofa clean, and it keeps growing. Left alone, it reaches the floor.

The standard takes that for granted. It permits trimming the coat “to floor length to give ease of movement”, and trimming the tips of the ears short. Even the show version of this breed involves scissors. The pet version involves them every few weeks, which is a real line in a budget and a real hour in a diary.

If low shedding is what you are after, that is the trade, and it is worth costing out before you commit rather than after. Our low-shedding puppies page covers other breeds that ask the same bargain.

Colour: one standard opens the door, the other closes it

The Pomeranian standard permits “all colors, patterns, and variations there-of” — whatever you like the look of, it probably allows.

The Yorkshire Terrier standard permits dark steel blue and tan, and that is it. It also says puppies are born black and tan and change as they mature. So the Yorkie puppy in front of you is not showing its adult colour, while the Pom puppy broadly is.

One thing they share

VCA names both Pomeranians and Yorkshire Terriers among breeds affected by tracheal collapse, and says the honking cough worsens with excitement, “heat, humidity”, or pressure from a collar. Georgia supplies the heat and humidity from May onward. You supply the collar, or you do not. Use a harness with either breed, and take a cough to a veterinarian.

Which one suits your life

• If loose hair on clothes and furniture would bother you daily, the Yorkie spares you the hair.
• If a recurring grooming appointment is what you know you will let slide, choose the Pomeranian and accept the shedding.
• If you would rather bathe and brush at home and book nothing, the Pom fits better, but do not shave it.
• If you want to choose a colour and keep it, the Pomeranian standard allows almost anything, and the puppy’s colour is roughly what you get.

Come and meet both in Lawrenceville before you commit. The Pomeranian size chart and Yorkie size chart hold each breed’s numbers, and available puppies by breed shows what is here.

Common questions

Which sheds more, a Pomeranian or a Yorkie?

The Pomeranian. It wears a double coat that sheds, while the Yorkshire Terrier’s coat sheds very little. The trade is that the Yorkie coat keeps growing and must be cut, so you swap loose hair for haircuts.

Can I shave a Pomeranian down like a Yorkie?

You should not. Veterinary guidance from Dr. Jerry Klein warns that shaving a double coat “eliminates that insulating layer of fur” and that the undercoat then “will grow back faster, and sometimes will crowd out the slower-growing guard hairs.” Ask your groomer to tidy instead, and ask your veterinarian about keeping a small dog cool.

Are Pomeranians and Yorkies in the same breed group?

Yes. Both are classed as toy breeds, and both standards keep the breed at around seven pounds or under, so neither size nor grouping separates them.

Why is my Yorkie puppy not blue yet?

Because the standard says Yorkshire Terrier puppies are born black and tan and change as they mature into dark steel blue and tan. The Pomeranian standard is the opposite: it permits “all colors, patterns, and variations there-of”.