An adult Shorkie usually lands somewhere around 6 to 14 pounds. That is a bracket, not a specification: the Shih Tzu standard gives 9 to 16 pounds, the Yorkshire Terrier standard caps at 7, and no breed standard exists for the cross itself.
What the two parent standards actually say
A Shorkie is a Shih Tzu crossed with a Yorkshire Terrier. Nobody has written a standard for the cross, so the only documents with authority behind them are the two parent standards.
| Parent | Height | Weight | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shih Tzu | Ideally 9 to 10½ inches; never under 8 nor over 11 inches | 9 to 16 pounds | Official breed standard for the Shih Tzu |
| Yorkshire Terrier | No height figure — we have not sourced one, so we publish none | "Must not exceed 7 pounds" | Official breed standard for the Yorkshire Terrier |
Read the two weight cells together, because that is the whole story of this page. The Shih Tzu range starts at 9 pounds. The Yorkshire Terrier range stops at 7. They do not overlap anywhere, and the two-pound stretch between them, which neither standard claims, is where plenty of Shorkies live.
Where the 6 to 14 pound bracket comes from
Put the outer edges side by side and you get 7 pounds at the bottom and 16 at the top. We publish roughly 6 to 14 instead, and would rather explain why than pretend it is arithmetic.
The bottom drops below 7 because the Yorkshire Terrier clause is a ceiling, not a target: a dog that must not exceed 7 pounds is often well under it. The top sits below 16 because a Yorkshire Terrier parent pulls against the heavy end of the Shih Tzu range rather than reinforcing it. Both moves are judgement calls, not measurements.
Why published Shorkie weights disagree so badly
Search this question and you will find ranges that barely resemble one another. That is not one site having better data. It is what happens when two parent standards refuse to overlap.
A first-generation litter can favour either parent. A puppy leaning to the Shih Tzu side is sturdier, with more bone; one leaning to the Yorkshire Terrier side is genuinely tiny. Both are Shorkies. Whoever writes a range decides how much weight to give each side, and that decision is invisible in the number.
There is no standard for this cross, and no age-by-age table either
Shorkie is a marketplace name. No registry recognises the cross and no breed club publishes an ideal weight or height for it. That is not a criticism of the dogs; it is simply what a crossbreed is.
It is also why there is no weight-by-age chart here. Nobody credible publishes age-by-age weights for a Shorkie, so any such table is somebody’s arithmetic in the costume of data. Nor can anyone read adult size off a photograph or a birth weight. Small breeds do finish growing earlier than large ones, and that is the one general thing worth knowing. Both parents have their own pages: our Shih Tzu size chart and our Yorkie size chart.
Coat makes this dog look heavier than it is
Both parents carry serious coat, and they carry it differently. The Shih Tzu standard describes a coat that is luxurious, double-coated, dense, long and flowing. The Yorkshire Terrier standard describes a glossy, fine, silky coat that keeps growing. A cross can land anywhere between, and littermates often differ.
The effect is that a Shorkie in full coat reads as a bigger dog than the scale supports. Judge size with your hands over the ribs, not from across the room. A note on colour: the Yorkshire Terrier standard describes adults as dark steel blue and tan and says puppies are born black and tan, so coat colour tells you nothing about size. Other crosses from the Shih Tzu side sit on our Shih Tzu mixes page.
The short-muzzle question, and when to ask a veterinarian
The Shih Tzu standard asks for a muzzle that is square and short, and VCA names the Shih Tzu among brachycephalic — short-muzzled — breeds. A Shorkie may inherit that face or may not, and we will not predict it for an individual puppy.
It matters because of where we live. Dogs cool themselves mainly by panting, and VCA notes the signs in short-muzzled breeds are often worse in hot or humid weather. A Lawrenceville July is both. Air conditioning, shade, water and walks at either end of the day are sensible defaults. Only a veterinarian examining a particular dog can assess its airway.
Two practical points. Tracheal collapse is associated with toy breeds, and the usual advice is a harness rather than a neck collar. And judge condition by feeling the ribs and looking for a waist, not by the scale. For what is here now, see available puppies by breed.
Common questions
How much does a full-grown Shorkie weigh?
Roughly 6 to 14 pounds, as a bracket built from the Shih Tzu standard’s 9 to 16 pounds and the Yorkshire Terrier standard’s cap of 7. No registry publishes a Shorkie figure, because no standard for the cross exists.
How tall does a Shorkie get?
We do not publish a height bracket for this cross. The Shih Tzu standard gives 9 to 10½ inches ideally, but we have no sourced height figure for the Yorkshire Terrier, and a range resting on one parent alone would be half a guess.
Why do different sites give such different Shorkie weights?
Because the two parent weight clauses do not overlap. One starts at 9 pounds and the other stops at 7, so every published range depends on how much weight the writer gave each parent.
Will my Shorkie have a short face like a Shih Tzu?
It varies, and no source predicts it for an individual puppy. Because the Shih Tzu is on VCA’s list of short-muzzled breeds, have a veterinarian examine your puppy and follow their advice about hot and humid weather.
Come and meet a Shorkie
Every puppy here is health-checked by our on-staff veterinarian, raised in our family home nursery, and waiting to say hello.
1848 Old Norcross Rd, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
Mon–Sat 12:00–7:00 PM • Sun 2:00–6:00 PM
