Collection: Personalised Shorkie Gifts

What’s not to like about this new hybrid breed, a cross between a Yorkie and a Shih Tzu? The perfect small size, these calm and sweet dogs are easy to manage and a great breed for first-time dog owners.

Their characteristics vary as with any crossbreed, usually favouring one parent more than the other but whatever comes out in the mix, the Shorkie makes a lovely pet and is perfectly suited for small spaces like apartments.

Only around for about a decade, the Shorkie is one of the many in a long line of new designer breeds, easy to spot because the name is usually a clever mix of the parent breeds, rather like the dogs themselves.

The plan was to create an intelligent and friendly little lapdog and there is no doubt that the Shorkie is a prime example of this. But what many owners are not aware of is that cross-breeding allows responsible breeders to dilute the gene pool and try and ‘breed out’ some of the less desirable traits, both mental and physical, in the purebred parents.

Crossbreeding has always existed to ‘breed up’ and improve a breed – usually, the only way to do this is to introduce new blood and sometimes this is not possible whilst remaining within the confines of the same breed. So there is more to these designer hybrids than meets the eye.

The Shorkie is just the sweetest dog, perfect for children or elderly people with a playful and engaging nature and adaptable so is suited to smaller living spaces like apartments. Devoted and loyal, all a Shorkie really wants is human company and lots of it. Be warned though – Shorkies don’t know they are a small dog, some people call them a large dog in a small body – they have plenty of feist and attitude and can have their training challenges.