American Pit Bull Terrier vs Yorkshire Terrier: Which Suits Your Home?

An American Pit Bull Terrier settles between 30 and 65 pounds and stands 17 to 21 inches at the shoulder. A Yorkshire Terrier tops out around 7 pounds and 8 inches -- some adults weigh less than a Pit Bull's head. This isn't a close call: you're picking between a solid, muscular medium-large dog and a toy breed you could carry in one arm. Floors, furniture, crate size, even the leash and collar you buy will all be shaped by which one comes home.

The Pit Bull rates high (4/5) on both exercise need and energy level -- plan on real daily activity, not just a walk around the block. The Yorkie's exercise need sits at low (2/5) with moderate (3/5) energy, so a couple of short walks and some indoor play generally covers it. A bored, under-exercised Pit Bull is a bigger behavioral problem than a bored Yorkie, mostly because of the size and strength involved.

Grooming is where the two trade places entirely. The Pit Bull's short coat rates very low (1/5) for grooming effort with moderate (3/5) shedding -- a weekly brush handles it. The Yorkie is the opposite: very high (5/5) grooming need for that long, silky coat, but very low (1/5) shedding, since the hair grows more like human hair than typical dog fur. Want low maintenance? Pit Bull. Worried about allergies in the house? The Yorkie's low shed rate matters more.

On paper the Yorkie is the apartment dog: apartment suitability rates very high (5/5) against the Pit Bull's low (2/5). But the Yorkie also rates high (4/5) for barking versus the Pit Bull's low (2/5), and tolerates being alone worse -- low (2/5) versus moderate (3/5). A small unit with thin walls and a Yorkie can mean noise complaints, while a Pit Bull left alone all day is more likely to handle the solitude, if not the space itself.

Trainability favors the Pit Bull, rated high (4/5) against the Yorkie's moderate (3/5) -- Pit Bulls are typically eager to work with you. First-time-owner suitability flips the picture: the Pit Bull rates low (2/5) here, the Yorkie moderate (3/5), largely because of the Pit Bull's strength, dog-reactivity, and the housing restrictions some renters and insurers still enforce. A novice may find the Yorkie easier to live with day to day.

With kids, the Pit Bull rates high (4/5) versus the Yorkie's moderate (3/5) -- a sturdier dog tolerates rough toddler handling better than a 5-pound one can. The pattern reverses with other dogs: the Pit Bull rates low (2/5), the Yorkie moderate (3/5). Strangers get a warmer moderate (3/5) reception from the Pit Bull against the Yorkie's low (2/5), which tends to run more suspicious of new faces.

Lifespans overlap closely -- 12 to 14 years for the Pit Bull, 11 to 15 for the Yorkie. The Pit Bull's health list leans structural and internal: hip and elbow dysplasia, heart murmurs, gastric dilatation-volvulus, cruciate ligament disease, arthritis, cancer. The Yorkie's list reads like a typical toy breed: collapsing trachea, hypoglycemia, portosystemic shunt, progressive retinal atrophy, luxating patella. Allergies show up for both, just in different forms -- skin allergies for the Pit Bull, general allergies for the Yorkie.

Cost level rates low (2/5) for the Pit Bull against high (4/5) for the Yorkie, and the ranges back it up: $80 to $150 monthly for the Pit Bull versus $100 to $190 for the Yorkie. First-year costs run $1,200 to $2,200 and $1,400 to $2,900 respectively. The gap is mostly grooming -- that high-maintenance coat needs regular professional attention a wash-and-go short coat simply doesn't.