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Rat Terriers, also known as “Ratties,” can barely contain their huge hearts in their tiny bodies. Unlike the name suggests, these dogs are social, affectionate pups who love being around people. They crave your companionship and will be happy in any situation as long as you’re together. Full-grown, they typically weigh 8-25 pounds and stand 10-18 inches tall.

Rat Terriers are generally excellent with children of all ages. In fact, Rat Terriers love sleeping with people, especially kids. This breed is pack-oriented, so they enjoy the companionship of kids, adults, and other pets as long as they’re raised together. They're moderate barkers — they'll alert you when something's up but aren't excessive.

Rat Terriers thrive on activity and will be destructive if they get bored. Keep your Rattie busy with walks, runs, playtime, training, food puzzles, or sports. These dogs are particularly good at agility, rally, flyball, and tracking. Overall, their exercise needs are high.

Rat Terriers have short coats with a “pied” pattern (large patches of one or more colors with white). You may find Ratties with black, brown, tan, red, apricot, fawn, blue, white, or lemon coloring. Their coats tend to be low maintenance. Grooming-wise, this breed is low-maintenance.

Rat Terriers are best suited for apartments and smaller homes. Ratties need to live indoors and be surrounded by people. They are highly trainable and eager to learn.

The little Yorkshire Terrier thinks they're Great Danes, and like most terriers, are bold, brave, and independent. They are very intelligent and  develop deep bonds with their owners. Full-grown, they typically weigh 4-7 pounds and stand 8-9 inches tall.

Yorkshire Terriers are generally excellent with children of all ages. Because of their diminutive stature, Yorkies are well-suited to apartment life, but households with young children are not recommended unless carefully supervised. They're fairly vocal dogs that bark regularly.

The Yorkshire Terrier can have most of their exercise needs met through indoor play, but they prefer a daily walk or romp in a fenced-in yard. They don't need much exercise, so don't wear your Yorkie out too much, but they will need to play with their families throughout the day. Overall, their exercise needs are high.

Yorkies' coats can be a bit high maintenance, especially for those with the long, silky coat. Long coats require professional maintenance, including adding oil and wrapping the coats in rice or tissue paper, along with weekly washings. The Yorkshire Terrier has no undercoat, and they do shed a small amount. Grooming-wise, this breed is high-maintenance. Yorkshire Terriers are considered hypoallergenic, which can be a plus for allergy sufferers.

Yorkshire Terriers are best suited for apartments and smaller homes. Because of their diminutive stature, Yorkies are well-suited to apartment life, but households with young children are not recommended unless carefully supervised. They are fairly easy to train.