WEST HAVEN, Utah — Lauren Kirkham doesn’t just have one Yorkie dog. She has 10.
“Yorkies are kind of like potato chips,” said Kirkham, a West Haven resident. “You can’t just have one. So I just kind of started adding one, and then another and another.”
I learned about Kirkham’s love for Yorkies through her Instagram page, “The Utah Yorkies.” She started the page in 2017, but did not actively post until October 2024.
Her social videos, which feature her 10 Yorkie dogs and one miniature Schnauzer dressed up in a variety of costumes, have skyrocketed her following in just a few months. The Utah Yorkies’ following jumped from 6,000 to 62,000 followers in five months.
“Probably about last summer, I decided, ‘I think I could make a good platform out of this, and people would enjoy it, because I love them so much,’ and that’s kind of where it started,” Kirkham said.
So how does one even have 10 Yorkies?
Kirkham said she started with her first Yorkie named Holly.
“I got her when I moved here for college,” Kirkham said with a smile, while Holly sat on her lap for our interview. “I had always wanted a Yorkie when I was a little girl, and finally got the dog of my dreams. My collection from her kind of just grew because you can’t just have one. After all, she was just a little angel.”
From adoptions to rescues and having her own, this Yorkie family makes for a full house.
The Yorkies aged two to 12 years old are named Logan, Heidi, Hazel, Hope, Lacey, Hannah, Harper, Everett, Bennett, Holly, and the rescue miniature Schnauzer Hunny.
Kirkham says Yorkies are known to have a reputation for being “yappy” dogs, but she likes to say otherwise. Her holiday-themed and everyday videos show the dogs looking well-mannered and obedient.
“There’s points in time where I think they look at me like, ‘Oh no, not again,’” Kirkham quipped. “But like I said, they’re very tolerant. They’re used to it. It’s a routine with them. So they know mom’s getting out the hairbrush. It’s time to look pretty and pose for her.”
Training the dogs requires consistency, Kirkham said.
“People always say that Yorkies are hard to potty train,” Kirkham added. “ I feel like with mine, if you are consistent with them, that is the key to everything. So you know how I get them to line up in their lines and take their pictures and post for videos. It’s consistent, and you reward them as well.”
Kirkham, who also has a full-time job, says it’s no secret that she gets a few hate comments here and there about how many dogs she has. However, this dog lover wants to get one thing straight.
“It is exhausting, but at the same time, it’s so rewarding to me that it’s worth every second of every minute of my time,” Kirkham said. “ We do have kids as well, but these are also our kids. So we are just always busy and running, and it’s the best life, and I wouldn’t trade up or anything.”
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