Yorkshire Terrier | Yorkie

Breed: Yorkshire Terrier | Yorkie

Name: Precious (Female)

Age: 13 weeks

General Description:

The Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog breed of Terrier type, developed in the 1800s in the historical area of Yorkshire in England. The defining features of the breed are its small size and its silky blue and tan coat. The breed is nicknamed Yorkie and is placed in the Toy Terrier section of the Terrier Group by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale and in the Toy Group or Companion Group by other kennel clubs, although all agree that the breed is a terrier. A winning showdog and a popular companion dog, the Yorkshire Terrier has also been part of the development of other breeds, such as the Australian Silky Terrier.

The Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog, weighing 3.2 kg (7 lbs) or fewer, with a glossy, long silky coat that hangs straight from a part that runs along the middle of the head, back, and tail. The coat is dark on the back with a tan chest and tan on the head and legs.^[1] Small erect ears are covered with short, deep tan colored fur. The tail was traditionally docked but today the Yorkshire Terrier often has a long tail, held a little above the level of the back, with long, dark fur parted down the middle. Like most dogs bred to be pets rather than working dogs, breed standards contain detailed descriptions of precise colors and placement of markings, as well as body proportions and structure. Most importantly, according to the Standard, a Yorkshire Terrier should have a general look of self confidence, “conveying an important air”.^[2]

Puppy coats

Yorkshire Terrier puppies are not born with their adults coats. Yorkies are born black with tan points and slowly transition in to their adults coats over many months, even years. As an adult, a Yorkie can be black and tan, blue and tan, blue and gold, or black and gold. ^[6]

A newborn Yorkie puppy is born black with tan points on the muzzle, above the eyes, around the legs and feet and toes, the inside of the ears, and the underside of the tail ^[7]. Occasionally Yorkies are born with a white “star” on the chest or on one or more toes. These markings fade with age, and are usually gone within a few months. A white “star” on the chest is generally an indication that the puppy will be a good coat grower in quantity, but not necessarially quality ^[8].

It may take up to three years or more for the coat to reach its final color.^[9] P. H. Coombs, writing in 1891, complained about show wins awarded to puppies, when the dog’s coat does not fully come in until three or four years old, “and the honor of winning such a prize (for a puppy) can therefore be of but little practical benefit to the owner” since the adult dog’s colour cannot be exactly predicted.^[10]

Hypoallergenic coats

The typical fine, straight, and silky Yorkshire Terrier coat has also been listed by many popular dog information websites as being hypoallergenic. All dogs shed,^[11] and it is the dog’s dander and saliva that trigger most allergic reactions.^[12] Allergists do recognize that at times a particular allergy patient will be able to tolerate a particular dog, but they agree that “the luck of the few with their pets cannot be stretched to fit all allergic people and entire breeds of dogs.”^[13] The Yorkshire Terrier coat is said to fall out only when brushed or broken, or just said to not shed.^[14] Although neither of those statements agree with what biologists, veterinarians, and allergists know about dog fur, allergists “think there really are differences in protein production between dogs that may help one patient and not another”,^[13] meaning that some allergic people may not have allergic reactions to a specific dog, like the Yorkie.

History:

The Yorkshire Terrier originated in Yorkshire (and the adjoining Lancashire), a rugged region in northern England.^[18] In the mid-nineteenth century, workers from Scotland came to Yorkshire in search of work and brought with them several different varieties of small terriers. Breeding of the Yorkshire terrier was “principally accomplished by the people–mostly operatives in cotton and woolen mills–in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.”^[19] Details are scarce. Mrs. A. Foster is quoted as saying in 1886, “If we consider that the mill operatives who originated the breed…were nearly all ignorant men, unaccustomed to imparting information for public use, we may see some reason why reliable facts have not been easily attained.”^[20]

What is known is that the breed sprang from three different dogs, a male named Old Crab and a female named Kitty, and another female whose name is not known.^[21] The Paisley Terrier, a smaller version of the Skye Terrier that was bred for a beautiful long silky coat, also figured into the early dogs. Some authorities believed that the Maltese was used as well.^[22] “They were all originally bred from Scotch terriers (note: meaning dogs from Scotland, not today’s Scottish Terrier) and shown as such…the name Yorkshire Terrier was given to them on account of their being improved so much in Yorkshire.”^[20] Yorkshire Terriers were shown in a dog show category (class) at the time called “Rough and Broken-coated, Broken-haired Scotch and Yorkshire Terriers”. Hugh Dalziel, writing in 1878, says that “the classification of these dogs at shows and in the Kennel Club Stud Book is confusing and absurd” in lumping together these different types.^[23]

In the early days of the breed, “almost anything in the shape of a Terrier having a long coat with blue on the body and fawn or silver colored head and legs, with tail docked and ears trimmed, was received and admired as a Yorkshire Terrier”.^[19] But in the late 1860s, a popular Paisley type Yorkshire Terrier showdog named Huddersfield Ben, owned by a woman living in Yorkshire, Mary Ann Foster, was seen at dog shows throughout Great Britain, and defined the breed type for the Yorkshire Terrier.^[24]

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