Yorkshire Terrier: the history of the breed, its origin and interesting facts

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The modern Yorkshire Terrier with its cute face, lively character and incredibly beautiful long silky coat is the result of centuries of selection and a happy accident at the same time. The history of the Yorkshire Terrier goes back several centuries, when their ancestors looked a little different.

The history of the breed

Information about the origin of the Yorks, thoroughly overgrown with legends, is confusing and ambiguous. And it is hardly possible to briefly describe the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed, since selection has been carried out over several centuries and has many interesting points that I would like to cover.

At the very beginning of the creation of the breed, Old English Terriers were used, which varied greatly in type. Sometimes, fortunately, the people involved in the creation managed to bring into the genotype of animals a very successful combination of heritable traits.

To document the formationmodern Yorkies is not possible, since in ancient times the selection of the best representatives was carried out by simple and uneducated people.

In those days, hunting grounds in England were forbidden for commoners. Then even a law was issued that allowed them to have only small dogs, with which, as expected, the peasants would not be able to go hunting. For example, a small dog like a spaniel could only be owned with a special permit.

For all other peasant pets, there was a special measurement in the form of a loop, the diameter of which was about 17 cm. If the dog could climb through it, then the commoner was allowed to keep the animal. That is why there are so many small breeds in the UK, with which ordinary people went hunting in the fields for gophers, small birds and rabbits.

These little dogs guarded houses and killed small rodents. Cats in those days were considered "dirty" animals, they were out of favor and massively burned at the stake.

Participation in the selection of the Old English breed

In the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed during the reign of King William IV, namely, in 1965-1835, a dog was seen, which was called the Waterside Terrier. She was medium-sized, weighing 3-6 kg and 27 cm high at the withers, with fairly long gray-blue hair.

Then a very popular event among the common people was to fight these dogs with rats. In a certain amount of time, the waterside terrier should have killedsome rats. Winners were worth their weight in gold. Documentary evidence of the existence of such dogs can be considered a note in the newspaper of those times, which described in detail the animal named Polly, who was the winner, as well as the name of her owner - Mr. John Richardson.

Australian Terrier Breed Participation

Another person who had a hand in the history of the Yorkshire terrier breed was a certain Mr. Spink, who brought an Australian terrier dog named Punch from Australia. This male had won 13 shows in Australia by that time.

Breeder Mr. Spink, through mating Waterside Terrier females with Punch, produced offspring distinguished by silky coat, very small size and wonderful coloration. One of the descendants of Punch was the famous Ben Hudersfield, who is considered the father of the Yorkshire Terrier breed.

Participation in the Scottish Scottish Terrier breed

When the industrial revolution began at the end of the 18th century, Scottish peasants flocked to Yorkshire in search of work, taking their pets with them - cute little dogs. These were Scotch Terriers, which united such breeds as Aberdeen, Highland, Skye, Paisley, Claudesdale, Scotch, sort.

Then the names of breeds were often assigned depending on the area of their origin. All these terriers were, in general, similar. However, Scotland is a country with a varied landscape, and people living in the highlands and lowlands very rarely communicated with each other. Therefore, their dogs differed in appearance.

The Paisley Terrier Standard in 1884 determined the coat color of different shades of blue for animals, preference was given to darker ones. The head and legs should have been painted lighter than the body. Unfortunately, the Paisley Terrier Club was abolished, but some breed lovers organized another with the name "Cladesdale Terrier". The breed standard has changed a little: blue and silver paisley coat color has become cladesdale - blue with golden-bronze tan.

The history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed, and the photos of those times demonstrate it, is eventful and diverse. Many dogs from different countries took part in the formation of modern Yorkies.

Kitty and Crab

There are many more interesting things in the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed. For example, Manchester also had its own small terriers from the category of Old English. In a book called The History of Manchester in 1771, they were described as small shaggy dogs on crooked legs with a black and bronze coat.

However, Manchester Terriers have been lost in history, supplanted by more popular recognized breeds. In 1892, a certain Mr. Butman from Halifax wrote an article about the origin of the described breed, where he described two dogs: Old Crab and Kitty. The first was a hybrid Scotch Terrier, the second was an Old English Skye Terrier.

Old Crab had a long body, its legs and muzzle were painted bronze, the hair on the body was long and straight. Kitty is a different type of dog. Atshe had hanging ears and a large volume of blue wool without bronze tan. Like Crab, she had no pedigree. Until 1851, Kitty brought 6 litters from the Crab, then, having changed the owner, she brought 44 more puppies.

There was another dog from Scotland whose name has been lost. Her owner was Mr. Witham, who also used this bitch to breed. All three of these dogs are described in great detail. The descendants of these three dogs were used to improve the breed by mixing their blood with others that had the necessary qualities.

Where did the name of the breed come from

So, the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed and the origin of today's most beautiful dogs no longer looks so mysterious. In 1873, the English Kennel Club was organized by a few gentlemen, where pedigrees were registered and descriptions of dogs and breeds were compiled.

The majority of influential non-sporting terrier breeders lived in or near Yorkshire. Therefore, it was decided to give the breed the name Yorkshire Terrier.

For the first time, the son of Huddersfield Ben, Mozart, who won first prize at an exhibition in 1870, was named a Yorkshire Terrier.

Huddersfield Ben is the father of the breed

In the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed, there is one dog that is considered the father of all Yorkies. This is, without a doubt, the famous Huddersfield Ben, the dog of breeder Joan Foster from Bradford, Yorkshire.

This baby was born in 1865. His landlady, Mrs. Foster, was the first female judge.exhibition of the Kennel Club in 1889. Huddersfield Ben won 74 prizes with his owner and was the father of a huge number of breed champions. He died under the wheels of a cab in 1871.

Huddersfield Ben's son Thad, also owned by Mrs. Foster, is another famous Yorkshire terrier and was described as having a short back and weighing 5 pounds, with a height at the withers of 9 inches. Ted was Best of Breed for 6 years.

Modern description and character of the Yorkie

In the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed, character was formed along with external data. Yorkies are very courageous dogs, despite their diminutive size. This feature was formed in them not for years, but for centuries. After all, there are no cowardly hunters. Only a brave dog will rush into a hole for prey without hesitation, or will crush the rats one by one until the entire litter is destroyed, despite the fact that the rat can be the size of the hunter himself.

In the nature of these dogs there is such a feature as indefatigable activity. York is ready to chase the ball like clockwork all day long until the owner gives up and gets tired of playing with him. Along with these qualities, the breed has intelligence, poise, incredible intelligence and devotion to its owner.

Let him be small, but he is a terrier with all the ensuing consequences. Namely: the Yorkie needs long walks, games and training, with a lack of which he will get bored and begin to throw out his energy to tear apart the apartment,e.g.

These dogs are very sensitive to the mood of their owner, and this trait, coupled with an extraordinary mind, allows them to be excellent manipulators. Therefore, the owner will have to be persistent when raising his Yorkshire Terrier. But it's worth it.

Breed Standard

There are some criteria by which a dog is judged at shows and qualities inherent in certain breeds that must be inherited. In the history of the Yorkshire Terrier breed, the standard was determined gradually. In modern Yorkies, according to the standard, the physique is compact, and the back is straight, while the height at the withers should not exceed 23 cm, and the weight should not exceed 3.17 kg.

The head is small with erect little ears, with shiny and dark glare and a scissor bite. Paws are straight with good coat of golden-red color and black claws. The tail is carried over the back with a darker color than the body.

The coat is silky, straight and long, from the back of the head to the base of the tail it is a bluish-steel color, on the tail it is dark blue. The head and breast are golden brown. Puppies are always black with golden spots on the muzzle and paws.

Breed defects and common diseases

The history of the mini-breed Yorkshire Terrier has shaped some he alth deficiencies. Yorkies live for about 15 years.

They are distinguished by fairly good he alth and even mentality. Most often, these dogs have problems of the following nature:

• Ears hurt, butonly in case of poor maintenance with hypothermia.
• Tatar, due to the special composition of saliva.
• Slow change of milk teeth. New ones can climb with milk milk that has not dropped out.
• Digestive disorders, which can be due to both tartar and shortened intestines.
• Frequent limb injuries from unsuccessful jumps from a height (sofa, chairs, beds).
• Umbilical hernia.
• Hydrocephalus. Fluid accumulates in the cranium.
• Overweight.

Yorkshire Terrier is a wonderful pet with a wonderful character and outstanding appearance. The coat will require careful grooming, but is otherwise a fairly trouble-free breed.