The Yorkshire Terrier ....                                                                                                                                               ~Our Little Cricket              originated in Yorkshire,England. Workers coming to England for work from Scotland brought their terrier dogs with them. They were great pets and found they also did well hunting rats. By the 1860's the Yorkshire Terrier was developed by mixing these ( about 4) different breeds. Referred to as "Father of the Breed" HUDDERSFIELD BEN owed by a woman in Yorkshire in the 1860's became the first Yorkshire Terrier  and Yorkie show dog in England.

They were first introduced in the United States in 1872 & in 1878 the American Kennel Club made it one of the first 25 breeds to be approved for registration by AKC.

 The breeds popularity dwindled until the 1940's when a Yorkshire Terrier was found in an abandoned fox hole during World War II. His name was "SMOKEY" and there is a wonderful little book on about this famous little 4 boy by his owner.... Yorkie Doodle Dandy by William A. Wynne.... Smokey became World War II's littlest soldier, the most famous war dog & during the war and many years after Smokey was the very 1st therapy dog in the US. He was a real war hero.

The Yorkshire Terrier is credited for starting some new breed of dogs. According to the AKC the breed AUSTRALIAN SILKY TERRIER is one of them. At the end of 1800's in Austrailia, Yorkshire terriers were crossed with the Australian terrier & were introduced to the US when World War II service men brought them back home as pets. Another breed that has come out of the Yorkshire terrier is the Biewer terrier.

SYLVIA... a Yorkie from Blackburn, England is on record as being the smallest dog in recorded history. At full size she weighed 4 oz. --2 1/2" tall-- & was 3 1/2" long (nose to tip of her tail). She died shortly before her 2nd birthday in 1945.            

In the Guinness records the smallest dog is held by a Yorkie named BIG BOSS in Thailand 4.7" tall and weighs 17oz.

 Some interesting Facts:

~Originally called Broken Haired Scotch Terriers. Their name was changed in 1870 to Yorkshire Terriers. Because of dogs strong bond to humans they have earned the nickname "Man's Best Friend".

~Born black...it takes 2 years for a Yorkie to get its full adult color. 

~They can not see until about 11 days  ... but they can find their momma to nurse for food.

~Born without teeth, they will have 28 very small baby (deciduous teeth) by 4 - 8 weeks of age, lose these by 4 to 8 mo. and they will be replaced by 42 permanent teeth.

~Each Yorkshire Terrier will look uniquely different....like people.                                                        Different weigt,size, coloring, structure, ect. 

~Size and structure is not set until their second canines come in around 5 months old....                                                                Breeders can only guess to size/wgt. before that time!                                                                                                                   Standard size for Yorkies is 4 to 7 pounds.                                                                                                                                            Many top show dogs are 6 to 8 pounds.  

~Yorkies have silky hair and are single coated.                                                                                                         They do not have an undercoat of hair to protect them from extreme temperatures and other outside elements & when wet, Yorkies do not get the wet dog smell.   

~They do not shed and only loose hair when it breaks.                                          ~They have Dew Claws ( or dog thumbs) on the front inside above the front paws. Often they are surgically removed...this procedure is illegal in some countries. They walk on four toes (each paw) front and back & have sweat glands between their paw pads. 

~Toy size companion dogs, yorkies can not be left alone for long periods of time.

~A dogs heart beats 50% faster than a human heart at 120 beats per minute. 

~Will live to be 12 to 18 years of age with proper care, nutrition and lots of love....                                                                               The oldest known Yorkie is 26 human years and still alive!                                                                                                                          Yorkies are puppies until 10 months old....teenagers until 3 years old.

~Medical research has proven that people that have a companion dog can & do increase their health. 

  ~Those nose prints your dog makes on the windows are unique.....and can be used like a human fingerprint identifying each dog.

~A dogs normal temperature is between 100.2 to 102.  

~75% of pet owners sign their pets name on Christmas cards.

~Around 1,000,000 dogs  in America are the main beneficiary of their humans will.

~Dogs have a third eyelid, sometimes referred to as a haw.... the Nictitating membranes purpose is to protect the eye from damage ... debris and dust. It is transparent and unlike the other two eyelids moves horizontally across the eyeball. The third eye also moistens the eyeball.

~Dogs can register sounds of 35,000 vibrations a second, where as a human can only hear 20,000 vibrations.This superior hearing makes them capable of hearing 4 times the distance of humans.

~The Yorkshire Terrier currently rank #2 most popular breed in America.                         They first came to the United States in 1872 has become one of America's favorite breeds.....consistently have ranked in the top ten.

~TEACUP YORKIES is an unofficial term that is not recognized or endorsed by any of the major Canine Associations....AKC (American Kennel Club), CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) and British KC (British Kennel Club).

~ALL GOLD YORKIES AND BIEWER YORKIES are not recongnized or endorsed by the major kennel clubs. The colors registered as officially Yorkie colors by the major clubs are Black & Tan, Blue & Gold, Blue & Tan and Black & Gold.