A Brief History of the Yorkshire Terrier
The following is a brief summary of the fascinating history of Yorkshire Terriers.
Being one of the most popular dog breeds in the world, especially the Western world; Yorkshire Terriers are highly prized for their unique array of charm. In fact, it is reported that Yorkshire Terriers are the second most popular dog breed in the United States.
The first known origination of Yorkshire Terriers is in, where else? Yorkshire, England.
Yorkies earliest known ancestors date back to Scottish Terriers along with other similarly sized Terrier dogs that arrived when Scottish immigrants arrived in England looking for a better life and work opportunities.
Back then smaller dogs were very handy when it came to the hunting of rats. In those times rats were a huge threat to nearly aspect of life for the English and other European people.
Rats spread numerous diseases like the black plague and other horrible diseases.
Yorkshire Terriers emerged after the Scottish Terrier and other Terrier dogs were bred together. The Yorkie came to be in existence out of necessity. Their small agile bodies and energetic aura were perfect rat killing machines.
Even with such a meaningful history, they are still considered a ‘toy’ breed due to their small size. Their average weight is about 3.2 kilograms or 7 pounds. Do not let these facts make you think they are weak or pathetic in any way though. They are great watch dogs and can even be considered quite aggressive.
Many Yorkie owners will confirm this – they definitely do not let their small size influence their bravery because they are some of the most brave dogs out there.
Yorkshire Terriers do require grooming. Their hair does not traditionally shed like many other dogs do. Which can be good and bad. Good if you don’t like dog hair covering all of your surfaces in the house and especially good if you are allergic to pet dander.
The only possible negative is that you do have to groom their hair at least once a month to prevent the hair from obscuring their vision and to prevent their hair from dragging across the floor.
Taking care of a Yorkie is not rocket science. You will be Okay if you feed them a high-quality premium dog food as it is known that digestive system issues can become a problem.
Also worth noting is their need for water – like all animals. However, Yorkies expel a lot of energy so always make sure they have a fresh bowl of water throughout the day.
Unless you notice specific problems occurring, a visit to the vet once a year is sufficient to maintain a good health record.
As Yorkshire Terriers are among the most popular dog breeds out there, there are a lot of cross breeding that goes on with other popular dog breeds.
A few examples include the Cocker Spaniel, which create a “Corkie”, a Biewer – which creates a “Biewer Yorkie”, a Shih Tzu which create a “Shorkie” or “Shorkie Tzu” and of course a Toy Fox Terrier, which create a “Torkie”.