The Yorkshire Terrier

History of the Yorkshire Terrier

Yorkshire terriers can be traced back to the migration of weavers from Scotland to Yorkshire, England, in the mid-19th century. These people brought a variety of terriers with them, which they used to control rodents in textile mills. They preferred a small terrier that could squeeze into tight spaces after the rodents. And several breeds, including the Skye terrier and Dandie Dinmont, went into creating the little Yorkie.

In 1886, the Kennel Club of England recognized the breed. And this changed its reputation from primarily being a working-class exterminator to a fashionable companion. Breeders also further decreased its size, so it could better serve its purpose as a lapdog.

Yorkies also made their way to the United States in the late 1800s. The American Kennel Club recognized the breed in 1885, and it’s been quite a popular dog throughout U.S. history. President Richard Nixon’s family even had a Yorkie that resided in the White House.

Fun Fact about Yorkies

They hold the Guiness World Book title for smallest dog. Owned by Arthur Marples (UK) – a former editor of Our Dogs magazine – the pint-sized Yorkie was said to have stood 7.11 cm (2.8 in) tall and measured 9.5 cm (3.75 in) long. That makes him easily the smallest dog ever on record.

More about the Yorkie in the picture

The picture was taken at Alki Beach in Seattle, Washington. Gudari is a 13-year-old, male yorkie. He is the son of a 4.5lbs silky yorkie, Nick and a 6lbs regular yorkie, Lacy. He was adopted at 8 weeks old in Chicago, IL-USA. He is very smart and knows a lot of words. He welcomes all compliments with a wag of a tail, but do not say the word 'goodbye', he does not like goodbyes. He thinks he is the running police, anywhere we go if someone is running, he will bark at them, the only exception is the park where he expects people to be running.