The early Yorkshire Terrier is quite different from today’s Yorkie that we all know and love. Yorkshire terriers can be traced back to the mid eighteenth century in Great Britain. In the early years in Great Britain only royalty could have large hunting dogs and hunting land. The serfs were denied this privilege. To prevent poaching, laws were written to limit the size of dog a serf could own. Serfs could only keep their dogs if they passed a test, with the determinate being that they could pass through a small hoop. This hoop or ring had a seven-inch diameter. These little dogs owned by the serfs earned their keep on the farms, in the mills and mines by controlling the varmint. In general they killed rats and kept rabbits out of vegetable patches and fields. In some cases they even supplied small game for the farmer’s table. This was the beginning of the Yorkshire Terrier’s ancestor’s diminutive size.

Their humble beginnings originated in a large shire in England called Yorkshire. With the onset of the industrial revolution in the late 1700’s, Yorkshire had become the site for many coal mines, mills, and factories. The abundance of work available in Yorkshire attracted men and women alike from far away lands in pursuit of employment. Crafters from Scotland arrived in Yorkshire seeking work in the mills as weavers and in the mines, bringing with them several scotch terriers. Among these terriers were the Paisley Terrier, the Clydesdale Terrier and the Skye terrier. It is believed that these three breeds are a large part of the development of the Yorkshire Terrier. In order to get a better idea of how these three dogs contributed to the Yorkshire terrier it is valuable to briefly describe each breed.

The making of Yorkshire Terriers has long been disputed, and will most likely never be completely resolved. Most of the early breeders in England were illiterate, therefore the earliest breedings were not recorded. The following are the  breeds that are given the most credit for the weaving of the Yorkshire Terrier, and are not disputed for being part of their history. They are mentioned in a number of documents in their country of origin, which is England. Theories have also included the Skye Terrier. and Maltese

Waterside Terrier

The first is the Waterside Terrier which at the end of 18^th century was mainly found in the county of Yorkshire. The name Waterside Terrier comes from his predilection for running along the riverbanks and canals and eating the scraps thrown away by boat people. This little terrier provided the basic genetic prerequisites for today's Yorkshire Terrier. The somewhat longer coat was a bluish color with tan markings on the head. The waterside terrier was a small dog weighing from six to twenty pounds and actually resembled the Airedale terrier of today except on a smaller scale. The waterside’s coat was quite long and had blue tones on the body with tan on the head. Today tan means golden color.

THE PAISLEY TERRIER
The Paisley Terrier was a small, silky-coated dog of various shades of blue and light blue, weighing up to sixteen pounds. One interesting aspect of this breed is that it once was considered it’s own breed until the Clydesdale eventually merged with the Paisley Terrier to become a single breed.

THE CLYDESDALE TERRIER
The Clydesdale Terrier was a small, silk-coated dog with shades of blue and tan and weighing up to eighteen pounds. The Clydesdale was extinct by the end of World War I.

THE SKYE TERRIER
The Skye Terrier were larger dogs weighing eighteen pounds and over with harsh coats that varied in color, including blue and tan, grizzle and wheaten. The Skye Terriers originated approximately three centuries ago on the isle of Skye, Scotland. Their coats were originally quite short but evolved into a longer growing coat to suit the wet climate of the isle in which they lived. Bred by farmers, they were most prized for their ability to destroy fox, badgers and otters. They could locate vermin and tear them from their burrows with their strong muscles and powerful jaws.

When the owners of these small dogs began to breed these combinations it was obvious that the resulting dogs were most desirable. It wasn’t until later that they adopted the name Yorkshire Terrier. They were first known as Scotch Terriers, or broken-haired scotch terriers.

Due to the Yorkshire Terrier’s exceptional ratting abilities around the homestead serfs invented the sport of "ratting" or "rat-baiting". Local inns would attract people into their pubs by sponsoring these contests. Matches were arranged by the weight of the dog. The heavier the dog, the more rats it was required to kill. The dog killing his quota of rats in the least amount of time was the winner. The size of the dog for this sport required the breeders to breed for the smallest dog possible. It is thought that the sport of ratting is partly responsible for the Yorkie being bred down in size.

Although the Yorkshire Terrier was of humble beginnings its popularity grew quickly. As the Yorkshire terrier breeders strengthened desirable traits the development of the two-colored, long-coated, spunky dog emerged and stuck. The ratters of yesterday soon became favorable in the royal families and a favorite lap dog of the ladies of that day. From rags to riches, this little dog endeared the hearts of many and came to be known as a "glamorous" breed.

The Yorkshire Terrier now flourishes throughout the world and the early breeders who were instrumental in producing the diminutive toy terrier of today would surely be astounded at the success of this delightful breed. In 1932 only 300 Yorkies were registered with the British Kennel Club, in 1957 the number was 2313, and in the 1970's Yorkies were the most popular breed in Britain. This trend continued until 1990 with a record of 25,665 Yorkies registered. However, this figure has now begun to drop, and in 1994 there were 12,343 registrations, with the Yorkie being recorded as the 7th most popular breed.

The most famous Yorkshire Terrier of modern times in the UK was CH Blairsville Royal Seal. He was by CH Beechrise Surprise and his dam was CH Blairsville Most Royale. "Tosha" to his friends (of whom he had many) was bred, owned and handled by Mr. Brian Lister and his wife, Rita. Tosha was definitely a 'King' among dogs and no one who saw him flowing around the ring could ever forget him. His prescence could be felt, even by a complete novice, and many say that just thinking of him brings a lump to the throat. During his show career Tosha won 50 CCs, all under different judges. He was 12 times Best In Show at all breed CH shows, and 16 times Reserve Best In Show. He took 33 Group wins, and went Reserve Best In Show at Cruft's in 1978, just as his dam had done before him. Tosha was Top Dog, all breeds, for two consecutive years. He became the sire of many prolific Champions and still features in the pedigree of many of today's Yorkies.

The Yorkie came to America in the early 1870s in response to the American fascination with all things Victorian. The breed was adopted by purebred dog lovers here and was admitted to the American Kennel Club (AKC) stud book in 1885, one year after the AKC had been established. Yorkies were a diverse lot at first, weighing anywhere from 3 to 13 pounds. By the 1930s the petite size and the modern-day Yorkie look were more universal, but the breed did not start to climb the AKC's hit parade until the 1950s. Indeed, 50 years ago the Yorkie ranked 57th among the 112 breeds registered by the AKC, with a mere 173 new registrations in 1949. During the Eisenhower regime, when many Americans were buying houses for the first time, a number of people were buying Yorkies for the first time too; and by 1960, when 1,181 new Yorkies were registered, the breed had leap-dogged 23 spaces on the AKC's popularity list. The beat went on during the following decade, and by 1970 annual Yorkie registrations had increased more than tenfold (to 13,484), which was good enough for 17th place on the AKC list. By 1980 the Yorkie was poised at number 11 with 24,665 new registrations. After vacillating between 11th and 14th on the AKC list for a decade and a half, the Yorkie made the top 10 in 1995, when its 36,881 new registrations placed it 10th among the 145 breeds registered by the AKC. Last year the Yorkie, with 42,900 new registrations, ranked 9th among the 146 AKC-recognized breeds.