In September 1993 a belligerent wind snatched the roofs off four houses in Saginaw, Texas, and airlifted a 4-pound Yorkshire terrier clear out of her yard. "We knew she had been carried away," said Jim Davis, the dog's owner, "because a neighbor saw her flying about 15 or 20 feet in the air."
The following day Davis got a call from a man who had found the flying dog, Sadie, running along a highway two miles north of Saginaw. The caller phoned Davis after reading a newspaper story about Sadie. But for a few ant bites, the dog appeared to be unfazed by her flight.
Sadie is not the only Yorkshire terrier to survive an ordeal that might have killed a lesser dog. In June 1992 an 8-year-old Yorkie named Torver fell 600 feet down a sheer, rocky hillside in the Lake District of England. Torver's owners, who had been hiking on the hill from which he fell, searched for him in vain. Five days later, after an animal charity had distributed 50 lost-dog posters, and radio stations and newspapers had broadcast Torver's story, he was spotted under a recreational vehicle four miles from the place where he had fallen. He looked a tad bedraggled, and he had acquired a limp; otherwise he was unharmed.
The Yorkshire terrier's size and doll-like appearance — to say nothing of the dainty ribbons with which it is often adorned — belie its toughness and determination. Toy breed fanciers are wont to boast that their tykes are actually "big dogs in little dog suits," but the Yorkie is one dog that can walk the talk. How many 5-pound toy males are up to breeding a 120-pound Rottweiler? Such was the bell-ringing achievement of Gizmo, a Yorkie male in Sarasota, Florida, who is the father of two Yorkie-Rotts. "He's a bigger man than we all thought," said Gizmo's owner to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Revolutionary Developments
The Yorkshire terrier is a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution in England. Prior to 1750 most Britons worked in agriculture, but as mills and factories — and the coal mines on which they depended for energy — hung out the "Help Wanted" signs, people matriculated from farms to the communities that surrounded these sources of employment.
The weaving mills in Yorkshire County in northern England attracted a number of Scottish immigrants, many of whom brought their dogs with them. The immigrants' dogs were called "Scotch terriers," but they were, in reality, members of at least two different breeds, most prominently the Clydesdale terrier and the Paisley terrier, both of which had long, silky, bluish coats and semierect ears. These working dogs, much larger than today's Yorkies, were adept at catching rats and other small mammals. Both the Clydesdale and the Paisley terrier eventually became extinct, but not before they had contributed to the development of the Yorkie.
The Scotch terriers that accompanied their masters to Yorkshire, England's largest county, were introduced to terriers already established there: the English black-and-tan toy terrier, the Skye terrier, the long-coated, blue-gray waterside terrier and, many observers believe, the Maltese terrier, whose long coat and general outline is reflected in today's Yorkie.
In addition to working in the Yorkshire mills, many Scotsmen found employment in nearby coal mines, where their dogs were welcome as exterminators. According to some accounts the Yorkie's golden-tan head and legs were developed so the dog could be seen more easily in the dark corners of the mine shafts.
The improvements wrought by terrier breeders in Yorkshire — and the magnificent show record of a dog called Huddersfield Ben (1865-1871) — inspired Angus Sutherland, a young reporter for the sporting newspaper The Field, "They ought no longer to be called Scotch Terriers, but Yorkshire Terriers for having been so improved there."
Sutherland's suggestion was not taken up at once. In fact, after the Kennel Club of England had been formed in April 1873, dogs from the same litter might be shown as either Yorkshire terriers or broken-haired Scotch terriers. Not until 1886 did the Kennel Club recognize the Yorkshire terrier as an individual breed.
Yorkies Among the Yanks
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.
Heroes and Villains
One has to wonder what Scotsmen of old would think of today's ribbon-clad and coddled Yorkshire terrier, whose breed standard dictates that the dog should stand between 8 and 10 inches at the shoulder and weigh no more than 7 pounds. Might they be disappointed that their tough little customer has become a mama's boy? The kind that could drive a man to call off a wedding three days before the I-do date because his intended "was constantly kissing and cuddling the Yorkshire Terrier instead of him," according to a Cleveland Daily Mirror report.
Perhaps, but Scotsmen could also point with pride to Yorkies like Tim, who got into a face-off with a noisy street-cleaning machine two years ago in an English town. The machine inhaled the barking dog through its intake pipe. Shoppers passing by yelled at the driver, who stopped and dismantled the machine. To everyone's amazement the Yorkie survived the experience, even though he was declared the loser by a technical knockout.
The earliest Yorkie breeders would also recognize the true grit — and the size — of dogs like Oliver, a hefty, 12-pound Yorkie who pushed open a screen door and raced across the street to the aid of a 79-year-old woman being mauled by an 80-pound Akita. The Akita turned his attention on Oliver long enough for neighbors to whisk the woman to safety. The Akita was eventually taken into custody by animal control, while Oliver was taken to the vet's for nine stitches.
In another stirring rescue two unnamed Yorkies sprang into action when their owner, an elderly woman, was accosted by a flasher. These dogs leaped up, bit the miscreant on the groin, and sent him howling away in pain.
These and other stories might convince the earliest Yorkie breeders that even though today's Yorkie is considerably smaller than its ancestors, its heart has in no way been diminished.
Nevertheless, a Yorkie's headstrong nature can lead to trouble with dogs that may not defer to his demands. For every Oliver who emerges with only a nine-stitch after a confrontation with a much larger dog, there are dozens of Yorkies that come to grief because they took on a larger dog or a human intruder and didn't have enough common sense to retreat gracefully.
Health and Welfare
Australian Gerri Grieg, whose Tejada Yorkshire terriers have enjoyed success in show rings and homes around the world, cautions prospective Yorkie buyers to seek out breeders who are highly recommended by the parent club in their respective countries. "Never consider taking a puppy home before 3 months of age," says Grieg, "and never [consider] the puppy that has not had the benefit of at least the first of its initial immunization shots" and a thorough exam by a veterinarian.
Though the Yorkie is among the smallest of breeds, it should never appear unsound in any respect, and it should also be free of skeletal deformities or gait problems. Moreover, the average Yorkshire terrier can enjoy an amazingly long life, 14 to 16 years is not unusual, but like most of the toy breeds it faces certain problems. Among them are patellar luxation (a slipped or dislocated knee joint), spinal cord problems and hydrocephalus. Though the breed's diminutive size is attractive to many people, dogs in the three-pound category are often the most fragile. They are susceptible to frequent injury and to hypoglycemia as well.
Attentive care of a Yorkie's teeth is critical to avoid the accumulation of tartar that can lead to infections and tooth loss at an early age. Regular brushing can help keep the teeth sound, healthy and functional for practically the entire life of the dog.
The most serious health problem Yorkies face is portacaval liver shunt, an ailment in which the blood is directed around the liver instead of through it. This creates an array of extremely serious medical problems. The condition can be detected as early as 6 months of age, and surgery to rectify the problem is highly recommended.
The Yorkshire terrier's long, silken coat — a shimmering golden-tan and metallic blue — is supremely attractive, but a Yorkie in full bloom requires more care and talent than the average owner may possess. According to professional groomer Susan Buhl, most Yorkie owners opt for the schnorkie cut. This style is patterned after the schnauzer's and is 3 to 4 inches long all around. The schnorkie cut is cute, stylish and vastly easier to maintain than the lovely-to-look-at-but-not-so-delightful-to-care-for show coat.
A well-bred Yorkshire terrier can get on famously with just about any other household pet, with one serious caveat: The Yorkie has to be in charge! No matter that your Great Dane may have lived there first or your pair of St. Bernards has been accustomed to ruling the roost, when your Yorkie moves in, the smallest shall be first.
As feisty and hardy as the Yorkie can be, it is not the ideal choice for young children who may not understand how easily the breed can be injured. If there are young children in a household they must be carefully supervised when they are playing with a Yorkie.
The Quarter Pounder
According to the Guinness Book of World Records a Yorkshire terrier holds the distinction of being the smallest dog in history. This matchbox-sized Yorkie, when fully grown at the age of 2, stood 2 ½ inches at the shoulder, measured 3 3/4 inches from the tip of its nose to the root of its tail, and weighed 4 ounces. Owned by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, Great Britain, this elfin dog died in 1945.
