The History of Yorkshire Terriers has not been very well documented, however, it is apparent that it came about through the cross breeding of several different terrier breeds.
The Yorkshire Terrier history begun over 130 years ago. Although it was around before then it wasn’t until 1874 that it was registered with the British Kennel Club.
According to the story many workers begun moving to an area in England known as Yorkshire during the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
With them they took many dogs such as the Tan Toy Terrier, the Clydesdale Terrier, the Skye Terrier and the Maltesse Terrier and thus the history of the yorkie began.
It is said that all of these dogs played a part in the breeding of what is known today as the Yorkshire Terrier.
With many of these workers making their living in the mines the Yorkie’s courage and tenacity made it perfect as a rat catcher.
Even though it has always been small in size it has always maintained this part of it’s terrier heritage. However, it soon became more and more of a toy dog and many breeders begun breeding smaller versions of the dog.
By 1881 this ever more popular breed was introduced to the U.S. It was an immediate success and by 1889 there was an American Champion, a Yorkshire Terrier by the name of ‘Bradford Harry‘, who was incidentally the great-great-grandson of possibly the most famous Yorkie of all time ‘Huddersfield Ben‘.
Huddersfield Ben was, for many, the original Yorkshire Terrier and the most influential of the early sires. The history of Yorkshire Terriers would not be the same without him.
These dogs soon became attractive to other tiers of society and it wasn’t just the workers in Yorkshire that owned these dogs.
Infact, the dog became so popular that the present day Yorkshire Terrier can be found all over the world.
There are clubs and societies in a number of countries and the Yorkie is a very sought after companion.
In conclusion, the history of yorkshire terriers has flourished after very humble beginnings. It has become a household name and still maintains many of its original qualities much to the delight of Yorkie lovers all over the world.
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