One question that many online dog breeders ask is about the history of the Yorkie, short for Yorkshire Terrier. Many people want to know where a breed of dog comes from before buying one. They want to accumulate as much knowledge about the breed as possible in an effort to better understand it when it comes to the dog breed’s temperament, personality, and trainability.
As the Yorkie’s name indicates, the city known as Yorkshire, UK, as well as the northern reaches of the English countryside, is where the Yorkie story begins. Yorkies are said to have been first bred in the mid-19th century. Yorkies were kept primarily in industrial areas and were trained to catch and kill rats in industrial buildings. During the 19th century, rats were a huge problem throughout England and Yorkies provided a quick and beneficial solution to this daunting problem as they were excellent rat catchers. Due to their original purpose, which was primarily hunting and killing, many breeders say this is the reason for the Yorkies’ somewhat aggressive nature. Even though they are not primarily trained for hunting purposes, those genes still exist within them to be a bit aggressive at times.
Due to the large number of terrier breeds, many believe that Yorkies are the result of constant crosses between terriers and other terriers or other types of dogs. In 19th century England, Yorkies would be seen roaming the streets freely due to their ability to catch and kill rats. It is quite possible that numerous other dog breeds we see today were a direct effect of breeding in England to find the best possible dog to handle the rat infestation.
One thing many Yorkie owners don’t realize is that Yorkies, when they were first bred, were much larger than they are today. When breeders began selectively breeding Yorkies, the result was a much smaller dog, known to many today as a “toy dog.” Many do not believe the stories that Yorkies are rat traps due to their small size. However, the truth is that the first of the breed used to be at least twice the size we know today. In the 19th century, they were definitely not “toy dogs”.
Current records cite that Yorkies were first recognized as pets in 1870. However, they were not officially registered until 1874 with the British Kennel Club. In the United States, they were registered in 1885 with the American Kennel Club. Americans embraced Yorkies out of love for the Victorian era, in which Yorkies were seen as a well-known pet. In the 1940s, its popularity waned, however shortly after World War II, interest in the breed was renewed. Since then, Yorkshire Terriers have been recognized around the world as a very popular small dog breed with owners all over the world.