In the 19th century, a group of Scottish weavers migrated to England, bringing along different types of terriers to hunt rats. Dogs were bred for their useful qualities, let alone their looks and purity. The terriers that belonged to the group of immigrants were eventually crossed, resulting in terriers with “broken hairs.”
In 1870, a “broken-haired Scotch terrier” was named as a Yorkshire terrier because these types were bred in a town called Yorkshire. Soon enough, word was getting around that a sire named Huddersfield Ben, who was born in 1865 that great quality dogs were coming from Huddersfield Ben. He was considered an ideal dog, who was a champion ratter with charming looks and personality.
These Yorkshire breeders kept their breeding methods a secret from their competitors, assuring them buyers. Therefore there aren’t enough accurate records of their breeding methods. These breeds were officially called Yorkshire Terriers, where this breed was perfected.
Yorkshire Terriers were originally bred to be specialists in killing rats. In fact, they were, and still are thought to be more reliable than cats. They were even bred to bark when they found their prey, letting their masters know where they are. Shortly, the mining industry had a high demand for Yorkshire at the time, because the mines were full of rats.
Back then, you would always find a dog next their to their master. A Yorkshire Terrier would go to work in the mines to kill rats and then come home with his master to the family. Yorkies began to be great companions and excellent watchdogs as well. Even their coats became shiner and silkier from the maintenance they’d receive from home. The minors would eventually go to work without the dogs, and the dogs became pampered the family.
It is thought that the sire Huddersfield Ben originally weighed about thirty pounds. As the need for working dogs decreased through time, the demand for small dogs increased and became more domesticated.
The Yorkshire Terrier became increasingly smaller and smaller through time. In the late Victorian era, they became fashionable pets in England. Yorkies were then brought to the United States in 1972 and became the country’s favorite pet. The trend was to have the Yorkie to get even smaller, with adults scaling at a mere three pounds. The newer breeds needed very little exercise, looked spectacular and was very trainable.
The Yorkshire Terrier, as of 2006, is the second most popular purebred dog in America.