The Yorkie Blog

So…what’s the big fuss? Parti Yorkies ARE Yorkshire Terriers, but with different pigmentation.

The Parti gene can only be expressed if a parti gene carrier is bred to another parti gene carrier. A carrier will look like a traditional colored Yorkshire Terrier but is born with maybe some white on it’s chin, chest and/or feet. In this case where a parti carrier is bred to another parti carrier, 25% of the offspring will be traditional Yorkies (not carrying the gene), 50% will be traditional colored Yorkies who do carry the recessive parti gene and 25% of the offspring will be actual Parti colored dogs. AKC has allowed Parti colored Yorkies to be eligible for registration since 2000.

Many people have the mistaken notion that a Parti Color Yorkie is not eligible for AKC registration. In fact, Parti Colored Yorkshire Terriers can be registered with the AKC.  However, for show purposes, while they are accepted in the obedience ring, Parti Yorkshire Terrier Pups are not yet eligible to be shown in the confirmation ring. The term “parti” refers to their color not the breed. When you register a “Parti Color” Yorkshire Terrier with AKC you must send in 4 pictures, one of each side of the dog. When your AKC registration papers are returned to you they are registered as Yorkshire Terrier and stated on the papers is their color, ie, Blue and Gold Parti Color, Black and Tan Parti Color and so forth. You cannot register a Parti color Yorkie online at AKC website because you MUST send in photos of the dog in order to have the “Parti Color” listed on their papers.

The most prolific known line of Parti Yorkies is the “California line” or Nikko’s line. These dogs are all descendants of an AKC Champion named Nikko’s Rolls Royce Ashley.  In 1983, a Yorkshire Terrier named “Nikkos Rolls Royce Ashley” won the Best of Show at Crufts and was selected Dog of the Year.  This Yorkie Stud went on to become the patriarch of our exclusive line of AKC registered Parti Color Yorkies. The AKC officially accepted our Parties after voluminous DNA-tracing. Two dedicated breeders in California, fought to get this line of Parti colored Yorkies, registered by AKC. This line of Parti carriers and Parti colored Yorkies comes from a well known show breeder who’s been breeding and showing for over 40 years. Forty-two litters and generations of dogs from this line were DNA’d prior to AKC’s approval of registration.

Parti Yorkies come in various colors, such as Chocolate (red), Blonde (white/gold), Blue-black  and commonly recognized as white with brown and black. These pups are becoming more popular within the Yorkie community…and the best part is that these Parti Yorkies have the same characteristics of the Traditional Yorkshire Terriers that we all love!

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.