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Originally Posted by Ladyhawk  The yorkies original work was as a ratter. They competed in taverns where they were placed in boxes full of rats and bets were taken as to how long each dog would take to dispatch the rats. Such a bloody sport! When it was over the yorkie was pulled out by all that glorious and now bloody hair. I don't think I could stomach watching such a competition and have to disagree with you on this one. The Victorians made the yorkie into a companion dog and personally I don't think they had such a bad idea. If you'd lilke to learn more about the history of the yorkie may I suggest the Complete Yorkshire Terrier by Joan Gordon and Janet Bennet. These ladies are the founders of Wildweir yorkies, probably the most successful american yorkie kennel ever, boasting 169 champions. They have done extensive study on the orgin and history of the breed and will take you through the 17th century to our modern breeders. Great reading! |
So what you are saying is they were breed for blood sports and not catching rats. Well they might indeed have been used in that awful way. But the Yorkie was indeed breed to catch rats and was a product of different kinds of terriers being breed to produce what is known as the Yorkie. This is a passage form the yorkies history.
The Yorkshire Terrier originated from Yorkshire, the North of England. The Yorkshire Terrier's history started in the middle of the 19 centuries. The onset of the Industrial Revolution being in England in that time, many former agricultural workers came to Yorkshire to seek work at coal mines, textile mills and factories. Some of them brought their dogs - various types of terrier of that time to catch rats. The crosses between those dogs produced the original Yorkie. At first, the Yorkshire Terrier was a much bigger than today's Yorkie, but by selectively breeding the smallest individuals, the dog was gradually miniaturized over the years. They were made into a toy dog. The Yorkshire Terrier appeared fist time on a dog show in 1870. In 1874 the first the Yorkies were registered in the British Kennel Club stud book.
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