Thought I would start a new thread (instead of tacking on the end of another's) about the white/parti-color's and how they pertain to the Yorkshire Terrier. As I said in another thread, we mostly have to just form an educated opinion as we do not have our own genetics labs or a time machine to be physically present during those early breedings. But we can take information from some of the experts in the field that have studied Yorkshire Terriers for 20-30 years and formulated their own ideas. I had to redo my computer recently and lost my bookmarks but as I find the pertinent sites, I will post the info here. Everyone is welcome to post their references pro and con. References authored by those that sell the parti-colors are not really desired as their opinions are pretty biased and clouded by $$$. I think this is an important issue to the future of the Yorkshire terrier. I have no delusions that what I find or post will stop parti-colored dogs from being bred, but I do think it is important that people (especially new folks looking for puppies) understand this issue and what it might mean to the future of the breed.
So, here is a good start -- several recognized experts comment on their thoughts on the tri-color possibility:
Joan Gordon
"According to many present-day writers Yorkshires were the result of
a number of breeds being bred together to produce the desired points. How anyone could believe, or even imagine, these early fanciers would have bred from a Dandie Dinmont, a breed with an uneven top line; a Maltese, a totally white breed lacking any blue or tan markings or from a smooth coated Manchester Terrier (originally a smooth coated Old English Terrier) is not being realistic. "http://www.ytca.org/history.html
Gale Thompson
" Parti-Color Yorkshire Terriers?
Do not be fooled into buying one of these dogs.
Now that Designer Dogs are the rage, the “new” Parti-Color Yorkie is certain to draw attention. While we have had problems in the past with “rare gold” Yorkshire Terriers being advertised, the parti-color is a new one! While some breeds have an occasional mismark and some breeds do have a gene for a white dog, we do not. Had there been a problem with white markings, piebald dogs, or white dogs, it would have been addressed in our Standard. Due to unscrupulous breeders advertising parti-colored Yorkshire Terriers at premium prices, our members voted unanimously at our annual meeting to add a disqualification for these and other off colored dogs.
The Yorkshire Terrier is a tan dog with a blue saddle. The “rare gold” Yorkie is actually a dog that appears as such due to an improper saddle pattern. Show breeders have seen this and commonly call it running gold. When the dog is cut down, you can see that the blue saddle does not come down far enough. The Yorkshire Terrier blue saddle extends lower than some of the other black and tan terriers extending to the elbow and also to the hock on the rear leg. Gold hairs can occur in the blue and black or blue hairs can appear in the gold. These faults are addressed in the Yorkshire Terrier Standard. These dogs have serious faults and they too should not be sold as "rare" but placed in loving homes as they are very incorrect. Yorkies do not have white markings…never have. A small white strip is sometimes seen on the chest of newborns but this always turns to tan within a few weeks. The AKC registration form for Yorkshire Terriers allows for four choices: blue and tan, blue and gold, black and tan, black and gold. There is no provision for markings.
A brief history of the development of the Yorkshire Terrier will show that the dog was developed in the 1800’s. In England, the Waterside Terrier was often crossed with the old English terrier, a silky coated black and tan or blue and tan terrier weighing around five pounds. When crafters from Scotland came into England, they brought several “Scotch“terriers, among them the Paisley and the Clydesdale. The Paisley was a small silky coated dog in various shades of blue. The Clydesdale was a blue and tan dog with the exact color pattern as the Yorkie of today. All of these original breeds were grizzle, tan, blue, blue and tan, or black and tan. No white dog or dogs with white markings were involved in the process of developing the breed. The first Yorkshire Terriers were entered at shows as Broken Haired Scotch and Yorkshire Terriers. In the early days, dog classes were often divided by size, under five pounds and over five pounds; however, there was never a class for colors other than the blue and tan we see today. The color pattern and coat texture has bred true and has been dominate enough that the Silky Terrier evolved by crossing the Yorkshire Terrier and the Australian Terrier with basically the same coat of the of the Yorkie. "
Yorkshire Terrier Club of America (Awards) Cher Hildebrand
"If I personally had a Tri-Colored Yorkie, as a reputable breeder I would immediately spay/neuter the dog as the dog does not genetically represent a true Yorkie in breed type. Do not be misled by breeder's selling these dogs. They are not what a Yorkie should be and do not look like Yorkies, but more like a Shih Tzu and sometimes a Maltese. Beware!
Don't be misled that someday the Parti Yorkie will be shown with AKC. This is not happening. It's much like the white German Shepherd. AKC registers off colored dogs, including the Parti color Yorkie, but they can NOT be shown. AKC is only a registration body. YTCA holds the Yorkshire Terrier standard and will not allow the Parti Yorkie to be shown and that is not going to change. The Biewer's can NEVER be shown AKC as they are not registered with an organization acceptable in the US. So the papers with that organization can never be transferred to AKC. The Parti Yorkie and Biewer can NEVER become another breed with AKC either unless they acknowledge they are a combination of atleast 3 breeds. That information is right on AKC's website on Foundation Stock Service. When you work to create a new breed, it takes atleast 3 breeds to be involved in the makeup of that breed and of course they would have their own name."
Top Parti Yorkies Genetics Party Color and Biewer Malcolm Willis' "Genetics of the Dog"
The genetic makeup for the Yorkshire Terrier is:
asasBBCCDDEEGGmmSStt
S Self colour to totally pigmented surface si Irish spotting involving a few definite areas of white sp Piebald spotting sw Extreme-white piebald
Most breeds without white markings are SS but from time to time markings do appear and in general appear on toes, chest or muzzle. These marks can be present at birth and are lost during infancy. The ones that persist are not other s alleles but to minus modifiers at the S allele and will be limited to those minute amounts in those locations.
Irish spotting is also limited to certain areas of the body as the dominant S is, ruling out either gene in the makeup of Parti Yorkie Tri Colors or Biewers. Limited to forehead, chest, belly, feet and tail tip.
Piebald shows much larger amounts of white on the dogs then the Irish spotting gene.
Extreme-white piebald is seen in those breeds which are white in color. As a result of this double carrier of swsw all other colors can be suppressed. (From Malcolm Willis "Genetics of the Dog")
So in essense, to have the white markings that are on the so called Parti Yorkie Tri Color or Biewer dogs, another breed had to have been in the mixture at some point. Since no one wants to admit this and in all honesty, it could be back far enough that no one is living any longer to admit to it, but unlikely that it is not much closer up. After some study of the current Biewer situation, which is somewhat the same situation, I've found they have both the Piebald gene and the Extreme-White Piebald gene. Some of the Biewer's are going almost solid white, which gives and indication of a couple different breeds.
Malcolm Willis' "Genetics of the Dog" When you read the genetic study of the Maltese, they have the Extreme-White Piebald gene.
Even though the genetic studies were not conducted on Shih Tzu, it is quite apparent that they are carrying the Piebald gene. Either or both could figure into the equation. The ones going white are heavy on the Extreme-White Piebald and the ones keeping color on the backs are of the Piebald inheritance. Either way, the mix wherever it happend, by accident or plan, this is NO longer a purebred Yorkshire Terrier.
In over 30 years of being involved in the sport and many Yorkshire Terrier champions, I have not had a Yorkshire Terrier with white. I find it interesting that the only ones coming up are the ones not bred by show exhibitors. A show exhibitor was getting them and had enough sense to realize there was more behind her breeding then just the Yorkshire Terrier and somebody had obviously done a breeding that was not pure Yorkshire Terrier. Otherwise the show exhibitors are not getting these white colored dogs."
Top Parti Yorkies Genetics Party Color and Biewer