I’m coming in at the tail end of this thread and will need time to read it in it’s entirety but wanted to post a few things before this thread gets shut down
;-).
I've posted numerous book links in past threads, that say the maltese was thought to be one of the dogs used in the make up of the YT and I continue to find new books pre 1950 that state the same.
The New Book of Dog, Robert Leighton, 1907, under the chapter of Yorkshire terriers, it talks of the Yorkshire Terrier heritage ...
"Evidence of origin is often to be found more distinclty in puppies than in mature dog, and it is to be noted that the puppies of both the dandie and yorkshire are born with decided black and tan coloring. Selection and rejection must have been important factors in the production-selection of offspring which came nearest to the preconceived model, rejection of all that had the long body and short legs of the skye,
the white colouring of the maltese, the drooping ears of the dandie and the wiry coat of the black and tan"
The New Book of the Dog - Google Books
I recently purchased a 1945 copy of the AKC's "The Complete Book of Dog". It’s a 700+ page book displaying all the reg. AKC breeds. Each breed chapter has numerous photos, brief history and breed standards. Each chapter was written with the help and approval of the specific breed club.
Under the Yorkshire Terrier chapter, it states that in addition to the dogs currently thought to be used in the breed makeup, also dogs like the Dandie Dinmont and Maltese were thought to be used in the makeup. I’m at work now so can’t quote word for word but that was the basic idea.
So how and where did we go from the early writings of the late 1800's through early/mid 1900's where it's stated that the maltese was part of the Yorkshire terriers heritage, to the current thinking of today's YTCA that there was never any white dog or dog with white used in the make up of the YT? I mean, even the British Kennel Club still has posted on their website that the Maltese was used in the YT makeup?? Did the current YTCA club and it’s views (which differ from the 1945 writing) start after this 1945 addition of this AKC’s breed book?
If someone has a more current version of "The Complete Book of Dog" could you please see if there is any mention of the Maltese used in the makeup of the YT?
And you wonder why off colors in the YT breed rarely been seen until the last 10 years or so ... Early writings like this one below, gives you a pretty good idea of what happened to those early off colored pups ...
Kennel secrets: How to breed, exhibit, and manage dogs, 1904
"In some instances when puppies must inevitably turn out poorly they present evidences of the fact before they are eight weeks old, but except they are weaklings, have pronounced congenital deformities or
are bad in markings, fatal defects, as acquired deformities, a snipy face, prick ear or the like, can seldom if ever be detected until a later age. But when any such defects are clearly evident, as a rule he is wisest in the end who destroys the victims, for although he might dispose of some of them for a few dollars, the sums received could scarcely compensate him for the risks he takes of
endangering the reputation of his kennel.”
Http://books.google.com/books?prints...page&q&f=false
And there are a
whole lot more early books that say that off colored pups were often destroyed by their breeders. After many years of trying to get rid of the off color quietly and secretly, the color is still showing up.