1951 AKC - Yorkie Standards
 

I did find my American Kennel Club book that I had as a child - copyrighted 1951.

This book tells a lot about all the breeds that were recognized at that time (1951) - description, history, etc..... as well as the standards that were to be met if a dog was shown.

***** Interestingly -- the standards that were used in our country for the Yorkshire Terrier (in the AKC show ring) were from the Yorkshire Terrier Club in England. And - even more interesting - what the Yorkie should weigh to be shown is not even mentioned (in the 1951 AKC standards). Weight is mentioned for a lot of other breeds --- but not for the Yorkie.

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Here are some comments from my book regarding the Yorkie's history, size, etc.....

1861 --- made its first appearance at a bench show (it was not called a Yorkshire Terrier - but rather a "Scotch Terrier" at that time.

1886 --- first recognized by the Kennel Club in England as a Yorkshire Terrier.

Other quotes from the book

"It took many years before the Yorkshire was really small enough to be called a toy. The reduction in size was, most probably due to selective breeding. Still, it is remarkable that within twenty years of its origin the breed has been dwarfed to such an extent that it is among the smallest of all varieties. At least some specimens are very small."

1880 - The Yorkshire Terrier was introduced into the United States.

"Americans made caustic comments on the fact that its type was not very well fixed. It is not difficult to imagine their perplexity as to just what kind of dog was to be the style, for show records indicate that the weights varied from 2 3/4 pounds to 13 pounds. In the beginning the weight is said to have been as much as 15 pounds." (Please notice that the dogs were being shown weighing from 2 3/4 to 13 pounds).

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So ---- obviously, eventually, it was decided by the American Kennel Club that the standard weight (for showing) should be 5 to 7 pounds.

And - isn't it interesting that we still have Yorkies with the same wide range of weights that existed back then.... We also know now that the Yorkie used to be a much bigger dog - and that it has been bred down to become the smaller size that is more common today.

*** The AKC recognized 120 different breeds in 1951 -- there are certainly a lot more today. Maybe one of us can come up with the number of AKC recognized breeds we have today.

Carol Jean

Wow! That was extremely interesting. Thanks for sharing!!

i already knew that but thanks for showing people, maybe you could put that on my post about breed standard, thanks.:)

Your post inspired me to go check it out!

There are currently 156 AKC recognized breeds, with 4 more "up and coming" breeds to soon be recognized (Beauceron, Dogue de Bordeaux, Redbone Coonhound, Swedish Vallhund)

The newest two are the "Plott" and the "Tibetan Mastiff".

There is your daily trivia dose. ;)

whats a plott? lol

Here is what I found

1891
Two classes
Under 5 pounds
over 5 pounds, but not to exceed 12 pounds.

1904
Three Classes
5# ands under
7# and under
Over 7#


1912 - 1966
The AKC accepted the Canadian Standard, which (in my book) does not list a weight standard

1966
Weight up to 7 pouinds was added to the standard and has remained

that's a big differance than today's standards weight size

I do not believe that there is a 5 to 7 pound range. I believe it just says not to exceed 7 pounds.

The following is copied and pasted from The AKC website.

Weight
Must not exceed seven pounds.

Approved April 12, 1966
http://www.akc.org/breeds/yorkshire_terrier/index.cfm

Interesting.... I never heard of a 2lb or 3 lb yorkie on the show ring?!?!?!?
So maybe standard of 4-7lb will be more accurate.
JMHO

for more info on yorkies www.doggroup.com and http;//www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/a2986158 you can put that in google.

I don't know. Does anyone recall small under 5 # dogs in the show ring or if shown, winning?:confused:

". . . for show records indicate that the weights varied from 2 3/4 pounds to 13 pounds. . . . "

The above remark about the "show records" are referring to the late 1800's and early 1900's.

For a long time - there were no weight requirements listed in the ACK standards for the Yorkie --

Now the little Yorkie cannot exceed 7 pounds.

Carol Jean

This is so interesting, thanks for sharing.