The great white shark… err; the great white Yorkie controversy. Questions are left unanswered about the origin of the white Yorkie. Those who use the term “white yorkie” may be referring to any dog with yorkshire terrier ancestry that has white hair, usually more than one inch. However, there is a more specific category of white yorkie, known as the parti Yorkie.
As we all know, the main course of living for all nationalities was agriculture. When the dawn of the Industrial revolution came about, small British communities made home base around coal mines, mills and factories. People from as far as Scotland were starting their own little communities. They brought their dogs along with them as they sought after work. Amongst the dog breeds were (which I think are now extinct) are the Clydesdale and Paisley Terriers. These are what we would call now members of the working group and much larger than this era’s Yorkies. Unlike today, those dogs were used for catching rats and other vermin that proved destructive at the time.
These terriers brought from different areas and were crossed with other terriers. Good probabilities of crossing to the English Black and Tan toy terriers, Maltese Terrier, the Skye terrier (light/white colored), West Highland white terrier (white/light colored) are believed to have occurred. Of course there were no records nor pedigrees of all the attempts and successful crosses but the old time breeders were clear about what they wanted. There was no scientific way at that time of recording. Some believe that since the breed was purposely for rat and vermin killing that required some elemental camouflage, thus the White Yorkies that resulted were considered failures in accordance to the need for camouflage.
There is always reason to believe that even if the White Yorkies might have been labeled as failures, they still kept breeding. In addition, the recessive gene in these successful attempts of breeding was passed down to further generations. Even AKC Standard Yorkies have a possibility of carrying this gene so let’s not be surprised if a few pop up every now and then. There have been proven claims (http://www.sparkleofglamour.com/Hollywood_ped.htm) that although CH Nikko’s Rolls Royce Corniche was colored Blue and Tan, he produced White Yorkie Offspring.
What is mostly confusing is that some groups claim that the White and/or Parti Yorkie has already been accepted by the AKC but another websitehttp://www.ytca.org/mainview.htm clearly disqualifies Parti color Yorkies. For me, this is the Ultimate White Yorkie Controversy. But that is another story.
Read about more controversy: The Teacup Yorkie
August 24th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
this is the most cutiest thing i have ever seen
December 23rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
You write: “What is mostly confusing is that some groups claim that the White and/or Parti Yorkie has already been accepted by the AKC but another websitehttp://www.ytca.org/mainview.htm clearly disqualifies Parti color Yorkies.”
The YTCA disqualifies any adult color other than steel blue and tan (if you read their standards). Accepted Puppy colors can be blue and tan, blue and gold, black and tan and black and gold BUT adult colors are dark steel blue and tan. In other words, any adult that is black and gold or light blue and tan, are just as off colored as parti, golden or chocolate. The YTCA writes the standards for showing but the AKC is a breed registry and registers offspring from it’s AKC registered dogs. Even some of the most highly regarded and well known breeders have produced parti and other off colors in their pure bloodlines, it just takes the right 2 dogs who carry the same recessive genes to produce the parti, chocolate or golden color.
“There was no scientific way at that time of recording. Some believe that since the breed was purposely for rat and vermin killing that required some elemental camouflage, thus the White Yorkies that resulted were considered failures in accordance to the need for camouflage.”
Some people felt that breeding white dogs was a good thing; they could be easily identified in the field and less likely to be mistakenly shot as the game they were hunting. The West Highland White Terrier is one breed that comes to mind.
January 5th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Thank you for the excellent information. Its very thoughtful of you to share; you are well-versed about these dogs. I appreciate your attention to the details of our post, and for filling in the gaps. Thank you for visiting!
February 24th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
My female yorkie just had a litter of pups,one female is cream/white,she has never had this color.I had one championline/ championbred sire,she was kept inside throughout her life & walks on a leash,so there is no possible way for her to have any other breed of pup,but she has a white yorkie.all her other litters have been normal,same sire with each litter.I felt like someone has came into my house &bred their dog to my female,it’s a little spooky!!