No one is entirely sure which dogs were bred to create the Yorkshire Terrier. The contenders are the Toy Manchester Terrier, Maltese, Skye Terreir, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and the two extinct breeds known as the Paisley Terrier and the Clydesdale Terrier. The Yorkshire Terrier's long coat could have been inherited from either the Clydesdale, Paisley, or Skye Terrier. The size and coat from the Maltese. The Manchester Terrier for the coloration.
The small Yorkshires with smooth coats and fiery temperaments proved great for rat killing, some could kill even hundreds of rodents in only ten minutes.
Peter Eden of Manchester, England had his key stud dog Albert. Albert was the first name in the Kennel Club Stud Book as a Yorkshire Terrier. Mr. Eden's dogs were some of the first Yorkshires to have the blue silky coats marked with mahogany coloration on the head and legs. Also from Eden's dogs came the tuft of hair on the head that would drape over their eyes.
Mrs. M.A. Foster purchased Huddersfield Ben. Ben won nearly 100 prizes in Mrs. Foster's care. Champion Ted who won nearly 300 awards was also Mrs. Foster's dog. The original size of the Yorkshire Terrier was up to 15 pounds, by the time Mrs. Foster and Mr. Eden showed them, they were around 8 to 10 pounds.
The first Yorkshire Terrier to enter the United States was Belle. Belle entered in 1877 owned by Mr. A.E. Godeffroy, she was AKC registered. The first two in the AKC stud book were Jim and Rose, owned by J.A. Nickerson and R.R. Bushell of Boston, Massachusetts.
The Yorkshire breed rose in popularity in the 1940s, there were many breeders such as Kay Finch (Crown Crest), Aileen Markley Martello (Stirkean, from Goldie Stone), Theron and Better Trudgian, Mrs. Stanley E. Ferguson, Myrtle Durgin, Pearl Johnson, Stella Sally Myers and Ruby Erickson, whom produced top-winning Yorkshire Terriers.
Today the Yorkshire Terriers have become the nation's number-one toy breed.
