Today’s Yorkshire Terrier is a far different dog than when the breed appeared in 1865. In over just one hundred years, the size has been greatly reduced from an average weight of thirty pounds to a mere seven pounds today. And the trend is to have the Yorkie (as the breed is affectionately called) get even smaller, with adults tipping the scales at a mere three pounds. But who knows? Perhaps in the future, there will be a demand for the Yorkshire Terrier to grow back into a thirty pound dog.

Back in the 1870’s, word was getting around about the great pups from a sire named Huddersfield Ben, who was born in 1865. Huddersfield Ben was considered an ideal dog - a champion ratter as well as being friendly and handsome. Any dog that resembled Huddersfield Ben had to have been from Yorkshire, where Ben lived. Yorkshire dog breeders kept their breeding methods secret so they could be assured of buyers. His puppies eventually became known as Yorkshire Terriers.

The ancestors from Scotland were called, appropriately enough, the Scottish Terrier and the Clydesdale (or Clyde) Terrier (which is now an extinct breed). It is thought the also extinct Scottish breed the Paisley Terrier made a significant genetic contribution to the origins of today’s Yorkshire Terrier. Scottish weavers became suddenly unemployed during the Industrial Revolution and moved south to the rough English county of Yorkshire in order to find work. They brought all of their families with them - including their dogs.

The Scottish breeds inevitably bred with the terrier breeds already in Yorkshire, which experienced a great wave of Scottish immigrants in the late 1800’s. The Scottish breeds were purposefully put to breeds that were known for killing rats. Yorkshire Terrier information sources guess that these breeds included the Maltese, the Skye and the now extinct breeds of Black and Tan English, Waterside and quite possibly the Manchester Terrier (which still survives, but is considered an extremely rare breed). The result was a rat-killing machine that was extremely friendly with people.

Back then, dogs went everywhere with their masters. A Yorkshire Terrier would go to work in the mines and come home with his master to the family. The family found the Yorkies to be great companions and excellent watchdogs. The coats became even softer and silkier. Eventually, the men went to work without the dogs and the dogs became pampered family members. The breed needed very little exercise, looked spectacular and was very trainable.

Also back then, the sport of rat killing was very popular. Rats were put in a barrel and then a terrier was dropped in. The winner was the dog that killed the most rats in the least amount of time.

The hot trend is top breed Yorkies that tip the scales at three pounds, which has lead to concerns about the health of breeding such small dogs. The Yorkshire Terrier, as of 2006, is the second most popular purebred dog in America.