Some Yorkie Bits...

Yorkies are a long-haired toy terrier with blue and tan coats. They do not shed their coats as they have hair not fur. This is a real plus for people with allergies. They should have a neat, compact and well proportioned body. They have a black nose and their eyes are medium in size, dark, and sparkling with a sharp, intelligent expression. They have small ears that are V-shaped, carried erect and set not too far apart. The tails are docked to a medium length and carried slightly higher than the level of the back. The puppies are born black and tan and show an intermingling of black hair in the tan until they are more mature. A Yorkie must not exceed seven pounds.

A disqualification was added to the Yorkshire Terrier Standard in October of 2007 in an effort to keep Parti-Colored Yorkies from ever being shown.  Only time will tell the effect that it will have on the breeding of Yorkies in the future.
 

The History of the Breed:

According to the AKC the Yorkshire Terrier first appeared at a bench show in England in 1861 as a "broken-haired Scotch Terrier." The earliest record of a Yorkshire Terrier born in the United States dates to 1872 and became an AKC-recognized breed in 1885.

The Yorkshire Terrier Club has added a page to their website.  It is a great read.  You can read it at History of the Yorkshire Terrier.

Below is from my previous research before this article was written.

Some believe the Yorkie was probably developed for catching the rats that infested the mines, mills, and factories in Yorkshire and possibly as a hunting dog for badgers and foxes. Several types of terrier (Skye, Clydesdale, Paisley, English Black, Tan Manchester, Dandie Dinmont, and Waterside) were crossed to produce the blood lines of today. Some believe that the Maltese also contributed to the line. The Yorkie was a much bigger animal then but breeders selectively breed the smallest animals to obtain the smaller size.
Another view was published by Mr. Ed. Bootman of Halifax, England in a journal called the "English Shopkeeper" in 1887. The article relates the breed to 3 specific dogs. The dogs were reported to be a cross-bred Scotch Terrier, a Skye, and an Old-English Terrier. I do see a lot or simularity between the Yorkie and the Scotch Terrier.

The end result is that most people today consider them a "glamorous dog" and they are reported to be the number one toy breed (in terms of being the most popular) in America.

<BGSOUND SRC="Its_Still_Rock_and_Roll_To.mid">