Feb, 10, 1887.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



81 



THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER. 



IN commencing an article on the Yorkshire terrier, it is 

 necessary to trace back their origin as far as possible. 

 With this object in view, 1 have been at some trouble in 

 looking up several old fanciers, one of whom, John Richard- 

 son, of Halifax, is now in his 67th year. And very interest- 

 ing it was to hear this aged mango back to the "good old 

 days" of over half a century ago. I regret, however, that, 

 although we can find men who have been in the fancy so long, 

 the origin of the present Yorkshire terrier is somewhat ob- 

 scure. Fifty years ago there was in Halifax and the imme- 

 diate neighborhood a type of dog called at that time (and 

 even within these last twenty years) a "Waterside Terrier," 

 a little game dog, varying in weight from tilts, to 201bs., but 

 mostly about lOlbs. weight— a dog resembling very much the 

 present Welsh and Airedale terrier on a small scale. At this 

 period these dogs were bred for the purpose, of hunting and 

 killing rats. They would go into the river and work with a 

 ferret, and wen; just in their element Avhen put into a. rat pit. 

 An almost daily occurrence at that time was to back them 

 to kill a given number of rats in a {riven time. It seems 

 almost a pity that such a breed should have become extinct. 

 Mr. Richardson himself owned a little bitch called Polly, 

 who weighed 61 bs., and she was frequently put into a rat 

 nit with a dozen rats, the whole of which she would speedily 

 kill against time. She would also swim the river and hunt 

 with the ferret. This little bitch. I am told, had fouror five 

 inches of coat on each side of her body, with a white or silver 

 head. At that time, however, the average specimen was a 

 shorter-coated dog, with grizzle-gray, hardish coat. It, how- 

 ever, seems to me, and is also the opinion of many old fan- 

 ciers whom I have consulted, that they were the "ancestors 

 for the present breed. There is no doubt, also, that the 

 blood of the Skye terrier was introduced at some remote 

 period, which may account for the longer coat and long body 

 that existed some ten or fifteen years later. No care or defin- 

 ite object, however, seems to have been aimed at in breeding 

 at this time beyond getting a dog thoroughly game. It seems 

 that it was more by good luck than management that about 

 twenty or thirty years ago a longer and softer-coated dog be- 

 came known. It must also be borne in mind that at this 

 time their coats were not cultivated as they were later on. 

 Hog shows were almost unknown in those' days, and even 

 later were scarce. 



We now come to about twenty-threey ears ago, when shows 

 became frequeut, and classes w r ere made for this breed under 

 the name of "Scotch Terriers," and, in fact.it is only very 

 recently they were properly named the Yorkshire terrier. 

 About the first to make a name at this time was Mr. John 

 Inman, of Brighouse, one of the most respected and best 

 Judges of the breed now living, and to whom I am greatly 

 indebted for much of this early information. Just twenty- 

 two years ago Mr. Inman was at the ton of the tree with a 

 little flog called Hon, weighing filbs. This little dog had on 

 his sides about 9in. of hair, of a good blue color, and the 

 head and legs were a wonderfully rich golden tan. This 

 little dog won eighteen prizes, and was sold to Mr. Peter 

 Eden, of Manchester, for whom he also won a great number 

 of prizes. This dog takes us as far back in the history of the 

 breed as I am able to trace auy of note, and he is doubtless 

 resnonsible for many good dogs since. But, to show the 

 difference in sizes that were allowed, I will mention that 

 Mr. Inman, about the same period, won nearly forty prizes 

 with a dog called Charley, which Weighed over 141bs. About 

 this time. Mr. Inman informs me, richness of tan was con- 

 sidered indisneu sable, and he is strongly in favor of color 

 over coat. A Mr. J. Hewhurst, of Halifax, Mr. Hinsdale, 

 and Mr. Teal, of Leeds, and one or two others were about 

 the only exhibitors at this time, three or four being an aver- 

 age number of entries at shows; and most of the exhibits 

 were on the big side, some of them weighing over 1.51 bs. each. 



Then became very common a breed of dog peculiar to 

 Leeds, a sort of cross between a Maltese and wire-haired 

 fox-terrier, taking after the latter in build, and the former 

 in quality and quantity of coat, and it is presumed they 

 were crossed with the strain of Scotch or Yorkshire terrier. 

 The result, was a dog much on the lines of the present York- 

 shire terrier, but almost white or silver-haired, having no 

 t*n but a vast quantity o f hair, and the c e were called 

 "Silver-haired Terriers." Classes were provided specially 

 for them at some of the leading shows, but I am pleased to 

 find they are fast dying, and that the fancy is "ast returning 

 to a class more resembling the old breed* of blue-and-tans. 

 It is just about twentv years ago that a dog called Rudders- 

 field Ben made his ^noearance. He weighed about 91bs., and 

 belonged to Mr. J. Poster, of Bradford, the well-known ex- 

 hibitor of the present dav. Huddersneld Ben was, perhaps, 

 the nearest approach to the present Yorkshire that then ex- 

 isted. He was not a very good tanned dog, and not anything 

 like so heavy coated as some. As a sire he proved very valu- 

 able,, a great many of the present winners having his blood 

 in their veins, this dog and Hunan's Charley having the run 

 for several years, both at stud and on the show bench. It is 

 not necessary to go further, as from this date the breed was 

 firmly established, and has continued to progress, each 

 breeder vying with another to produce, a superior animal. 

 There can be no doubt that the present breed are verv much 

 in-bred, in fact, as I h^ve stated, the breed is confined to 

 Halifax and its immediate neighborhood, so it is almost im- 

 possible to breed from dogs that have not some relationship. 

 This accounts in a great measure for their delicateness and 

 small ness. and very few of them would now look at a rat, 

 much less kill one. 



Even if tbev were disposed to it would not be wise to per- 

 mit it. especially with small and valuable do r rs, for fear of 

 accidents. It is a great mistake to imagine that it is neces- 

 sary to breed from long-coated and small specimens to nro- 

 duce the like, as bitches of lfilbs. weight have bred toys 

 wf-ighing only 3 or 41bs. when full grown; while bitches of 

 albs, weight have bred dogs that have reached 141bs. when 

 matured. They are. constantly throwing back, no matter 

 how good and well chosen the i>areuts. In a litter of York- 

 shire terrier mips, when they are grown, I select the largest 

 bitch of the lot, irrespective of quality, and I put her to a 

 small dog of the best blood. I am quite as likely to breed 

 high -class specimens in th's way as if I breed from the best- 

 bitch ever seen on the show bench. In fact a bitch with a 

 long coat would be ruined while having the care of a family. 

 I have known really high-class winning bitches that were 

 own sister to a rank* bad one. so far as. appearance went; but 

 I would just as soou breed from the worst looking one, if put 

 to a really good dog— and the dog above all others that I 

 should select would be one that was most likely to produce 

 richness of tan on head and legs. 



Perhaps one of the most remarkable features in connection 

 with this breed is that the pups, when bom, are quite 

 black and smooth-coated, like a black and tan terrier. It 

 has been my lot, on more than one occasion, to sell a York- 

 shire terrier bitch in pup to a first-class dog, and afterward 

 to receive a most insulting and indignant letter saying the 

 pups were mongrels, and had, in consequence, been drowned 

 —simply because they were black. In fact, so little knowl- 

 edge exists in some parts of the country of the peculiarities 

 of this breed in their early days, that I do believe some people 

 expect them to be born with a long silky coat, ready parted, 

 etc., simply because they never see this* breed except when 

 on the show bench. Yorkshire terriers might, in fact, be 

 called the Halifax terrier, seeing they are almost exclusively 

 bred in Halifax or the environs, and even when bred in other 

 towns they can always be traced back as coming originally 

 from Halifax. Very few outside the fancy can imagine the 

 tremendous amount of care and attention that have to be 

 given to this breed before they are good enough to make a 

 name in the prize ring. I have known men spend many 



long years in brooding, and still never have one good enough 

 for competition. This is, no doubt, one of the chief reasons 

 that account for the scarcity of good winning Toys. Where 

 one champion turns up fifty others are only very average 

 specimens. Still, it must be borne in mind, that even the 

 good ones are not got to perfection without continuous 

 labor and care. Anot her reason for their scarcity is the large 

 and continual demand from all parts of the world for these 

 little beauties. It is a remarkable fact that they are mostly 

 bred by workingmen. The result is, that as soou as the 

 puppies begin to show their quality they are mostly pur- 

 chased by others and sent to all parts or the country to be 

 afterward lost sight of. I have myself sent over 300 away 

 during the past tw r enty years, and only a few days ago sold 

 five very choice specimens, two of which are going to India, 

 one to America, and another to Africa, while the other re- 

 mains in London. This shows how they are admired all 

 over the world. I must also note that far more good speci- 

 mens die than are reared. 



It is not the actual scarcity, however, of this breed that 

 makes the classes so poorly filled at some of our leading 

 shows. But it is absolutely necessary that some one should 

 go with them to exhibit them to the best advantage, and 

 also to attend to their coats and general comfort, as a few 

 days' neglect can easily do more harm to a good heavy- 

 coated dog than many weeks of care and attention could 

 remedy. Another great reason for personal attendance is 

 that the "best dog does not always win," and I think it most 

 unfair for gentlemen to undertake to judge this or any other 

 breed if he does not feel himself thoroughly competent to do 

 justice to the post. There can be no question about it that 

 the Toys are the chief attraction of a show, and it is a pity 

 more care is not taken to give them "fair play " and let the 

 best dog win, no matter "whom it belongs to*" Gentlemen 

 are invariably selected to judge this breed who probably 

 never see one except when on the show bench, and, to speak 

 plainly, it is positively painful to see the way they are mis- 

 rudged at some of our leading shows. I am very pleased, 

 however, to find that many judges have studied the points 

 of the breed, and are trying as quick as possible to become 

 proficient. Just recently, also, there has been formed a 

 Yorkshire Terrier Club. The first meeting was convened 

 during the Halifax Dog Show last year. Mr. J. W. Berrie, 

 of London, afterward elected as president, had worked hard 

 to get the fancy together, and gave me all the assistance in 

 power, I acting as secretary pro tern. A very good meeting 

 was the result, and after many other meetings a standard of 

 points was drawn up and finally settled as follows: 



General Appearance. — This should be that of a long- 

 coated pet dog, the coat hanging quite straight and evenly 

 down each side, a parting extending from the nose to the end 

 of the tail. The animal should be very compact and neat, 

 the carriage being very "sprightly," bearing an import- 

 ant air. Although the frame is hidden beneath a mantle 

 of hair the general outline should be such as to suggest the 

 existence of a vigorous and well-proportioned body, 

 j Head. — This should be rather small and flat, not too prom- 

 ; inent or round in the skull; rather broad at the muzzle, with 

 a perfectly black nose ; the hair on the muzzle very long, 

 which should be a rich deep tan, not sooty or gray. Under 

 the chin, long hair, and about the same color as the center 

 of the head, which should be a bright golden tan, and not on 

 any account intermingled with dark or sooty hairs. Hair on 

 the sides of the head should be very long and a few shades 

 deeper tan than the center of the head, especially about the 

 ear-roots. 



The eyes should be medium in size, dark in color, having a 

 sharp intelligent expression and placed so as to look directly 

 forward but should not be prominent. The edges of the eye- 

 lids should also be of a dark color. 



Ears, — Cut or uncut; if cut, quite erect; uncut, small, V- 

 shaped, and carried semi-erect. Covered with short hair. 

 Color to be a deep dark tan. 



The mouth should be good and even; teeth as sound as 

 possible. A dog having lost a tooth or two through ac- 

 cident, not the least objectionable, providing the jaws are 

 even. 



The body should be very compact, with a good loin, and 

 level on the top of the back. 



Coat.— The hair as long and straight as possible (not wavy) 

 which should be flossy, like silk, not woolly. It snould ex- 

 tend from the back or the head to the root of the tail. Color, 

 a bright steel blue, and on no account intermingled with 

 fawn, light or dark hairs. 



Legs.— Quite straight, of a bright golden tan color and well 

 covere d with hair a few shades lighter at the ends than at 

 the roots. 



Feet— As round as possible; toenails black. 



Weight.— Bivided into two classes, viz., under 51bs. and 

 over 51 bs., but not to exceed 121bs. 



Value of Points in Judg ing.— Quantity and color of hair 

 on back, 25; quality of coat, 15; tan 15- head, 10; eyes, 5; mouth, 

 5; ears, 5; legs and feet, 5; body and general appearance, 10; 



tail, 5; total 100. 



On my resignation as secretary, Mr. H. W. Alderson (of 

 Leeds) was elected, and the club is to be congratulated upon 

 having made such an excellent ehoice. As far back as I can 

 remember, Mr. Alderson was always strong in the fancy, 

 and I believe was almost at the top of the tree in Yorkshires 

 twenty years ago; although of late years his name has not 

 appeared among the list of exhibitors, he is, I know, as much 

 interested in the Yorkshire terrier as ever he was. Mr. 

 Alderson had a famous dog about thirteen years ago, called 

 Mozart. This celebrated Yorkshire terrier w r on 164 prizes, 

 viz.j 142 firsts, 17 seconds and 5 thirds, including no less than 

 silver cups, etc., the other celebrities about the same time 



Hundreary, Bruce, King, King William, Morning Star, 

 Prince, etc. 



I trust I may be excused in passing a few criticisms of the 

 above standard of points, as I know they were drawn up 

 after much careful thought by the members of the club. Of 

 course, it is one thing putting on paper what ought to be, 

 and quite another thing to produce the exact ideal. I know 

 of no breed so likely to vary in points as the Yorkshire ter- 

 rier. But if judges wall try to select the dogs nearest to the 

 above standard, then the objects of the club will be accom- 

 plished. Personally, I confess a weakness for color over 

 quantity of coat, as i contend it is quite possible to produce 

 a vast quantity of coat on a specimen otherwise indifferent. 

 From boyhood, I remember my father (now deceased) being 

 a great breeder and fancier of Yorkshire terriers, and he 

 could not tolerate a dog without the rich golden tan, and I 

 certainly inherit his weakness, and think the points most 

 difficult to obtain should be thought most highly of when 

 they are produced. I am rather afraid that of late years too 

 much thought has been given to length of coat in preference 

 to good color and moderate coat combiued. "A lot of hair, 

 with a dog attached," does not constitute a perfect York- 

 shire terrier. Another point, also, that I would like to men- 

 tion is the weight. It will be observed the club standard 

 says— Weight, divided into two classes, viz.. under 51 bs. and 

 over olbs., but not to exceed 121bs. Well, now, unfortuuately, 

 the managements of the various shoAvs in the past have not 

 divided the classes, and I regret to say, have not, in most 

 cases, made a class at all for this breed, but put them in as 

 "Toys, any variety." This, of course, prevents a good big 

 dog being shown except in a variety class. What I am 

 anxious to impress on the minds of the fancy is that where 

 all sizes are shown together, "a good little on'eshould always 

 beat a good big one." No amount of argument would per- 

 suade me otherwise. From a life-long experience 1 know 1 



that good little dogs are much mora difficult to breed than 

 big ones, and when produced ought certainly to have the 

 preference, like a diamoa 1 aonii; prruom sto i?.^, simply 

 from its scarcity. I have often been am-Osed at soma of our 

 leading shows to see a judge go to a do? about 71bs. or 8'bs 

 weight, and take the hair on each side to notice its length, 

 and theu walk up to another in the same elais about Bibs, or 

 4lbs, weight, ana go through the same performance, shake 

 his head and think how much longer the big dog's coat was, 

 seemingly never taking into consideration the proportionate 

 difference in size, etc. Probably the small dog's coat would 

 reach nearer the ground than the bigger dog's would. I con- 

 tend that a dog at 4lbs. w r eight, with 9in. of hair on each 

 side of his body, is much longer proportionately than 12in. 

 on each side of a dog weighing Slbs. 



And all must admit that it requires much more care to 

 rear a very small dog, especially one that is straight in limb 

 and body; hence my contention. I have often been asked 

 how these wonderful long coats were produced, and to make 

 this article as complete as possible, I will give as full an ex- 

 planation as I am able to of the method I adopt. As I stated 

 at the outset, the pups, when born, are quite black, with tan 

 markings and smooth coats like the black and tan terrier 

 Beyond taking care of tbem and keeping their beds dry and 

 warm, very little notice is taken of them till about three 

 or four months old, when the hair has got rough and begins 

 to show signs of altering color on the skull and down "the 

 center of the back. Then begins a long and tedious prepara- 

 tion of daily brushing to cultivate a parting in the coat. I 

 then slightly grease them all over with the following, which 

 I have always used: Six ounces of neat's foot oil, six 

 drachms of tincture of cantharides, six drops of oil of rose- 

 mary; put into a bottle and always shake well before appW- 

 ing. This is certain to cause, the hair to grow. One of the 

 main causes why we always keep them greased is to keep the 

 coat straight and free from clots or matting together. They 

 are, usually washed once a week, and greased again the same 

 day. I also keep each foot tied up in a small stocking or bag 

 to prevent them scratching or catching their claws in the 

 coat and dragging it out. It is really wonderful the great 

 change and improvement that can be seen each week. When 

 Washing I use a bit of good plain soap. Hog soaps as adver- 

 tised are too strong for their delicate skins. After washing 

 they should be well dried with a soft towel and placed on a 

 stool in front of a good warm fire, and afterward can fully 

 combed and brushed. I say carefully combed because it is 

 easy to pull off more hair at one time than can be grown 

 again in many weeks, and they should always be combed and 

 brushed till every hair is thoroughly free; if any small clots 

 are left in it will only be so much worse to get out next time. 

 This weekly process must be coutinued through life if one 

 desires to have the dog's coat perfect. Some dogs grow mil ch 

 more coat than others, however, and all the care and 

 attention in the world won't make some dogs ever carry but 

 a moderate amount, and no matter how well bred, there will 

 always be "good, bad, and indifferent," and more by far of 

 the last. 



Now a few words as to diet. It is not advisable to give 

 these beautiful little creatures much meat if they will eat 

 anything else. Personally, however, I give my Toys a little 

 meat every day, I usually cut up very fine a small quantity 

 of good beef and mutton from our own table, and mix it 

 with a little potato, gravy, and soaked or crumbled bread, 

 and I never feed my dogs more than once a day, and even 

 then never allow them to have too much. Better far give 

 them two meals with half the quantity than let them over- 

 feed themselves. They are usually kept in a small cage, 

 with a wire front, and never allowed to lie about in front of 

 afire. They require as much exercise as possible in some 

 quiet place; the dangers of the public street are too great to 

 risk, and they must not be taken into the open air at ail if 

 cold and wet. They do not require much in the way of drink, 

 but the best thing for them is a little milk-and-water or 

 sweetened tea-and-milk. In the case of dogs with a lot of 

 hair on the head it is advisable to comb it from t Le face and 

 tie it back, otherwise it becomes very dirty and uncomfort- 

 able by falling into their food, etc.. which "will rot the hair. 



If care and attention be paid to their diet they require 

 very seldom any medicine; it is far better to study their 

 habits and requirements in food than to constantly keep 

 physicking them— their little frames cannot stand it. But 

 when really required nothing is safer or better than a tea- 

 spoonful ot good castor oil. If it should do them no good it 

 cannot harm them. One of the greatest possible dreads is 

 distemper. This fearful disease has swept some thousands 

 of promising youngsters away. It usually (as in other 

 breeds) attacks them between three and six months old. I 

 have found the best remedy to be, on noticing a puppy look 

 the least bit unwell, to at once give it a very small portion 

 of liackham's Bistemper Balls. It usually canst s them to 

 vomit, and brings up a quantity of clotted phlegm away 

 from the stomach. If this matter is attended to at once I ' 

 have generally found the. puppy to progress favorably. But 

 should distemper once fairly settle on to a puppy of this 

 breed the chances are very much against its life being spared, 

 and if the distemper be a'companied with fits it may be 

 looked upon as a very hopeless case. There is so little of 

 them to start with that a very few days (and sometimes 

 hours) are quite sufficient to finish them off. For those that 

 do linger on, however, nothing will surpass warmth and 

 care. Much patience is required in bad lingering cases, as 

 they invariably refuse their food and have to be fed from a 

 teaspoon. It is a great mistake in these cases to give them 

 beef tea or anything of a greasy nature, as it causes violent 

 purging. A little arrowroot and milk is about the best. In 

 cases of violent purging, the very best remedy I have ever 

 found is mutton suet, scraped up very fine and put into a 

 little milk and allowed to simmer gently until the suet has 

 melted away; it is remarkably nourishing and soothing. 

 Another almost infallible remedy for purging for a puppy 

 that will eat is a little beef bone (from roasted beef), crushed 

 up very fine. 



I have dwelt somewhat on purging because it is a vei-y 

 common and often a very fatal ailment in these small pets. 

 Still, I don't wish my readers to get the idea that they are 

 a delicate dog when reared. Once over the distemper (many 

 never have iti, they are as hearty and sound as possible, and 

 often live to a great age. I have only quite recently lost a 

 little bitch, about 41bs. weight, who was over fifteen years of 

 age, and she never had distemper or a day's serious 'illness. 

 She must have run some hundreds of miles after my father 

 prior to his death. Iu drawing this somewhat lengthy arti- 

 cle to a close, I would have liked, were it possible, to have 

 mentioned some of the best dogs of recent years— but their 

 names are so familiar that it seems a waste of time. It is 

 a lso impossible to enumerate all the breeders known to me 

 during my career. As their names are legion, and I might 

 easily omit the names of some that deserve to be placed in 

 the first rank as breeders, I would rather, in conclusion, say 

 that, if I have omitted any feature that any of my readers 

 would have liked to have seen mentioned, it may be taken 

 for granted that it is an oversight; and at their* request I 

 would gladly give them all the. inf crmation in my power, I 

 trust the day will soon come when suitable classes will be 

 provided for this breed at all our shows, and that gentlemen 

 may be appointed to judge them who "understand them " — 

 and then only may Ave hope to see at our leading shows good 

 classes of the most beautiful of all dogs, the Yorkshire Toy 

 Terrier. — G. H. Wilkinson in the Stock-Keeper. 



PHILAHELPHIA HOG SHOW. -Philadelphia, Feb. 9.— 

 Editor Forest ami Stream : The Philadelphia Kennel Club 

 will hold a dog show April It), 20, 21 and iJ&— E, COJtFOBT, 

 President. 



