Cathy's Gorgeous Yorkies!
History Of The Biewer Yorkie
By: Nancy Anderson
To accurately describe the history of the Biewer Yorkie we will have to start with the
development of the Yorkshire Terrier. The Yorkshire Terrier origin begins in England in
1886 in the districts of Yorkshire but whose ancestry is of half Scotland descent. For
the purpose of this article we feel the need to revert back to the dogs that were used to
develop the breed so a clear understanding is achieved as to the breeds used and
their role in the development of the dog we know today.
The first unofficial named breed to be associated with the Yorkshire Terrier was the
Waterside Terrier so named for the river banks at the rivers and canals where it's origin
began. The Waterside Terrier was a larger terrier than what the Yorkshire Terrier is
today reportedly weighing up to 20 pounds with the fur of shimmering blue/black with
the tan markings on the head. The Waterside Terrier is known today as the Airedale
Terrier whose beginnings can be traced back as far as 1853.
Around 1864 the Airedale was referred to as Working, Waterside or Bingley Terriers.
They were shown in ever increasing entries at agricultural shows during the infancy of
dog shows.
The Skye Terrier originated centuries ago on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Their origin is
connected with a shipwreck in the early 1600's in the Scottish Hebrides. Several
Maltese type dogs that survived the wreck were bred with what is reported to be local
Terrier type dogs on the Island of Skye . The Skye's short, sturdy legs made it a
candidate for burrowing to locate underground vermin and it's double coat served it
well as protection from injury and fail weather. They were originally used to control
vermin but are used today primarily for companions. The Skye's weight can be up to
25 pounds. The breed was first shown in England in 1864. The first registered Skye
with AKC was in 1887. The breed was quite popular in the mid-1800's when Queen
Victoria took a fancy to the breed. It should also be noted that the Cairn Terrier was
known at the turn of the century as "Short-haired Skye Terrier" or "Prick Earred Terrier".
When the Scott's migrated to England during the mining days of the 19th Century
during the Industrial Revolution, they brought with them what were called "Scotch
Terriers" later classified as Skye Terrier and the Paisley Terrier (also called Clydesdale
Terrier). These two breeds were used to cross with the Waterside Terrier through
careful selection to begin 1 bloodline toward the development of what became known
today as the Yorkshire Terrier.
The Skye Terrier and Clysdale/Paisley Terrier were one and the same until the 1880's
when they were divided into separate breeds based on hair coat texture. While the
Skye Terrier continued to survive the Clysdale/Paisley did not favor as well and became
extinct.
The Clysdale/Paisley strains were the ones probably used the most in the
development of the Yorkshire Terrier due to their silkier, long and straight hair coat
seen in the Yorkshire Terrier today. The Clysdale/Paisley also had the erect ear set
covered with long silky fringed hair.
In later years it is reported that the black/tan terrier known today as Manchester Terrier
was introduced into the breed by the Scott's using the Skye - black and tan terrier
crosses and crossing them with the Waterside Terrier. This black/tan terrier was
referred to as a crossbred terrier dark brown in color. This could answer the age ole
question of how "Chocolate Yorkshire Terriers" can occur. This could very well be the
limited gene pool for which the Chocolate Yorkies seen today are produced from.
Laws passed in the 11th century required a dog that was owned by the simple people
of England to be hunted to be able to fit through a 7 inch diameter tire. Selective
breeding was begun at this time to downsize this versatile yet tenacious dog so that it
would be within the limit of the law. These dog held by the simple people to obey the
law were the beginning of the ancestry for the Yorkshire Terrier and were used to hunt
rabbits, and catch rats and mice.
In 1866 these dogs were registered by The Kennel Club (known as AKC today) as
"Broken Haired Scotch Terrier" and later changed to be registered as "Yorkshire
Terrier" in the year 1874. Yorkshire was given due to the district of Yorkshire where the
dog had the beginning of it's roots and terrier from the Latin term "terra" meaning earth.
IT was not until the 19th century that terriers were given breed distinction. Prior to 1800
they were labeled as to hair coat/texture/length and placed into loose groups of
rough/hard-haired, broken coated, long-legged and short-leg variety.
It is quite amazing that the smallest documented dog in the world through the
Guinness Book of World Records is a 4 ounce Yorkshire Terrier but yet it's origin
started from the largest of all the terrier breeds nicknamed "The King of Terriers" the
Airedale Terrier. The recorded dog was at the age of 2 years and stood 2.5 inches at
the withers and measured 3 3/4 inches from tip of nose to root of tail. He was owned
by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, Great Britain and died in 1945.
The Kennel Club was created in April of 1873 and was later changed to American
Kennel Club in 1884.
The Broken-Haired Scotch Terrier was bench shown in England in 1861, shown
through The Kennel Club in 1872 and became an officially recognized breed in 1878
by The Kennel Club.
The first Broken Haired Scotch Terrier came to America in the early 1870's. It was first
shown in America in 1872.
It was during the 1870's that the weight standard was downsized from up to 12 pounds
to 3 to 7 pounds in size.
The first known Broken-Haired Scotch Terrier was Huddersfield Ben, Registration #
3612 and lived from 1865-1871. "Ben" is considered the foundation dog for the later
recognized Yorkshire Terrier and produced many outstanding offspring in his too-short
lifetime. Ben was shown in Manchester in 1869. Ben died on September 23, 1871 at
the wheels of a buggy. He was sired by "Old Bouncer" and his dam was "Lady". Ben
was bred by Mr. W. Eastwood of Huddeersfield and owned by a Bradford woman by the
name of Mrs. M.A. Fowler. Ben won over 70 shows and was also a champion on the
rat-catching scale as well.
The earliest record of a Yorkshire Terrier born in the United States was in 1872 being a
dog called Jack bred by J. Marriot and sired by Havelock Ex Jessie.
In the early years as far back as 1872 they were shown in two classes being "over 5
pounds" and "not exceeding 5 pounds". The original breed standard was for the dogs
to be allowed to weigh up to 12 pounds.
The first Yorkshire Terrier shown at Westminster was in 1878.
The first Yorkshire Terrier club formed in the UK was in 1898.
The first French Yorkshire Terrier Club was formed in 1953.
The Yorkshire Terrier was recognized by UKC - United Kennel Club in 1956.
The Yorkshire Terrier Club of America was accepted in 1958 as the parent club for
AKC.
The Yorkshire Terrier was not on the top of the popularity breed chart until the 1960's. It
was during this time that the Yorkshire Terrier became widely recognized and show
enthusiast and breed clubs took interest and formed. It was also at this time that the
12 pound and under Yorkshire Terrier was at it's best in health and physical abilities.
AKC has said that the first Yorkshire Terrier made it's first appearance at a bench show
in England in 1861 known as "broken-haired Scotch Terrier" . Since the breed was
first recognized as "broken-haired Scotch Terrier" we are led to believe that the Scott's
did indeed have a hand in it's development.
The Biewer Yorkie originated in Germany in 1984 and was a piebald genetic recessive
gene occurance exhibiting a specific banded/stripped offspring produced by Gertrud
and Werner Biewer's Yorkshire Terriers. The sire and dam of the first recognized
Biewer Yorkie were "Darling of Friedheck" and "Frufru of Friedheck" .
The Biewer's saw this little dog with it's white markings as extraordinarily attractive and
began the selective breeding process to produce more. The Biewer's named these
little dogs with their white markings "Biewer Yorkshire a la Pom Pon". Thus the
beginning of the Biewer Yorkies as we know them today.
The first German Biewer Yorkshire club was established on May 24, 2003.
The Biewer Yorkie was recognized as a breed unto itself long before this date though
when the general public recognized it unofficially as a breed.
The Biewer Yorkshire is bred, registered and shown in other countries and is on the
top of the popularity list for the United States. Few registries in the United States as
this date have acknowledge the Biewer Yorkshire as a breed. The American Canine
Registry is one of the few and the first United States known registry that does recognize
the Biewer as a breed and is helping to promote the breed in the United States and
throughout the world by the breed name of "Biewer Yorkie". The American Canine
Registry formed the Biewer Yorkie Association on May 15, 2003 preparing to set in
place breed standards and other club necessities and applied for recognition in 2004
to be the Biewer Breed Club for ACR.
The Biewer was originally a piebald genetic recessive gene occurance from 2
Yorkshire Terriers but unscrupulous breeders have tried to match the looks of the
Biewer Yorkshire by crossing the Yorkshire Terrier and the Shih-Tzu. The crossing will
produce the parti/piebald/banded/stripped white markings from the Shih-Tzu influence
after the second generation but these crossbred dogs would take generations before
they would produce the hair coat and the facial features seen in the Biewer Yorkshire.
If the dog being presented to you as a Biewer Yorkshire has wavy and/or course hair,
or the facial features or body style of the Shih-Tzu then it's highly unlikely that it is a
TRUE purebred Biewer Yorkie.
The AKC registers what is a close anomaly to the Biewer as Tri-color Yorkshire
Terriers but the markings of the Tri-color are not as distinctive in pattern as the Biewer
Yorkie bloodlines from Germany. AKC however does not allow the showing of the
Tri-color Yorkies and AKC's Yorkshire Terrier breed club's standards shows it as a
disqualification and the clubs policies consider it unethical to reproduce the Tri-color
Yorkies.
The Biewer Yorkie Association is the first and only known United States Biewer Yorkie
Club that formed in order to promote, educate, document, register and propagate the
Stripped/Banded patterned Yorkie in the United States by starting a foundation registry
by which verifiable, pedigreed & purebred Yorkshire Terriers, Biewer Yorkies and
Tri-Color Yorkies may be bred together to produce the Stripped/Banded Patterned
Yorkies through F1-F2 crosses and their linage documented for the purpose of
receiving full recognition through ACR.
It should be noted that the Scottish Terrier, the Skye Terrier, the Dandie Dinmont, the
Cairn Terrier, and the West Highland White Terrier are all kissing cousins. All of these
breeds share the same beginnings. It should also be noted that as of to date all of the
Piebald/Stripped/Spotted/Banded bloodlines have been traced back to one kennel in
England including those of German lineage.
By: Nancy Anderson
To accurately describe the history of the Biewer Yorkie we will have to start with the
development of the Yorkshire Terrier. The Yorkshire Terrier origin begins in England in
1886 in the districts of Yorkshire but whose ancestry is of half Scotland descent. For
the purpose of this article we feel the need to revert back to the dogs that were used to
develop the breed so a clear understanding is achieved as to the breeds used and
their role in the development of the dog we know today.
The first unofficial named breed to be associated with the Yorkshire Terrier was the
Waterside Terrier so named for the river banks at the rivers and canals where it's origin
began. The Waterside Terrier was a larger terrier than what the Yorkshire Terrier is
today reportedly weighing up to 20 pounds with the fur of shimmering blue/black with
the tan markings on the head. The Waterside Terrier is known today as the Airedale
Terrier whose beginnings can be traced back as far as 1853.
Around 1864 the Airedale was referred to as Working, Waterside or Bingley Terriers.
They were shown in ever increasing entries at agricultural shows during the infancy of
dog shows.
The Skye Terrier originated centuries ago on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. Their origin is
connected with a shipwreck in the early 1600's in the Scottish Hebrides. Several
Maltese type dogs that survived the wreck were bred with what is reported to be local
Terrier type dogs on the Island of Skye . The Skye's short, sturdy legs made it a
candidate for burrowing to locate underground vermin and it's double coat served it
well as protection from injury and fail weather. They were originally used to control
vermin but are used today primarily for companions. The Skye's weight can be up to
25 pounds. The breed was first shown in England in 1864. The first registered Skye
with AKC was in 1887. The breed was quite popular in the mid-1800's when Queen
Victoria took a fancy to the breed. It should also be noted that the Cairn Terrier was
known at the turn of the century as "Short-haired Skye Terrier" or "Prick Earred Terrier".
When the Scott's migrated to England during the mining days of the 19th Century
during the Industrial Revolution, they brought with them what were called "Scotch
Terriers" later classified as Skye Terrier and the Paisley Terrier (also called Clydesdale
Terrier). These two breeds were used to cross with the Waterside Terrier through
careful selection to begin 1 bloodline toward the development of what became known
today as the Yorkshire Terrier.
The Skye Terrier and Clysdale/Paisley Terrier were one and the same until the 1880's
when they were divided into separate breeds based on hair coat texture. While the
Skye Terrier continued to survive the Clysdale/Paisley did not favor as well and became
extinct.
The Clysdale/Paisley strains were the ones probably used the most in the
development of the Yorkshire Terrier due to their silkier, long and straight hair coat
seen in the Yorkshire Terrier today. The Clysdale/Paisley also had the erect ear set
covered with long silky fringed hair.
In later years it is reported that the black/tan terrier known today as Manchester Terrier
was introduced into the breed by the Scott's using the Skye - black and tan terrier
crosses and crossing them with the Waterside Terrier. This black/tan terrier was
referred to as a crossbred terrier dark brown in color. This could answer the age ole
question of how "Chocolate Yorkshire Terriers" can occur. This could very well be the
limited gene pool for which the Chocolate Yorkies seen today are produced from.
Laws passed in the 11th century required a dog that was owned by the simple people
of England to be hunted to be able to fit through a 7 inch diameter tire. Selective
breeding was begun at this time to downsize this versatile yet tenacious dog so that it
would be within the limit of the law. These dog held by the simple people to obey the
law were the beginning of the ancestry for the Yorkshire Terrier and were used to hunt
rabbits, and catch rats and mice.
In 1866 these dogs were registered by The Kennel Club (known as AKC today) as
"Broken Haired Scotch Terrier" and later changed to be registered as "Yorkshire
Terrier" in the year 1874. Yorkshire was given due to the district of Yorkshire where the
dog had the beginning of it's roots and terrier from the Latin term "terra" meaning earth.
IT was not until the 19th century that terriers were given breed distinction. Prior to 1800
they were labeled as to hair coat/texture/length and placed into loose groups of
rough/hard-haired, broken coated, long-legged and short-leg variety.
It is quite amazing that the smallest documented dog in the world through the
Guinness Book of World Records is a 4 ounce Yorkshire Terrier but yet it's origin
started from the largest of all the terrier breeds nicknamed "The King of Terriers" the
Airedale Terrier. The recorded dog was at the age of 2 years and stood 2.5 inches at
the withers and measured 3 3/4 inches from tip of nose to root of tail. He was owned
by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, Great Britain and died in 1945.
The Kennel Club was created in April of 1873 and was later changed to American
Kennel Club in 1884.
The Broken-Haired Scotch Terrier was bench shown in England in 1861, shown
through The Kennel Club in 1872 and became an officially recognized breed in 1878
by The Kennel Club.
The first Broken Haired Scotch Terrier came to America in the early 1870's. It was first
shown in America in 1872.
It was during the 1870's that the weight standard was downsized from up to 12 pounds
to 3 to 7 pounds in size.
The first known Broken-Haired Scotch Terrier was Huddersfield Ben, Registration #
3612 and lived from 1865-1871. "Ben" is considered the foundation dog for the later
recognized Yorkshire Terrier and produced many outstanding offspring in his too-short
lifetime. Ben was shown in Manchester in 1869. Ben died on September 23, 1871 at
the wheels of a buggy. He was sired by "Old Bouncer" and his dam was "Lady". Ben
was bred by Mr. W. Eastwood of Huddeersfield and owned by a Bradford woman by the
name of Mrs. M.A. Fowler. Ben won over 70 shows and was also a champion on the
rat-catching scale as well.
The earliest record of a Yorkshire Terrier born in the United States was in 1872 being a
dog called Jack bred by J. Marriot and sired by Havelock Ex Jessie.
In the early years as far back as 1872 they were shown in two classes being "over 5
pounds" and "not exceeding 5 pounds". The original breed standard was for the dogs
to be allowed to weigh up to 12 pounds.
The first Yorkshire Terrier shown at Westminster was in 1878.
The first Yorkshire Terrier club formed in the UK was in 1898.
The first French Yorkshire Terrier Club was formed in 1953.
The Yorkshire Terrier was recognized by UKC - United Kennel Club in 1956.
The Yorkshire Terrier Club of America was accepted in 1958 as the parent club for
AKC.
The Yorkshire Terrier was not on the top of the popularity breed chart until the 1960's. It
was during this time that the Yorkshire Terrier became widely recognized and show
enthusiast and breed clubs took interest and formed. It was also at this time that the
12 pound and under Yorkshire Terrier was at it's best in health and physical abilities.
AKC has said that the first Yorkshire Terrier made it's first appearance at a bench show
in England in 1861 known as "broken-haired Scotch Terrier" . Since the breed was
first recognized as "broken-haired Scotch Terrier" we are led to believe that the Scott's
did indeed have a hand in it's development.
The Biewer Yorkie originated in Germany in 1984 and was a piebald genetic recessive
gene occurance exhibiting a specific banded/stripped offspring produced by Gertrud
and Werner Biewer's Yorkshire Terriers. The sire and dam of the first recognized
Biewer Yorkie were "Darling of Friedheck" and "Frufru of Friedheck" .
The Biewer's saw this little dog with it's white markings as extraordinarily attractive and
began the selective breeding process to produce more. The Biewer's named these
little dogs with their white markings "Biewer Yorkshire a la Pom Pon". Thus the
beginning of the Biewer Yorkies as we know them today.
The first German Biewer Yorkshire club was established on May 24, 2003.
The Biewer Yorkie was recognized as a breed unto itself long before this date though
when the general public recognized it unofficially as a breed.
The Biewer Yorkshire is bred, registered and shown in other countries and is on the
top of the popularity list for the United States. Few registries in the United States as
this date have acknowledge the Biewer Yorkshire as a breed. The American Canine
Registry is one of the few and the first United States known registry that does recognize
the Biewer as a breed and is helping to promote the breed in the United States and
throughout the world by the breed name of "Biewer Yorkie". The American Canine
Registry formed the Biewer Yorkie Association on May 15, 2003 preparing to set in
place breed standards and other club necessities and applied for recognition in 2004
to be the Biewer Breed Club for ACR.
The Biewer was originally a piebald genetic recessive gene occurance from 2
Yorkshire Terriers but unscrupulous breeders have tried to match the looks of the
Biewer Yorkshire by crossing the Yorkshire Terrier and the Shih-Tzu. The crossing will
produce the parti/piebald/banded/stripped white markings from the Shih-Tzu influence
after the second generation but these crossbred dogs would take generations before
they would produce the hair coat and the facial features seen in the Biewer Yorkshire.
If the dog being presented to you as a Biewer Yorkshire has wavy and/or course hair,
or the facial features or body style of the Shih-Tzu then it's highly unlikely that it is a
TRUE purebred Biewer Yorkie.
The AKC registers what is a close anomaly to the Biewer as Tri-color Yorkshire
Terriers but the markings of the Tri-color are not as distinctive in pattern as the Biewer
Yorkie bloodlines from Germany. AKC however does not allow the showing of the
Tri-color Yorkies and AKC's Yorkshire Terrier breed club's standards shows it as a
disqualification and the clubs policies consider it unethical to reproduce the Tri-color
Yorkies.
The Biewer Yorkie Association is the first and only known United States Biewer Yorkie
Club that formed in order to promote, educate, document, register and propagate the
Stripped/Banded patterned Yorkie in the United States by starting a foundation registry
by which verifiable, pedigreed & purebred Yorkshire Terriers, Biewer Yorkies and
Tri-Color Yorkies may be bred together to produce the Stripped/Banded Patterned
Yorkies through F1-F2 crosses and their linage documented for the purpose of
receiving full recognition through ACR.
It should be noted that the Scottish Terrier, the Skye Terrier, the Dandie Dinmont, the
Cairn Terrier, and the West Highland White Terrier are all kissing cousins. All of these
breeds share the same beginnings. It should also be noted that as of to date all of the
Piebald/Stripped/Spotted/Banded bloodlines have been traced back to one kennel in
England including those of German lineage.
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