All the pictures you see here on this page are ones I took of various places in Big Sky Montana
History Of Yorkshire Terriers
If you like to wear pearls with your jeans, you're a little bit like a Yorkie. If you go country dancing in your tuxedo, you might share the soul of a Yorkie. On the outside, Yorkies are all elegance. You'll frequently see them at dog shows, gliding to Best in Show, their red ribbons sparkling and their long coats trailing behind them. But underneath that refined exterior is a game little dog whose ancestors were blue-collar ratting dogs in industrial England. If you understand the history of your little dog, you'll understand much of what makes the Yorkshire Terrier a unique, charming, and entertaining pet. Thanks to that history, these small dogs are a little bit city and a little bit country, a little bit gritty and a little bit suave.
FROM SCOTLAND TO ENGLAND: GAME TERRIERS AND THE
SCOTS WORKING CLASS
For hundreds of years, Scots working-class people were accompanied by their terriers. The wealthy elite owned almost all the land, and only people of prosperity and high social standing were allowed to own large hunting dogs. Because rich land owners were afraid that the working class would poach on their property, poor people in Scotland were only allowed to have small dogs. The game little dogs whom these people developed, hunted all kinds of creatures, including rats, rabbits, squirrels, otters, badgers, and foxes. Life wasn't easy for these impoverished humans or their dogs. It required grit just to survive. Pound for pound, no dogs on Earth are as tough or as plucky as the terriers developed by the Scots working class. Imagine the courage it took to follow a 40-pound badger with punishing claws and teeth into a den, or to take on 100 rats!
Migrating to England
When the Industrial Revolution changed the face of the world, many Scots came to Yorkshire county in northern England in the 1800s to work in the mills and the mines. Yorkshire was a rough terrain, and the cities of the time were little better, with harsh working conditions. Many of the Scots came to the northern England city of Yorkshire to work weavers in the textile mills. They brought with them their little dogs, who hunted the rats in the factories and became house pets. We'll never know the exact mix of dogs that created the early Yorkshire Terriers, because these hard-working, blue-collar dog lovers weren't keeping the meticulous breeding records that people keep today. The breeding knowledge of these early Yorkie fanciers came from surviving a hard life, not from books. In fact, they were not breeding necessarily for size, color, or a specific appearance; they were breeding for dogs who were good game ratters-tough little dogs who could keep the city vermin at bay. These ancestors of today's Yorkies certainly earned their keep. Inevitably, cross breeding occurred between the dogs the Scots brought to Yorkshire and the local English dogs. The Waterside Terrier, a small, longish-coated, bluish-gray dog, is said to be an ancestor of the Yorkshire Terrier. The Waterside Terrier in turn was formed by the crossing of the old rough coated black-and-tan English Terrier and the Paisley and Clydesdale Terriers-long-bodied dogs with somewhat silky coats. Skye Terrier, English Black & Tan Terriers, which likely gave them the coat patterns we see today. Early Yorkshire Terriers were known as Broken-Haired Scotch Terrier. Quite a bit of speculation also suggests that, in the later part of the 1800s, Maltese were introduced to the line to make the Yorkshire Terrier's coat more silky. Whatever the exact intermingling may have been, by the mid-1800s, a breed that was unique to Yorkshire county emerged: a small, game terrier with long, relatively silky hair. These dogs lived with their families, followed them to work in the mills and mines, and on weekends, provided diversion. At the time, as awful as it may seem today, it was popular to bet on all kinds of animal fights, including fights between bears and dogs and bulls and dogs. Ratting competitions were held, in which terriers were thrown in with rats, and the dog who killed the most rats in a given time won. The Yorkshire Terrier's ancestors were among the best of the ratting dogs. In fact, when your little Yorkie pounces on his favorite toy and shakes it, he's mimicking the motion that helped his ancestors kill rats. The Yorkshire Terriers of mid-nineteenth century England weren't quite the same as the Yorkies of today.
Even though differences of opinion exist, it is generally thought the larger terriers with different colors and textures of coats were used to develop the Yorkie breed. The mix of coat colors and textures may account for the differences in coat types and colors that we see in today’s breed. Color in coats can range from light silver, blue, dark steel blue, black, fawn, bronzy, tan, gold, chocolate and liver.
Early yorkies lived with the working class man in the clothing mills of England, this playing a big part in their size was an advantage since the dogs ate less which meant less expensive to keep.
Since larger dogs where used to develop the breed, today you are still seeing the larger Yorkies being born. Yorkies can range from 2 to 12 lbs, a few varying smaller and larger. A Yorkie, Big Boss, in 2002, Guinness world record holder as being the smallest living dog at 12 cm (5in.) tall, and Sylvia, Yorkie from England was the smallest dog in history recorded at 2.5 inches tall, weighing a simple 4 ounces. Although some people have the small and larger sizes, show dogs must be 4 lbs not to exceed 7 lbs.
Temperament: The Yorkshire Terrier is tolerant of older children, provided they respect its personal space. Due to its small size and bold temperament (which arises from its working origins) the Yorkshire Terrier is not recommended for young children unless carefully supervised for they are fragile and can be easily injured. If You just have to have a Yorkie and you have small kids, then you should go with a larger Yorkie and not the tiny ones, As the larger Yorkies are more kid friendly.
Yorkies due to their small size require little exercise which makes them suitable for living in a condo or apartment and also makes them ideal for the elderly and the homebound person.
The Yorkshire Terrier is a beautiful companion, they always like to be near you whether in your lap, beside you, sleeping with you at night or in your bedroom in their own bed they‘re fine either way. The smaller ones are still capable of jumping into your lap and bed if they want to, so be aware of this as jumping up & off of high places can injure them, such as breaking a leg or causing injury to their joints.
Character: Yorkshire Terriers become attached to their families, but most maintain some measure of independence. They have a boisterous Terrier personality that far exceeds their small size. Yorkies are lively, bold, and intelligent (scoring in the top third in dog intelligence tests) they easily adapt to change and learn quickly. They bark when they sense danger. Due to their strong ‘alpha-dog’ personality, the Yorkshire Terrier, thinks that they are a big dog and WILL chase big dogs, thinking they are tough stuff, so you need to remember this when purchasing one.
Yorkies love to travel and they’re easily taken along!
Yorkies are a non-shedding dog this makes them hypo-allergenic. A person with allergies or asthma can usually keep Yorkies for they have hair like people, not fur. They don’t have an undercoat like most other dogs do to keep them warm and because of this they need a pet coat for the cold weather.
They don’t have that “doggy odor” like most other dogs and are easy to keep clean. They’re gorgeous in their long coat. If you don’t have time to keep it long or are unable to, you can keep them cute in a puppy cut, westie cut or a modified schnauzer cut.
Yorkies are grouped as a toy however they retain their terrier temperament and personalities. They are self confident and not intimidated by anyone or anything, this frequently gets them into trouble. They think they are a big dog and this can be dangerous if they decide to scrap with the wrong dog. However if socialized right for the most part will get along with compatible dogs. Yorkies usually get along with other Yorkies and play very well with one another. It can be fun to watch them play and sleep together. Yorkies love to play and are very friendly to people if socialized correctly. They need to have lots of interaction with people on a daily bases, this is crucial as part of their socialization.
THEY'RE LIKE POTATO CHIPS YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ONE!
Resources: Here’s just a few of books about Yorkies:
Deborah Wood:
THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER
Howell Book House:
THE ESSENTIAL YORKSHIRE TERRIER
Dog Fancy Magazine:
YORKSHIRE TERRIERS & YORKSHIRE TERRIER PUPPIES
HIGH ’N FASHION YORKIES
We Live in the Beautiful Big Sky Country of Montana!
You can now enjoy having the desired look & colors you have always dreamed of!
COME IN AND TAKE A PEEK AT WHAT WE HAVE!
WE'RE SURE TO HAVE THAT LITTLE ANGEL WHO WILL STEAL YOUR HEART AWAY!
Please enjoy your visit and take your time in selecting your next family member.
HEALTH SHOULD BE TOP PRIORITY, NEVER WEIGHT OR SIZE.
The most important thing is finding a healthy puppy that will grow
into a healthy adult.
If you need us, we are here to help you choose the right one to fit
into your life style.
We hope that you find your little angel with us & to hear from you soon!
May your HEART always be in LOVE with Yorkies!
MORE ABOUT US
In late 2004 we got our first Yorkie & they have won our hearts over. It’s been a pleasure to have these little dogs around, they're funny, loving and very smart too! Both of us were very happy that we went with this breed. We raised show shelties before this time for around 6 years.
Since we like taking our dogs with us wherever we go we wanted to get a smaller breed. My husband and I talked about small breeds, did we want a barker, as most people think small dogs seem to be more yappy.
We where pleasantly surprised that not all small breeds are barkers. Our Yorkies are not yappy, but we constantly socializing ours too and this makes a world of difference.
All our puppies are socialized as well as being accustomed to sounds in the home, outside, etc. They are very much a part of our lives.
When raising the puppies I don't use carpet or any kind of cloth, only at birth when they are on a blanket up until around 3 weeks old and starting to walk and potty on their own.
After this time they get shredded paper for bedding & newspapers laid out for them to soil on. Some breeders use carpet & cloth material through out the entire time in their kennels which the puppies soil on, this makes it next to impossible to break them from soiling on your carpets and cloth bedding.
In the past I've bought Yorkies from breeders that used carpet or some kind of other cloth material in their kennels/crates and couldn't break the dog from soiling on my carpet or their bedding as an adult. So BE AWARE of this!
Our puppies will have their dewclaws removed and tails docked. NOTE SOMETIMES THE DEWCLAW MAY GROW BACK and at the time you have them spayed/neutered this is a good time to do all the necessary things that need to be done, like dewclaws & baby teeth that need to be removed.
Puppies the vet at 6 to 7 weeks of age for a health check-up, shots and adults go once a year or as needed for their health care. Some puppies can go to their GOOD new homes around 10 weeks old depending on the size and if they are going out for breeding are kept longer.
HIGH 'N FASHION YORKIES DOES NOT LET EYERY YORKIE GO FOR BREEDING
Spaying/neutering on those not suitable for breeding. They're either altered here before going to their new homes or sold on a spay/neuter contract only. Purchaser will need proof of alteration (spay/neuter) before getting registering papers if dog is papered.
Fashion Yorkies reserves the right to refuse anyone on a purchase at anytime of the sale.
If deposit has been put on a Yorkie that breeder/owner decide not to sell do to illness, to little, etc. At breeders discretion, the buyer may have the option to get a different Yorkie at equal value, or wait tell puppy is ready to leave or their deposit back.
Fashion Yorkies has the best of interest for our little angels, we are very committed and take great pride in raising quality healthy, happy Yorkies and want them to go to good loving homes or breeders.
The females have 4 to 5 litters or less in their lifetime, then spayed and found good homes in which to live out the rest of their years. They will make good pets because they are raised in the home.
From time to time we do have larger Yorkies for those families that have small children or those people that like to have a larger one.
We are committed to you and your Yorkie for the entire length of your pet’s life, and always available to answer any and all questions concerning your purchase or the care and development of a purchased Yorkie.
Should your home situation change at any time and you’re no longer able to keep your Yorkie please contact me.
OTHER INFO ABOUT US!
Our Yorkies are not in kennels; they are raised in the comfort of our non-smoking home as part of the family.
However they are crate trained, so they have their own quiet place to rest and learn house manners. Some of you might think this is cruel or inhumane, but spanking, yelling or both, your puppy is much worse than training by this method. Think of it as putting your human baby in a crib to keep baby safe and out of harms way when you can't keep your eyes on him/her or time to take a nap.
Here at HIGH ’N FASHION all our four footed friends get the best of care, and unconditional love. Their well being comes first and foremost.
Also our Yorkies are raised in our home to helps in the development of good personalities and temperaments as they get handled throughout the day everyday. This is why we have only 1 or 2 litters at a time so they can get a good start in life, which makes one of our Yorkies a wonderful addition to your loving home.
WE NEVER SHORT CUT HEALTH OR QUALITY
Here we strive to breed the best for balance, conformation, luxurious coat, color and a sound mind & body.
Our goal is to breed Great Yorkies for future generations to come!
HIGH 'N puppies come with a written 1 year genetic health guarantee.
