SIMPLE TALK ON THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER STANDARD BY KATHLEEN B. KOLBERT, JUDGE Turyanne Yorkshire Terriers AKC Reg. A s a breeder for the past 54 years, and a judge for the past 39 years, I hope I can enlighten those who are new judges to this very
controversial dog. The outstanding BREED CHARAC- TERISTICS of the Yorkshire Terrier are COAT, COLOR, and TEXTURE. However, for many exhibitors and judges, this seems to be a problem. The general appearance for a “Yor- kie” is that of a long-haired TOY TERRIER that has a STEEL BLUE AND TAN coat that is parted from the base of the skull to the end of tail, and hangs evenly and very straight down each side of the body. Each strand appears to be individual. The coat is distinctively long, silky, glowing, and reflects light. The clear metallic color, the single coat, and the texture are of the utmost importance in evaluating this breed. The ideal texture of the coat is SILK; Yorkie’s DO NOT HAVE FUR. The coat can be compared to human hair. A clue to this is that on a 100-degree day, the coat will still feel SILKY and COOL to the touch. Puppies are born black and will start to show markings of gold on the ears and legs first, with intermingling black hairs in the tan until they reach maturity. The change from a puppy coat takes quite a long time. Judging the puppies, you can see the changing by checking the part line and shoul- der line. It can take from twelve to
eighteen months for a complete adult coat [to appear]. Yorkie’s do not shed; it is a continuously growing coat. Of- tentimes, you will see a young dog with a full coat and proper color, with the dark puppy hair still showing at the bottom of the coat. The correct color of Steel Blue and correct coat texture in our breed are very difficult to achieve. It demands two very different and distinct genes in the DNA to make the LUSTROUS STEEL BLUE and SILKY TEX- TURE. The BLACK BODY COAT never does and never can break to
STEEL BLUE in the adult dog. It is a recessive problem. This is caused by the presence of the gene “gg” instead of the proper gene “GG.” This means both parents of a BLACK DOG must carry the recessive gene “g” even if the parents appear to have a Steel Blue coat. It also means that a Black Dog carries no gene for STEEL BLUE. Judges should NEVER FAVOR A BLACKDOG. You will never find an entry of Yor- kie’s that are all the same color. Some will be too light and some far too dark, nearly black. Look for the Bright Steel
42 • T op N otch T oys , J anuary 2021
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