Parti Yorkies have arrived in SA!

 

Q. WHAT IS A PARTI YORKIE?
A. A Parti Yorkie is a 100% purebred Yorkshire Terrier, but instead of having the traditional blue/black and gold/tan colors that are most commonly seen in the Yorkshire Terriers, a Parti Yorkie always has a white base with area's of one or two other colors. A tri colored Parti Yorkie is white, black/blue, and tan/gold. A Golden Parti Yorkie is white and gold. A Chocolate Parti Yorkie is white and brown. The Parti Yorkie is not a separate breed from the Yorkshire Terrier, & the term "Parti Yorkie" is just used as a simple way of saying "Yorkshire Terrier with parti coloring". The Parti Yorkie is registered in the same way as any other yorkie, the only difference is where it states color on the registration certificate a standard yorkie will be marked as blue/black and gold/tan and the Parti Yorkie will be marked as parti.


Q. WHAT DOES "PARTI" MEAN?
A. The word "Parti" originally referred to any dog with "more than one color". Over time, however, the term has come to describe a dog that is basically white with spots or patches of different colors.


Q. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STANDARD YORKIE AND A PARTI YORKIE?
A. Apart from the different colors there is absolutely no difference between them. They are both 100% Yorkshire Terrier.


Q. HOW LONG HAS THE PARTI YORKIE BEEN IN EXISTENCE?
A. Parti colored Yorkies first came on the scene in the 1800's. However, the Parent Club made a decision at the time that the preferred color of the Yorkshire Terrier was the standard colors you see today. As a result the Parti colored pups were not accepted and were either given away without any pedigree papers or killed at birth. This remained their fate for over a century! In June 2000 the AKC (American Kennel Club) allowed Parti colored yorkies to be registered.


Q. WHY DID AKC ALLOW THE PARTI COLORED YORKIE TO BE REGISTERED AS PUREBRED YORKSHIRE TERRIERS?
A. The AKC did DNA tests on 42 Yorkies from 5 generations, as well as extensive research on the history of the Yorkshire Terrier, and the result was that they were satisfied that the parti color can be produced in otherwise normal litters of Yorkshire Terriers. Please read the article "How they became registered with AKC" for more detailed info.

Q. WILL KUSA (KENNEL UNION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA) REGISTER PARTI COLORED YORKIES?
A. Yes. Providing both the sire and dam are registered with KUSA or with the AKC, then the registration process is the same as for a standard colored yorkie. The only difference is with a parti colored dog it will state "Parti" as the color on the registration certificate, and with a standard colored yorkie it will state blue or black and gold or tan on the registration certificate.


Q. WHAT IS THE BREED STANDARD FOR THE PARTI YORKIE?
A. Body type, conformation and disposition standards are exactly the same as the standards set for the standard colored yorkie. However, there are no standards set for the coloring of the Parti Yorkie. Each Parti yorkie is unique! Some may have more white hair than others, some may have a colored mask around their eye's, some may have a patch of color around one eye only, some may have a black/blue saddle, some may have just a small patch of color on their backs, etc. etc. etc. The advantage of not having any specific color standards is that breeders can focus more on the health, temperament, conformation, etc. rather than having to focus on hair color and patterns.


Q. CAN A STANDARD YORKIE BE BRED TO A PARTI YORKIE?
A. Yes! As they are both 100% Yorkshire Terrier they can be bred together - it is simply breeding two different colored dogs of the same breed - like breeding a brown Labrador to a black Labrador, or a white Poodle to a black Poodle, or a tan Dachshund to a black Dachshund - just to give a few examples.


Q. WHAT IS A PARTI CARRIER?
A. A yorkie that is the standard color but carries the recessive parti gene is referred to as a Parti carrier. Some Parti carriers may have white on their chest, face or feet. If a Parti colored yorkie is bred to a standard color yorkie then all the pups from that litter will be Parti carriers. If a Parti colored yorkie is bred to a Parti carrier then the litter will have some Parti colored pups and some Parti gene carriers. If a parti gene carrier is bred to a parti gene carrier then 25% of the offspring will be actual Parti colored dogs, 50% will be traditional colored dogs who carry the recessive gene (Parti carriers), and 25% will be traditional colored dogs that don't carry the recessive parti gene.


Q. IF A STANDARD COLOR YORKIE PUP HAS WHITE ON THEIR CHEST, FACE OR PAWS DOES IT MEAN THEY CARRY THE PARTI GENE?
A. NO! It is very common for standard color yorkie pups to be born with patches of white on their chest, chin and/or paws. These white area's usually (but not always) change color as the pup matures. The only ways of being 100% sure that a yorkie carries the parti gene is through DNA testing or having 100% certainty that the yorkie has a sire or dam of Parti color. If a Parti carrier is bred to another Parti carrier, there can be Parti colored pups, Parti gene carriers, & standard pups all in the same litter. No one can with absolute certainty tell which of the standard colored pups carry the recessive Parti gene and which of the standard colored pups do not carry the Parti gene.