Australian Yorkshire Terrier

Known as Yorkies, the Yorkshire Terrier breed was developed during the 19th century for the purpose of catching rats in mines. Workers would take them down into the mines and the mill buildings to keep the rat population under control. Hunters were also known to carry one of the little dogs in their pockets and the tenacious Yorkies would head down burrows after badgers and foxes. Their ancestors were the Waterside Terrier, a small Scottish breed with a long blue-gray coat brought to Yorkshire, England in the mid 19th century by weavers. The Waterside Terrier was a breed formed by the crossing of the old rough-coated Black-and-Tan English Terrier (common in the Manchester area) and the Paisley and Clydesdale Terriers, according to the American Kennel Club. These little dogs were first known as the Broken Haired Scotch Terrier and then as the Toy Terrier, but in 1874 given their official name the Yorkshire Terrier. Actor Johnny Depp and his former wife Amber Heard were forced to apologise for failing to declare their two Yorkshire Terriers properly when entering Australia in 2015. Australian Terriers were also good ratters as well as snake catchers. They share ancestors with the Cairn Terrier, Short-haired Skye Terrier and the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. These rough coated Terriers were brought from Great Britain to Australia in the early 19th century. Australian Terriers  were the first native breed to be recognized in Australia and were first shown as the Australian Rough-Coated Terrier in 1868 in Melbourne. In 1897 they were officially renamed the Australian Terrier. The Australian Terrier was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1960, and the United Kennel Club in 1970.