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48 free Yorkshire Terrier trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Yorkshire Terrier trivia quiz covers the tiny terrier from the cotton and woollen mills of Victorian Yorkshire to the White House. History questions follow the Scottish workers who brought their terriers south, the Black-and-Tan, Paisley and Clydesdale crosses, the founding dogs Old Crab and Kitty, Huddersfield Ben, the 'father of the breed', the absurd early show classes Hugh Dalziel complained about, the first AKC registration in 1885 and the 1940s slump reversed by a war dog. The breed section covers the 3.2 kg weight limit, steel-blue and tan colouring, why puppies take three years to reach their final colour, the AKC's four registration colours, particolours and the piebald gene, the hypoallergenic debate, coat wrapping and coconut oil, docking rules, Coren's ranking and a full health rundown from luxating patellas and portosystemic shunts to tracheal collapse and puppy hypoglycaemia. Famous Yorkies include Smoky of New Guinea, Sylvia the smallest dog in recorded history, Pasha of the Nixon White House and Crufts winner Ozmilion Mystification. Questions run from easy to expert with a difficulty score on each, so it suits a family quiz or a devoted Yorkie owner. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and breed references and each question carries its citation. Also try our Dogs and Maltese quizzes.
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Q 01What is the maximum weight for a Yorkshire Terrier?
3.2 kg
The breed standards cap the Yorkshire Terrier at 3.2 kg (7 lb), making it one of the smallest of all dog breeds, not just of the terriers.
Q 02The Yorkshire Terrier's coat is tan on the head and what colour on the body?
Dark steel-grey
The body coat is dark steel-grey from the back of the neck to the root of the tail, with rich tan on the head, chest and legs.
Q 03Workers from which country brought terriers to Yorkshire in the mid-19th century, seeding the breed?
Scotland
Workers from Scotland who came to Yorkshire seeking work in the mid-19th century brought several terrier varieties with them, the raw material for the breed.
Q 04The Yorkshire Terrier was chiefly developed by workers in which industry?
Cotton and woollen mills
The breed was developed mostly by operatives in the cotton and woollen mills of Yorkshire and Lancashire, working men who, as Mrs A. Foster noted in 1886, recorded almost nothing.
Q 05The Black-and-Tan was crossed with which two terrier types to make the early Yorkie?
Paisley and Clydesdale
Paisley and Clydesdale terriers, long-coated offshoots of the Skye Terrier, were crossed with the Black-and-Tan, and some believe the Maltese was used too.
Q 06The breed is said to originate from three dogs: Old Crab, Kitty and which third founder?
An unnamed female
The third founder was an unnamed female; the breed's scant early records name only Old Crab, a male, and Kitty, a female.
Q 07Which show dog of the late 1860s defined the Yorkshire Terrier type and is called 'father of the breed'?
Huddersfield Ben
Huddersfield Ben, born in 1865 and owned by Mary Ann Foster, was painted by George Earl and fixed the type that won him the title 'father of the breed'.
Q 08Which writer called the 1878 show class mixing Yorkshire Terriers with other breeds 'confusing and absurd'?
Hugh Dalziel
Hugh Dalziel, writing in 1878, called the show classification that lumped these different terrier types together 'confusing and absurd'.
Q 09In which year was the first Yorkshire Terrier registered with the American Kennel Club?
1885
The first Yorkshire Terrier was registered with the AKC in 1885, thirteen years after the breed reached North America in 1872.
Q 10Which dog is credited with reviving the breed's American popularity after the 1940s?
Smoky
Smoky, the World War II war dog, is credited with renewing interest in the breed after small breeds had fallen to 18% of registrations in the 1940s.
Q 11In which AKC group is the Yorkshire Terrier shown?
Toy Group
Despite its name, the Yorkshire Terrier is shown in the AKC's Toy Group, not the Terrier Group, because of its tiny size and companion role.
Q 12Traditionally, how is a show Yorkie's long coat arranged?
Parted down the middle of the back
The show coat is parted down the middle of the back and hangs straight on each side; the Kennel Club wants it glossy, fine, straight and silky.
Q 13How many colour choices does the AKC registration form offer for a Yorkshire Terrier?
Four
The AKC registration form offers four colour choices: each of two body shades (one dark steel, one black) combined with either tan or gold points.
Q 21Where does the Yorkshire Terrier rank in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs?
27th
Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs places the Yorkshire Terrier 27th, the top of his 'above average working dogs' band (ranks 27 to 39).
Q 22A 2024 UK study gave the Yorkshire Terrier what average life expectancy?
13.3 years
The 2024 UK study put the Yorkshire Terrier's life expectancy at 13.3 years; a Japanese pet-cemetery study found 14.3 years and an Italian study 13 years.
Q 23Colour dilution alopecia in Yorkies is associated with which coat colour?
Blue
Colour dilution alopecia strikes dilute coats, and in Yorkies it is the blue body colour, a diluted black, that is affected, causing patchy hair loss.
Q 14The white in a rare particolour Yorkie is caused by which gene?
Recessive piebald
The white patches come from a recessive piebald gene; particolour Yorkies can be registered with the AKC but are disqualified by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America.
Q 15Solid golden Yorkshire Terriers produce only which pigment?
Pheomelanin
Solid golden Yorkies produce only pheomelanin, the red-yellow pigment, whereas liver or chocolate Yorkies make brown eumelanin instead of black.
Q 16Which German-origin breed was once considered a Yorkshire Terrier variant?
Biewer Terrier
The Biewer Terrier descends from a particolour puppy named Schneeflöckchen von Friedheck, born in Germany in 1984, and the AKC recognised it as a separate breed in 2021.
Q 17How long can it take a Yorkshire Terrier's coat to reach its final colour?
Three or more years
A Yorkie's coat can take three or more years to reach its final colour, which is why P. H. Combs complained in 1891 that puppy show wins meant little.
Q 18To prevent breakage, a show Yorkie's oiled coat may be wrapped in what?
Washi or tissue paper
A show Yorkie's lightly oiled coat is wrapped in washi or tissue paper (or plastic); the oil is washed out monthly and the wraps refixed through the week.
Q 19In 1878 John Walsh described greasing the Yorkie's coat with which oil and keeping its feet in stockings?
Coconut oil
Walsh wrote in 1878 that the coat was 'well greased' with coconut oil, the dog bathed weekly and its feet 'carefully kept in stockings'.
Q 20The Kennel Club describes the ideal Yorkie as having a carriage 'very upright conveying' what?
An important air
The Kennel Club standard asks for a carriage 'very upright conveying an important air', a nod to the breed's famously self-important demeanour.
Q 24Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome in Yorkies causes which bone to degenerate?
The head of the femur
Legg–Calvé–Perthes causes the head of the femur to degenerate; it usually appears between five and eight months and is treated by surgically removing the affected bone.
Q 25Luxating patellas in Yorkies are graded on a scale running from 1 to what?
4
Grade 4 is the most severe; many dogs never progress past stage 1 or 2.
Q 26A portosystemic shunt, common in Yorkies, is a malformation of which blood vessel?
The portal vein
A portosystemic shunt is a malformed portal vein that lets blood bypass the liver, carrying toxins toward the brain and heart; seizures after meals are a classic sign.
Q 27What is usually the first sign of tracheal collapse in a Yorkie?
A 'goose honking' cough
Tracheal collapse usually announces itself with a 'goose honking' cough; vets recommend a harness over a collar so lead-pulling does not strain the weak windpipe.
Q 28A 2019 study found what share of Yorkies had early periodontitis on at least one tooth by 37 weeks?
98%
The 2019 longitudinal study found 98% of Yorkies had early periodontitis on at least one tooth by 37 weeks, marking the breed as highly susceptible to periodontal disease.
Q 29Transient juvenile hypoglycaemia is most often seen in Yorkie puppies at what age?
5 to 16 weeks
Transient juvenile hypoglycaemia strikes mostly between 5 and 16 weeks, when tiny pups lack the muscle mass to store glucose; corn syrup or Nutri-Cal and a vet visit are the emergency response.
Q 30What colour are Yorkshire Terrier puppies at birth?
Black and tan
Yorkshire Terrier puppies are born black and tan; the black gradually lightens into the adult body shade as the coat matures over the first years.