50 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.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is the maximum weight for a Yorkshire Terrier?
3.2 kg
That is 7 lb, making the Yorkie among the smallest of all 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
No other colour is accepted by the Kennel Club or the FCI.
Q 03Workers from which country brought terriers to Yorkshire in the mid-19th century, seeding the breed?
Scotland
The early dogs were shown as 'Scotch Terriers' until their improvement in Yorkshire earned them the new name.
Q 04The Yorkshire Terrier was chiefly developed by workers in which industry?
Cotton and woollen mills
Mrs A. Foster noted in 1886 that these 'ignorant men' rarely recorded anything, which is why the breed's early history is so thin.
Q 05Miners wanting a ratter crossed the Black-and-Tan with which two Scottish types?
Paisley and Clydesdale
The Paisley was a smaller Skye Terrier bred for its long silky coat, 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
Details are scarce; nobody recorded the third founder's name.
Q 07Which show dog of the late 1860s defined the Yorkshire Terrier type and is called 'father of the breed'?
Huddersfield Ben
Owned by Mary Ann Foster, he was painted by George Earl, and most show dogs of the 1890s carried his blood.
Q 08Which writer called the 1878 show class lumping Scotch and Yorkshire Terriers 'confusing and absurd'?
Hugh Dalziel
The class was called 'Rough and Broken-coated, Broken-haired Scotch and Yorkshire Terriers'.
Q 09In which year was the first Yorkshire Terrier registered with the American Kennel Club?
1885
The breed had reached North America in 1872, riding the American enthusiasm for all things Victorian.
Q 10The breed's American popularity dipped in the 1940s. Which dog is credited with reviving it?
Smoky
Small breeds had fallen to an all-time low of 18% of registrations before the war dog's fame turned things round.
Q 11Where did the AKC rank the Yorkshire Terrier in 2024?
11th of 202
It had been sixth in 2012 and 2013.
Q 12Traditionally, how is a show Yorkie's long coat arranged?
Parted down the middle of the back
The Kennel Club requires it glossy, fine, straight and silky, and it 'must never impede movement'.
Q 13What unusual use is mentioned for a Yorkshire Terrier's hair?
Measuring metals in the dog's body
The tail hair should be a darker black than the body's dark grey.
Q 21The Kennel Club describes the ideal Yorkie as having a carriage 'very upright conveying' what?
An important air
Stanley Coren ranks the breed 27th in The Intelligence of Dogs.
Q 22Where does the Yorkshire Terrier rank in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs?
27th
That places it in the upper part of the 'above average working dogs' band.
Q 23A 2024 UK study gave the Yorkshire Terrier what average life expectancy?
13.3 years
A Japanese pet-cemetery study found 14.3 years, and an Italian study 13 years against a 10-year average.
Q 14How many colour choices does the AKC registration form offer for a Yorkshire Terrier?
Four
Blue and tan, blue and gold, black and tan, and black and gold.
Q 15The white in a rare particolour Yorkie is caused by which gene?
Recessive piebald
Particolours are registerable with the AKC but disqualified by the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America.
Q 16Solid golden Yorkshire Terriers produce only which pigment?
Pheomelanin
Liver or chocolate Yorkies make brown eumelanin instead of black.
Q 17Which German-origin breed, once thought a Yorkie variant, should Yorkies NOT be crossed with?
Biewer Terrier
It descends from blue, white and gold puppies named Schneeflocke and Schneeflöckchen von Friedheck and is now a separate AKC breed.
Q 18How long can it take a Yorkshire Terrier's coat to reach its final colour?
Three or more years
P. H. Combs grumbled in 1891 that puppy show wins were pointless because the adult colour could not be predicted.
Q 19To prevent breakage, a show Yorkie's oiled coat may be wrapped in what?
Washi or tissue paper
The oil is washed out monthly and the wraps refixed through the week to stop them sliding and snapping hairs.
Q 20In 1878 John Walsh described greasing the Yorkie's coat with which oil and keeping its feet in stockings?
Coconut oil
The dog was also bathed weekly; elaborate coat care goes right back to the breed's beginnings.
Q 24Colour dilution alopecia in Yorkies is associated with which coat colour?
Blue
It is a form of hair loss common in the breed.
Q 25Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome in Yorkies causes which bone to degenerate?
The head of the femur
It usually appears between five and eight months and is treated by surgically removing the affected bone.
Q 26Luxating 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 27A portosystemic shunt, common in Yorkies, is a malformation of which blood vessel?
The portal vein
Blood bypasses the liver and carries toxins to the heart, brain and lungs; seizures after meals are a classic sign.
Q 28What is usually the first sign of tracheal collapse in a Yorkie?
A 'goose honking' cough
Vets recommend a harness rather than a collar, since an energetic Yorkie pulling on a lead can strain the weak trachea.
Q 29A 2019 study found what share of Yorkies had early periodontitis on at least one tooth by 37 weeks?
98%
The breed is described as highly susceptible to periodontal disease.
Q 30A UK study found Yorkies how many times likelier than other dogs to have impaired hepatic perfusion?
6.79×
That is reduced blood flow to the liver, separate from the breed's shunt problem.