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Note: The standard for any breed is a definition of the perfect dog, to which all specimens of the breed are compared. It covers both the dog's physical appearance and its character traits. The breed standard is issued in the country of origin of the breed in question. In the Yorkshire Terrier's case, it was issued in England in 1896. The degree of excellence or deficiency of the appearance of a given dog is in direct proportion to how well that dog meets the requirements for its breed. But, don't panic, the perfection does not exist and even the most perfect specimen, the biggest World Champion of the breed falls short of the standard in some respect. It is almost impossible for any dog to receive unanimous acclaim by everyone who compares it to the standard and to other dogs of the same breed.

Ch. Bolero Dolce Sinfonia

GENERAL ASPECT:

Small & intelligent toy terrier with a long and straight coat, that ordinarily falls on the two sides of the body. It is divided by a part that goes from the nose to the end of the tail. This dog has a very compact, neat and harmonious structure and an outstanding behavior. The dog's high head carriage and confident should give the appearance of vigor and self-importance. The first general impression must be of a vigorous and very well proportioned structure. As the standard says, the quality of the coat, the texture, the beauty of the color is of a PRIME importance in this breed.

Indonesian Champion Nocturne Dolce Sinfonia (Nocturne) at 12 months of age. Nocturne is sired by MultiCh. Tomboy Dolce Sinfonia & MultiCh. Oofy of Millmoor

CHARACTERISTICS:

Small, strong, agile and smart Terrier.

MultiCh. W.A.Mozart Dolce Sinfonia

COAT:

Long and straight coat (absolutely not wavy!). The standard says that the coat of the body should be moderately long and perfectly straight. However for older dogs, floor length is desirable for Shows. The hair must be shiny, rich, luxurious, silky, heavy and smooth, never woolly or wavy! The head is of a very rich and bright gold. It is more intense in the extremity of the head in the attachment of the ears and in the muzzle. It is darker at the root than at the tip, and shades in three tones. This rich golden color must not be extended beyond the neck, or never must be mixed on the dark blue coat of the body. In the adult age no black hairs should be mixed in with the tan.

Marvelous Mozart!

MultiCh. Vice World Ch. WA Mozart Dolce Sinfonia

COLOR:

Coat and color are very important in the evaluation of a Yorky. It should be of a dark steel blue. NEVER A SILVER BLUE, gray or a very light steel! The dark steel blue should from the back of the head down to the tip of the tail. This blue hair must not have golden, brownish, black or bronze in it. The adult dog must be of a very beautiful, uniform and intense dark steel blue. A silver coat or a black coat is not the standard, therefore a defect. such as a very pal tan or a cream color is undesirable. It is also undesirable a red tan like an Irish Setter. On the chest hair must be of a very rich golden color. The tan on the legs should not extend above the elbow or the stifle. All the golden brown hair has a particular characteristic to be darker on the roots, and gradually tending to shade down. ACCORDING TO THE STANDARD, WOOLY HAIR IS A DISQUALIFYING DEFECT.

2 weeks old puppies from Ch. Bolero Dolce Sinfonia & Ch. Fantasia Dolce Sinfonia

Note: Puppies are born black with tan points above the eyes and tan on the muzzle, chest, underside of the tail, feet, and partway up the legs. This color is much like any of the tan & black breeds, and the puppy matures to a tan dog with a blue saddle. By the color and the brilliance of the tan and the texture of the puppy you may have some kind of idea how the color will be in the adult age. In fact I noticed that a puppy with a brilliant tan already showing shading at the roots on the legs and on the muzzle will usually mature to a very beautiful color of both tan and blue. A puppy breaking on the body to light blue or silver will mature to be a light blue or a silver Yorky.
* A puppy that starts the blue break at the back of the neck at 11 months, most likely it will not fade but will continue to change until about 3-4 yrs of age.

4 months old puppy from Ch. Standing-Ovation Dolce Sinfonia & How-Bizarre Dolce Sinfonia

* There are puppies who starts breaking blue at 4 months and very few that will maintain that blue steel color until they are 5-6 years of age. In my own bloodline I noticed that if a puppy breaks at this young age most likely it will have a very light blue/silver color in the adult age. I usually prefer to see a young Yorky with a very dark color rather than a lighter or define one.

* The gold is usually clear on the dark blue dogs by 2-3 yrs of age.....Sometimes the gold can turn very "platinum" but still come in a nice shaded gold by the time the dog is 2 yrs old even tho it starts to look very "white" at 1 1/2 yrs.

5 months old Billy-Jean Dolce Sinfonia

12 months old Billy-Jean Dolce Sinfonia

Hello-Dolly Dolce Sinfonia. Dam of extraordinary champions.

TEMPERAMENT:

A truly terrier! Vivacious, gregarious, incredibly curios and eager for fun and adventure. Independent and rational.

Ch. Dolce Sinfonia' Sugar and Spicy

HEAD AND CRANIUM:

The interesting expression and correct head are very important points . Head must be small and rather flat very proportioned with the rest of the body. It should be very pretty to see. It must not have a prominent cranium, or a round out cranium (typical of dwarfs). Muzzle not very long. Good stop (the section between the nose and the forehead). All these characteristics help to have a good positioning of the ears. Nose should be black.

BOY GIRL

Pictures of Dolce Sinfonia's young Yorkies. Both 9 months old; from the left:

an outstanding boy's face and an amazing girl's face.

Miracle-Love Dolce Sinfonia & Dancing-Queen Dolce Sinfonia

EYES:

Of a medium size. Must have a good form (slightly almond shaped), they do not have to be rounded (a defect caused by the dwarfism). They must be very dark and shiny. It must have an alert, smart and intelligent expression and eyes must be placed in front not on sides of the head. Eyes must be not protruding. Must have a black pigmentation on the eyes rims. A deficiency of pigmentation is a sign of degeneration; its gravity of degeneration, varies if the deficiency is partial or total. A not-pigmented eyelid is the cause of chronic conjunctivitis by the sunshine, and especially by the ultraviolet rays that are not absorbed by the absent pigmentation.

Ch. Minuet Dolce Sinfonia

EARS:

Small with the look of an overturn "V". They must be raised and they must be not very distanced. Hair on the ear is cut short to make the form more evident. It must have a warm and intense golden dark color.

In my own experience: Very often I noticed that the ear-set will improve with the age of the Yorky.

MOUTH:

Perfect and regular set of teeth. Strong and healthy teeth. Incisive perpendicular to the jaws, with a scissors bite (under AKC an even bite is acceptable, but not by FCI). Under FCI all Yorkies with a bite other than scissors must be disqualified. The two jaws are perfectly equal. It is very important to remember that the dog uses the incisive to grasp, the canine to lacerate and the molars and pre-molars to chop. A Show dog must have 6 incisive on the superior and 6 on the bottom.

NECK:

Good extension with good insertion on the shoulder. A good neck will give elegance on a small Yorky. A short neck is very undesirable. A neck too long, gives the impression of a disproportion.

9 months old Miracle-Love Dolce Sinfonia. Great structure and very straight legs, top-line and right angulations.

ANTERIOR LEGS:

Shoulders must be well positioned, straight and with a red golden brown hair. A little lighter tone the extremity that in the attachment of the legs, but not over the elbow.

American Champion Gigi Dolce Sinfonia.

Sired by MultiCh. SC-Grand Final Dolce Sinfonia & Swan Lake Dolce Sinfonia

BODY:

Solid, strong and very compact. The back is rather short. Ribs a little curved. Good reins. Perfect, solid top line with a straight spine parallel to the floor. A curved spine or a spine which is not parallel to the floor is a defect.

POSTERIOR LEGS:

Straight if looked by the back. With a little flex on the knees. It must be of a red, golden brawn hair. A little lighter tone in the extremity and in the attachment, but not past that.

FEET:

Rotund. Black nails. Dewclaws, if any, are generally removed.

TAIL:

Generally it is docked to a medium size. However in some European Countries tails are not docked anymore. It is of a very dark blue color. The blue is generally darker than the rest of the body, especially the end of the tail. It is positioned a little higher of the body. Taking the clock as example: It will be at 2:00 O’clock. during the movement, the tail should be visible above the back. A low tail-set is not good, it definitely ruins the appearance of the top-line.

MultiCh. Dolce Sinfonia's In-Dreams.

Sired by MultiCh. Overture Dolce Sinfonia & Moon-Star Dolce Sinfonia

MOVEMENT:

Good movement with a good propulsion. Anterior and posteriors movement are parallel. It maintains a straight and solid top line. Legs must not not cross during the movement.

Yorkshire Terriers are not inanimate toys, they are leaving been. They love to be spoiled and brushed. They are very smart animals and most of the time they will not like to be surrounded by young children. Parents should teach their young children to be gentle, to love and to respect them as leaving been. A young child raised with respect for animals and plants will grow to be a very sensitive and compassionate adult. In this photo MultiCh. My-Fair Lady Dolce Sinfonia with 5 years old owner Limor Dubrovsky.

WEIGHT:

Not over 7 LB (3,175 Kg.). Standard does not talk about how tall a dog must be.

DEFECTS:

Any deviation of the standard is to be considered a defect and must be penalized by the gravity.

NOTE:

Males must have two testicles of a normal aspect, fully descended into the scrotum.

Note: Many people believe that males are not as sweet and warms as females. And they are afraid that it will be very difficult to train them. This is completely wrong! In fact, many owners, vets, and groomers agree that a male is just as sweet and easy to work with as a female. And sometime they are even easer as far as teaching them the household rules. Yorky males have the most wonderful personality you may find in all Toy breeds. Remember that like all terriers and hunting dogs, females show the alpha behavior and they may be more moody and territorial than males.

CURIOSITY: Yorkies can hear sounds at much higher frequencies than humans - 50,000 to 60,000 cycles per second compared to 20,000 cps for humans.

ALL YORKIES IN THIS PAGE ARE OWNED BY DOLCE SINFONIA YORKIES OF BEVERLY HILLS, USA.