WHAT IS A PARTI YORKIE?

Today, Parti Yorkshire Terriers are still considered to be a rare breed.

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 According to Mrs Gloria Lipman of Nikko’s Kennels and Mrs Loryn Bogren of Crownridge, for years parti-colored pups were being born in the United States more often than was known to the general public, when unknowingly, two dogs that both carried the same recessive gene were mated.  Since they were not considered standard, most parti puppies were killed when born, others were quietly handed out the back door with the understanding of not saying where the dog was acquired.  Mrs. Bogren happened to see one of these back door tri color beauties and was intrigued by them.  So much so, that she followed the person who owned this puppy for 5 miles to get the name of the breeder.  After learning the parti puppy came from Nikko’s Kennel she met with Mrs Lipman with the interest to obtain some of these dogs.  It was not a coincidence that the dogs residing in the United States who seemed to carry this special white recessive gene had been purchased from the Biewer's line in Germany. 

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​     And so it started with  Nikko’s Mickey Spillane, a parti colored male. He was registered as a blue and gold.  Mrs. Lipman stated that the dogs could be only be registered as blue and gold as AKC did not have a color code classification for the Parti-Yorkie.  Mrs. Bogren  however was adamant about wanting the dog registered as the Parti- coloring they were and told Mrs Lipman that she would buy every colored pup produced if she would agree to allow DNA to be done on the dogs who produced the unique coloring.

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​     This turned out to be a very lengthy and costly process to Mrs. Lipman,(Nikko's Kennels) as AKC shut down her kennel in 1999 for 18 months to conduct DNA studies of 42 litters sires and dams. She was not allowed to breed, sell or conduct any business during this time.  Three of the dogs tested were owned by Mrs Bogren (of Crownridge), and 1 was owned by Mrs Gesmundo (of Summit Yorkies). The rest of the tested dogs belonged to Gloria Lipman.​ During this study AKC also spoke to several other breeders about off colored pups born in other bloodlines. After researching and tracing many lines, It should be noted that not only the Nikko's lines, but other well known lines in the USA, and abroad, produced parti colors.  In June of 2000, the DNA studies of Nikko’s Kennel were completed to the satisfaction of AKC, and they ruled that the piebald gene does occasionally present in otherwise normal litters of Yorkshire Terriers.  These beautiful tri-colored Yorkies were finally allowed to be registered as "parti-color" with a color code 014.

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The Parti Yorkshire Terrier can compete in AKC agility but are disqualified from showing in AKC sanctioned dog shows due to the white coloring.​ Reputable parti breeders are coming together to preserve and protect the Parti Yorkshire Terrier.  These reputable breeders are determined to take the Parti Colored Yorkshire Terrier to the forefront, where he can shine and take his rightful place beside his standard counterpart, and we hope that one day parti Yorkies will be able to be shown in AKC sanctioned dog shows.  No matter what, the AKC Parti Yorkshire Terrier is here to stay, and reputable breeders are striving every day to perfect the conformation and temperament of these beautiful, spunky, loyal and affectionate little lap companions.