10 Things You Didn’t Know about the Yorktese
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The Yorktese is a hybrid dog. Given its name, it should come as no surprise to learn that it was brought into existence by breeding the Yorkshire terrier and the Maltese together. Thanks to this, the Yorktese can be an excellent household companion. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about the Yorktese:
1. Numerous Names
It isn’t uncommon for hybrid dogs to have more than one name. After all, they aren’t as recognized as their purebred counterparts, meaning that there is less of a public consensus about them. However, the Yorktese has more names than most hybrid dogs. For starters, it tends to be called either a Morkie or a Yorktese. On top of that, other names include but are not limited to Malki, Malkie, and Yorkiemalt.
2. Not Guaranteed to Be a First Generation Cross
Hybrid dogs aren’t guaranteed to be 50 percent of one purebred and 50 percent of another purebred. It is very common to see multi-generation crosses as well. Some people won’t care about this. However, others will because they believe that there is a real trade-off. Essentially, said individuals believe that first-generation crosses have the most hybrid vigor, which is a rather controversial topic to say the least. Multi-generation crosses lose some of this hybrid vigor in exchange for an increased chance of getting certain characteristics. Something that may or may not be worthwhile.
3. Can See Considerable Variation
Speaking of which, the increased chance of getting certain characteristics is important because hybrid dogs aren’t as consistent as their purebred counterparts. Simply put, they haven’t been subjected to generation after generation of selection for the same set of characteristics. As such, while hybrid dogs can possess any of the characteristics from both sides of their heritage, it is difficult to tell what combination of characteristics that a particular hybrid dog will have.
4. Don’t Shed Much
The Yorktese doesn’t shed much for the simple reason that neither the Yorkshire terrier nor the Maltese shed much. This should be convenient for people who are less than enthused by the thought of having to clean up dog hair. However, it is important to note that the Yorktese isn’t considered to be hypoallergenic, meaning that it shouldn’t be considered safe for allergy sufferers.
5. Not the Best Choice For Households with Young Children
Generally speaking, Yorkteses are good-natured dogs that get along well with not just humans but also other dogs. Unfortunately, they aren’t well-suited for households with young children. This is because Yorkteses are small dogs that average around 7 to 13 pounds, meaning that they can be hurt by people who don’t know how to handle them. On top of this, it should be mentioned that some of these dogs are even smaller than this, thus making them even more susceptible to injury.
6. Can Trace Their Roots to Scotland
Yorkteses can trace their roots to Scotland. This can sound rather strange because Yorkshire terriers come from Yorkshire, which is in England rather than Scotland. However, the breed was created using Scottish terriers brought over by Scottish workers. It is interesting to note that the creation of Yorkshire terriers was spearheaded by workers rather than wealthier individuals. Unfortunately, this is the same reason that their origins aren’t quite as well-documented as what enthusiasts would like, though they are relatively well-off in this regard when compared with a lot of other breeds.
7. Can Trace Their Roots to Greco-Roman Times
The Greco-Roman world was very different from modern times. However, it could be very familiar in some respects as well. For example, their stereotypical guard dog was the Molossus, which is sometimes speculated to be the ancestor of the various kinds of mastiffs found throughout Europe. Similarly, their stereotypical lapdog was the Maltese. The Greco-Roman Maltese wasn’t quite the same animal as the modern Maltese that the Yorktese was bred from. However, there is a real connection between them.
8. Might Not Have Maltese Roots
When people think of Maltese, they tend to think of Malta. As such, it is natural for people to think that Maltese dogs were created in Malta, particularly since a lot of breeds are named for their place of origin. However, there is serious doubt about this. Essentially, the ancients thought that the Maltese dog came from an island called Melita, which was a serious issue because there was one in the Mediterranean and another in the Adriatic.
On top of that, the Maltese city of Mdina was once called Melita, thus explaining the source of that particular explanation for the breed’s origins. There is no way to say for sure where the Maltese dog came into existence, particularly since the time when the Maltese dog came into existence is unclear as well. However, there are people who believe that the breed originated from spitzes somewhere in south-central Europe.
9. Might Be Best-Suited to Small Families
The Yorktese is sometimes said to be best-suited to small families. In part, this is because they can sometimes latch onto a single person, though that shouldn’t be too detrimental for their ability to get along with others. Instead, the main issue is that the Yorktese demands a lot of attention, meaning that it can get grumpy when its owners are too distracted by other concerns.
10. Needs Exercise
On a related note, the Yorktese needs a lot of exercise. If they don’t get enough attention as well as stimulation, these dogs have been known to get destructive. Something that doesn’t bode well for their surroundings in spite of their small size. On the plus side, the Yorktese isn’t exceptionally energetic, so they should be content with either a brisk walk or something similar. Some people might want to bring them to a dog park. This is fine so long as they keep a close eye on their Yorktese. After all, dogs aren’t necessarily better than young children when it comes to interacting with small dogs, so some supervision tends to be a good idea.
