American Morkshire Terrier History
Written by Anna
The American Morkshire Terrier aka "Morkshire Terrier" even though a "rare" breed, was created over a period of more than 50 years ago beginning sometime in the early 1970s here in the United States. Followed by Canada, and approximately 20 years later in the United Kingdom.
American Morkshire Terrier
Kisses & Cuddles
There's a time for Play and a Time for Love
A dog breed that's sure to love. The American Morkshire Terrier aka Morkshire or Malki is a fluff-ball of personality, loyalty and love. They are one of the top most popular "rare" breeds. This petite terrier is absolutely adorable, highly intelligent, very affectionate, and overflowing with confidence. Coming from two Toy Parents they are the perfect pooch for Individuals and Families!
Friendly and Social Gentle and Spunky Self-Confident Bubbly and Playful
Friendly and Social Gentle and Spunky Self-Confident Bubbly and Playful
We call our American Morkshire Terriers
- Morkshire's and Morkie's - for short.
- Morkshire's and Morkie's - for short.
Where did the American Morkshire Terrier come from?
The American Morkshire Terrier a man-made breed and its' origin dates back to before 1970's. First emerging in early 1970's, with facts concerning their origin presented in modern books, as being unknown. According to many present-day fanciers and owners, the Morkshire Terrier were the result of a number of breeds being bred together to produce the desired low-shedding coat, lovable companion lap dog and adorable traits. The name "Morkshire Terrier" is the original name used in reference to this breed and has spread over the years, with several given nick names, "Malki" pronounced (Mal-Ki), "Malkie" pronounced (Mal-Kee), "Morkshire" pronounced (Mork-Shire), and lastly the “Morkie” pronounced (Mor-Key) used in more recent years.
It was in March of 2015 when SMM-Ranch, Anna was in the market for adding another breed to our breeding program of over 15 years when I came across a super cute puppy I had never seen before, what I called a multi-colored "Malkie" according to the breeder I acquired her from. She was a female pup, we named "Sundae" because of the interestingly coat color she had. It reminded me of an ice cream "sundae". Sundae (pictured below) was a uniquely colored black Malkie with splotches of white and tan with tan/gold points - over her eyes, ears, cheeks, lower legs and under her tail (similar tan points to a Yorkshire Terrier). We found this puppy to be exceptionally intelligent, super sweet, gentle-natured and very low-shedding which was a delight as I suffer from allergies.
It was in March of 2015 when SMM-Ranch, Anna was in the market for adding another breed to our breeding program of over 15 years when I came across a super cute puppy I had never seen before, what I called a multi-colored "Malkie" according to the breeder I acquired her from. She was a female pup, we named "Sundae" because of the interestingly coat color she had. It reminded me of an ice cream "sundae". Sundae (pictured below) was a uniquely colored black Malkie with splotches of white and tan with tan/gold points - over her eyes, ears, cheeks, lower legs and under her tail (similar tan points to a Yorkshire Terrier). We found this puppy to be exceptionally intelligent, super sweet, gentle-natured and very low-shedding which was a delight as I suffer from allergies.
2015 American Morkshire Terrier owned by SMM-Ranch.
I immediately went in search for dog clubs and registries to join, as I am a "Cynophilist" (a dog fancier) in hopes to register my beloved find. To my surprise, discovery, and disappointment there were NO dog Club's and there were NO dog Registry's for this breed of dog. I also found that this breed of dog did not have an 'official' breed name. Inspired by my love and commitment to dogs and this breed, it took several weeks-to-months of doing extensive searches about, "Where this dog breed originated from?"
It was during my extensive searches, that I came across several dog breeder's who had been breeding and raising this breed of dog for "over 50 years" and with their extensive background on this breed, they gave me great detail into: When this breed first emerged, What this breed was originally called, and Why this breed was originally first created.
I found that this breed originated in America and was originally referred to as the "Morkshire Terrier" when this breed first emerged in the 1970s. It was after my extensive researching here in the U.S. that led to me to search around the world, that I decided that this breed "Needed" to be Acknowledged and Recognized. So, I first contacted several U.S. Registries to inquire and obtain guidance in starting and incorporating a Registry for this breed.
It was in August of 2017, that I founded the first Morkshire Terrier Registry (MHR) - keeping the original name this breed had originally emerged as. It would be the First registry of its' kind when it comes to a dog registry, as the MHR was established to register the Morkshire Terrier dog, puppies, first, second generation, and this breeds' ancestors - the Maltese, the Yorkshire Terrier, and the Biewer Yorkshire Terrier. At that time, I myself and the MHR did not know the Full Genetic background of the Morkshire Terrier except, that it had been created by a Maltese, a Yorkshire Terrier with accounts of different color variations, (Biewer) and mentions of a Poodle.
Shortly after MHR was established, it took off with quite a number of pet owners registering their pets, and with the rise in pets registering with MHR, I decided to contact several U.S. Club's to inquire and obtain guidance in incorporating the First dog breed Club for the Morkshire Terrier. Because this breed had NO Official breed name and the breed originated in the United States of America, I decided to give this breed a proper name, the "American Morkshire Terrier" by keeping the original name of the breed, "Morkshire Terrier" and accentuating the origin of this breed with "American."
It was in early 2018, that I founded the American Morkshire Terrier Club® Inc. (AMTC). It would be the first dog breed Club for American Morkshire Terrier that encompassed the already established Registry, the MHR. For the next few months, I conducted a world-wide search for a complete dog breed count of the Morkshire Terrier in the U.S. and abroad. During this conducted search, I discovered that there was well over 15,000 Morkshire Terriers spread across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe.
In June of 2019, the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) made up of several dog breeders sat down and created and wrote a breed Standard for the American Morkshire Terrier. In August of 2019, the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) founded the American Morkshire Rescue Association (AMRA). In September of 2019, the Morkshire Terrier Registry (MHR) was changed to the American Morkshire Terrier Registry™ (AMTR). In October of 2019, the AMTC wrote and submitted a proposal to the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA) for the acceptance of a "New" Rare Breed called ~ the “American Morkshire Terrier.”
On December 13, of 2019, the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA), a dog club founded in 1991 for rare breed dogs not recognized by the larger venues, contacted the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) with Acknowledgement and Acceptance of the “American Morkshire Terrier” as a “New Rare Breed.”
It was during my extensive searches, that I came across several dog breeder's who had been breeding and raising this breed of dog for "over 50 years" and with their extensive background on this breed, they gave me great detail into: When this breed first emerged, What this breed was originally called, and Why this breed was originally first created.
I found that this breed originated in America and was originally referred to as the "Morkshire Terrier" when this breed first emerged in the 1970s. It was after my extensive researching here in the U.S. that led to me to search around the world, that I decided that this breed "Needed" to be Acknowledged and Recognized. So, I first contacted several U.S. Registries to inquire and obtain guidance in starting and incorporating a Registry for this breed.
It was in August of 2017, that I founded the first Morkshire Terrier Registry (MHR) - keeping the original name this breed had originally emerged as. It would be the First registry of its' kind when it comes to a dog registry, as the MHR was established to register the Morkshire Terrier dog, puppies, first, second generation, and this breeds' ancestors - the Maltese, the Yorkshire Terrier, and the Biewer Yorkshire Terrier. At that time, I myself and the MHR did not know the Full Genetic background of the Morkshire Terrier except, that it had been created by a Maltese, a Yorkshire Terrier with accounts of different color variations, (Biewer) and mentions of a Poodle.
Shortly after MHR was established, it took off with quite a number of pet owners registering their pets, and with the rise in pets registering with MHR, I decided to contact several U.S. Club's to inquire and obtain guidance in incorporating the First dog breed Club for the Morkshire Terrier. Because this breed had NO Official breed name and the breed originated in the United States of America, I decided to give this breed a proper name, the "American Morkshire Terrier" by keeping the original name of the breed, "Morkshire Terrier" and accentuating the origin of this breed with "American."
It was in early 2018, that I founded the American Morkshire Terrier Club® Inc. (AMTC). It would be the first dog breed Club for American Morkshire Terrier that encompassed the already established Registry, the MHR. For the next few months, I conducted a world-wide search for a complete dog breed count of the Morkshire Terrier in the U.S. and abroad. During this conducted search, I discovered that there was well over 15,000 Morkshire Terriers spread across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe.
In June of 2019, the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) made up of several dog breeders sat down and created and wrote a breed Standard for the American Morkshire Terrier. In August of 2019, the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) founded the American Morkshire Rescue Association (AMRA). In September of 2019, the Morkshire Terrier Registry (MHR) was changed to the American Morkshire Terrier Registry™ (AMTR). In October of 2019, the AMTC wrote and submitted a proposal to the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA) for the acceptance of a "New" Rare Breed called ~ the “American Morkshire Terrier.”
On December 13, of 2019, the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA), a dog club founded in 1991 for rare breed dogs not recognized by the larger venues, contacted the American Morkshire Terrier Club (AMTC) with Acknowledgement and Acceptance of the “American Morkshire Terrier” as a “New Rare Breed.”
Morkshire Terrier Appearance
American Morkshire Terriers range from about 4 to 15 pounds and stand 8 to 11 inches at the shoulder. They have a single coat, meaning, the breed only has a top coat. You can see American Morkshire Terriers with two different ear set types; down ears and up ears. They come in a variety of colors with common ground (solid) coat colors in: black, tan (beige), gold (referred as a rich gold or yellow), white, liver (chocolate), and be a combination of these colors of a pied "piebald" pattern. As the dog ages (in some cases) the black coat can appear to look a silver or gray and even appear to look a dark steel blue as an adult due to their ancestral influence. This breed has a long natural tail that curls over its back. American Morkshire Terrier's are an abundantly confident, energetic and loyal breed that's "full of life". They are very loving, sweet-natured, and an all-around gentle breed that make wonderful therapy dogs. They are highly intelligent and want nothing more, but to be with and please their owners. American Morkshire Terriers have a life expectancy of about 15-22 years and can have a litter size of about 3 to 6 puppies. As with any breed there are differences in personality from dog to dog and the American Morkshire Terrier is no different, but in general this breed is described as above. To learn more about the American Morkshire Terrier, their health and breed Standard please visit the official dog breed Club - click on AMTC picture below:
How to Find Reputable Morkshire Breeders?
- A reputable dog breeder gives more priority to the growth and improvement of a breed.
- Their breeding seasons are well-planned. This guarantees that what makes a breed distinct and unique is preserved and perfected over time.
- They concentrate their efforts on the breed’s good health and development.
- Often a litter of puppies will cost a reputable breeder more than they will make back by selling them.
- AMTC Breeder Directory
American Morkshire Terrier Club, Inc.® (AMTC)
*The following picture's depicting American Morkshire Terrier's are Property of SMM-Ranch*
Pics of Morkshire's
These examples of different Malki's are not our dogs, with the exception of Sundae.
American Morkshire Terrier Ancestor's
1873 Maltese in the middle
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1870s Poodle
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1870s Rat Terrier
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1870s Yorkshire Terrier
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1980s Biewer Yorkshire Terrier