Temperament

Silky Terriers get along very well with children, but they don’t have the patience for sudden moves and rough play. Also, they can sometimes be demanding and stubborn if they don’t get their way. Make sure they get plenty of exercise and attention, and they will have a consistently great attitude.

This breed has little in common with Golden Retrievers. Though they are more amenable to training than many other terriers and some Silkys excel at high levels of obedience competition, they must still be taught at an early age that they are not the rulers of the world. The toughness that makes them suited to killing vermin can frustrate you when you try to teach them anything. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.

Toy breeds are almost always difficult to housebreak. It is so easy for them to sneak behind a chair or under a small table, and it takes only a few seconds for the deed to be done. The results can be hard to see. When you don't see it, you don't correct it -- and so the bad habit becomes established. If you hope to housebreak a Silky Terrier, consistent crate training is mandatory. Toy breeds should not be loosed in the house for many months, until their small internal organs become strong enough for reliable control.

History and Origins

The Silky is generally believed to have developed by crossing the Yorkshire Terrier with the Australian Terrier in Sydney in the 1890s, but breed historians point out that the Australian Terrier was itself still a developing breed at the time of the Silky's emergence, and, since no early records were kept (as is the case with so many dog breeds) it is likely that other crosses occurred as well. There were also breeding experiments with these crosses in the state of Victoria; it is suggested that Australian and Silky Terriers were first exhibited at the Melbourne Royal in 1872 as "Broken-coated Terriers, Black and Tan", however, the breed is not mentioned in The Dog in Australasia, Walter Beilby's 1897 book.

Certainly it is documented that whatever the outcrossing, puppies evidencing rough and silky coats appeared in the same litters at the turn of the 20th Century. The Australian Terrier, Harsh or Silky coated, was first exhibited at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 1902.

Different breed standards appeared in the 1920s; in or about 1924 the Kennel Club requested a designation of Australian Terrier, Hard Coat and Australian Terrier, Soft Coat but the breeders rejected the proposal.

Before puppies were registered on the Stud Books, a judge was required to inspect litters to determine which puppies were to be registered as Sydney Silkies, which were Australian Terriers and which were Yorkshire Terriers.

20th Century canine council legislation brought an end to the crossbreeding; eventually Silky puppies were intrabred and the breed was stabilized.

The official name for the breed in Australia became the Australian Silky Terrier in 1955. The breed club was established in 1959.

Size & Weight

height: 9-10" / 22.86-25.4 cm weight: 8-11 lbs / 3.62-4.98 kg

Height, measured at the withers, ranges from 9 to 10 inches. Deviation in either direction is undesirable. Weight is proportionate to height and correct substance.

Grooming Requirements

The Silky Terrier’s long, silky hair is prone to tangling. Therefore it is very important that the owner spend a good deal of time grooming to keep it tangle-free. They need to be bathed regularly, and an average of fifteen minutes should be spent each day on brushing and caring for the hair. The coat should be trimmed occasionally, and the hair on the face should be trimmed frequently, to avoid getting in the eyes and obscuring the vision. Many owners choose to tie the hair on top of the head into a topknot to avoid this problem.

Exercise Needs

Although Silkies don't need a lot of outdoor space for running and playing on a daily basis, you will want to walk them regularly in order to burn off some of their excess energy and get them out of the house for an hour or so a day. They'll be grateful for it--and you'll also be grateful to avoid destructive behavior on their part.

When walking your Silky, you'll want to be careful about meeting other dogs or animals along the way. Silkies are often mistrustful of other animals, and might behave badly or even violently when encountering fellow dogs. Although this is certainly a good way to burn off energy, it's a problem behavior that neither you or your friends will appreciate--so make sure that your Silky is well trained to obey commands in order to alleviate some of these problems when they come up.

Most of your Silky's exercise will probably come from indoors. Silkies are very good at playing with children (as long as the children respect their intelligence and don't treat them as a punching bag or a wind-up toy, of course), and a variety of fetching, chasing, or tug-of-war games can be used to keep your Silky active and friendly when the outdoors simply isn't an option.

Health Issues

patellar luxation, elbow dysplasia, storage disease (a fatal nervous system disorder), yeast dermatitis (skin disorder) and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease.

Trivia