Biewer (Biewer Yorkie Terrier, Biewer Yorkshire)

The Biewer Terrier (Biewer Yorkshire) is a newly invented toy breed, which is fairly unknown outside its native Germany. The dog has cheerful temperament and it’s highly people-oriented. It will make a wonderful home pet for any type of household, large or small, though it’s worth to know that its coat requires a great deal of care.

The first Biewer Terrier appeared as a pure accident as the result of crossing two Yorkshire Terriers on January 20, 1984. Werner and Gertrud Biewer the spouses who had been breeding Yorshire Terrier for over 20 years were pleasantly surprised with an unusual coloration of one of the puppies. It carried blue, white and gold colours in its coat and was named Schneeflocken von Friedheck. The couple started to search for roots of this specific colouring. Eventually they have found out that this peculiarity can be explained by piebald genetic recessive gene that accidently occurred in two Yorkshire Terriers simultaneously. Werner and Gertrud were fascinated by this coloration and initiated a selective breeding practice to get more piebald dogs.

The couple named these Yorkies with distinctive marking «Biewer Yorkshire Terrier à la Pom Pon». In 1988 the breed has participated in the dog show for the first time. Shortly afterwards it became really trendy in its homeland. In 1989 it has earned recognition of the ACH (Allgemeiner Club der Hundefreunde Deutschland).

The Biewer has made its way to America in 2003, and the Biewer Terrier club of America (BTCA) was founded in 2007. Being a fairly new breed it hasn’t yet get an acceptance of the American Kennel Club (AKC), but the breed is recognized by the American Rare Breed Association (ARBA).

The BTCA is the only organisation, which has compiled the breed’s standards according to the wishes of its originator, Mrs Biewer. This document confirms the name of the dog as Biewer Terrier and not Biewer a la Pom Pon. It also approves undocked tails and black in the coats. The dog’s breeders strongly insist that the genuine Biewer can be achieved only via multi-generation crossing and there is an on-going dispute between them and those who prefer to mix the Biewer and the Yorkie.

The Biewer Terrier is highly praised for its joyful, mischievous and clownish demeanour. For this dog the best place in your house is your lap. It’s remarkably loyal and almost fawningly affectionate to its master and his family. However, if this small cute dog is allowed to do what it wants it can become rather bossy and rule the house. That’s why it’s so important to teach the dog to respect the private boundaries and basic rules of behaviour. As a toy breed the Biewer is pretty fragile and children should handle it with proper carefulness and tender. Moreover the dog won’t put up with rough treatment and it can snap if frightened or over-teased.

The Biewer Terrier usually displays aloofness and distrust in the presence of strange people and can even be a bit aggressive. The dog has high-pitched bark which it likes to use without any obvious reason. So make sure that walls in your dwelling are thick enough to not bother your neighbours. On the bright side this vigilant breed has a potential of becoming an outstanding watch dog who will warn the master about coming danger with its shrill voice.

This friendly animal generally gets along with other dogs but due to its terrier heritage the Biewer can sometimes overestimate its abilities and recklessly confront the dog multiple times larger than itself. So it would be wise to be extra cautious while introducing unfamiliar canines to each other. The breed is quite suitable for households with other home pets since its amicable nature allows it to communicate problem-free with every living creature. Although sometimes an over-indulged dog can show signs of jealousy towards other home animals.

The most common problems for the breed include:

• patellar luxation;
• liver shunt;
• eye problems;
• sensitive stomach.

The coat of the Biewer Terrier needs substantial amount of special attendance. If you don’t plan to show your dog it’s better to keep its hair cut rather short so you won’t spend too much time washing and combing it. The «show coat» is allowed to grow straight to the ground and therefore requires everyday careful brushing.

Before brushing the Biewer it’s essential to sprinkle the dog’s hair with a light mixture of conditioner and water. The breed should be bathed once every two to three weeks in order to maintain its fur good-looking and healthy. The erect ears also demand special attention and the hair on them must be trimmed every few weeks in order to remain in the up-right position.

The training of the Biewer Terrier is an easy task since this smart dog learns quickly and with natural interest. This breed has much of the terrier in its blood so it can manifest stubborn behaviour at times. It’s important to establish trusting and respectful relationship with the dog from the first training session otherwise you can count on only quite poor results of these lessons.

The trainer should strive to become an unshakable authority for the Biewer in order to make it willingly oblige the commands. The training should be based on the principals of consistency, fair treatment and positive reinforcement and never on harsh correction.

Being a toy breed the Biewer needs surprisingly a lot of exercise. The owner should take his dog for everyday brisk walk of minimum hour long. If you have noticed that your Biewer dashing around the house with the speed of fire it will probably mean that it lacks such primal physical activity as walking.

Remember that without proper physical outlet the dog can cause you many troubles at home destroying your possessions, chewing things, peeing. Luckily enough the Biewer is substantially less energetic than larger breeds so it’s easy for moderate active family to meet its exercise requirements.