The Biewer’s German Beginning

For more than 30 years, the Biewer has enchanted many with their elegant coloring and sweet disposition. The Biewer has a whimsical, light-hearted personality and is very playful. They are unique, confident, happy little dogs who have individual personality traits that make them extra-special. Biewers are good with children, other family pets, and are neither yappy nor frail. They are non-shedding, hypo-allergenic, and make wonderful companions whether you live in a large home or a small apartment. They are content to love and be loved by all who own them.

The Biewer, pronounced (Beeva) originated in Hunsruck, Germany in 1984. After raising and showing Yorkshire Terriers for 20 years, Werner & Gertrude Biewer created the first Biewer through the occurrence of a recessive piebald gene in their Yorkshire Terriers. “Darling von Friedheck” and Fru Fru von Friedheck” were the original pair used to begin the Biewer foundation stock.

Both dogs were blue and tan world youth winners in 1981 at Dortmund. Their mating produced the first blue, white, and gold Biewer, “Schneeflocken von Friedheck”, born in January of 1984. Through selective breeding, the couple continued to reproduce the signature head piece with all three colors, blue/black, white, and gold in good symmetry. The belly, chest, legs, and tip of the tail were characteristically white and silky, not curly. The tail meant to be full. The back colored blue/black with white in it. The Yorkshire Terriers that produced the Biewer originated from the Streamglen Kennel.

There is some speculation, although not substantiated, that an accidental crossbreeding may have occurred in this kennel that did not show up until many generations later through Mr. Biewer’s dogs. Mr. and Mrs. Biewer had 4 Yorkies from Streamglen, two of which produced the tri-colored dog.

Mr. Biewer first introduced his tri-colored dogs to the show ring in March of 1988 at Wiesbaden, Germany. He presented two dogs and called them Black and White Yorkshire Terriers. The VDH denied the acceptance of the dogs being a breed of their own. Instead, they were designated as being “the wrong color, not for breeding”. Mr. Biewer was unhappy with this decision and began his search for a registry that would accept his beloved dogs as a separate breed. The ACH (Allgemeiner Club der Hundefreunde Deutschland e.V.) was the first club to accept them as a distinct and separate breed. The dogs were then registered as Biewer Yorkshire a’ la Pom Pon.

The name “a’ la Pom Pon” came from a unique story. While dining one evening, the husband of singer Margot Eskens presented his wife with a Biewer Yorkshire puppy on a platter as a gift. The phrase “a’ la Pom Pon” is French and translates “a tassel or colorful ball of yarn”, which described the puppy’s hair perfectly.

In 1989 the Biewer was accepted as its own breed with the ACH German e.V. When Mr. Biewer signed the standard for the Biewer Yorkshire a’ la Pom Pon, it was that of a Yorkshire Terrier with the coloring being white-blue-gold. The standard was short and brief at the time.

Other breeders were intrigued with the little dogs and began
breeding them as well. Among the first breeders were the
“Agridesheim” and “Sonnenhof” Kennels. Mr. and Mrs. Biewer
kept a close reign on the Biewer breeding programs in Germany,
so their quality-breeding dogs were hard to come by and were
quite costly. Mr. Biewer passed away in 1997, but his legacy lives
on through his exquisite breed. After Mr. Biewer’s death, many breeders took short cuts in their attempts to create the perfect Biewer. We will never know the complete truth about the beginnings of this exquisite breed, but we will protect their legacy until the end.

By the year 2000, the Biewer had lost its popularity in Germany and the number of breeders had dwindled significantly. It wasn’t until the breed was introduced in America that its popularity revitalized. Because the Breed Standard had not been perfected during that time, it has been the cause of many debates among today’s breeders. Early pictures primarily show only two colors in the head piece and the body was predominantly more black than blue.

Breed Standards

RVD/UCI International Standards (the breed is shown under in Germany and other parts of the world.)
TRANSLATED FROM THE UCI STANDARD GERMANY
UCI Reference No 00/490

Origin: Germany

General Appearance:

That of a long-haired toy terrier whose hair hangs evenly and straight down each side of the body and from the base of the skull to the end of the tail. The animal should be very compact and neat. The tail should be carried up. The outline should give the impression of a powerful and well proportioned body.

Head and Skull:

The head should be rather small and flat, not too proportionate round in the skull, nor the muzzle too long with an absolute black nose. The hair on the head is long with colors: white- blue-gold, symmetrically colored.

Eyes:

Medium size, dark and sparkling with a sharp intelligent expression and placed in a way that they could look straight. The shall not be too prominent and the eye rims should be of a dark color.

Ears:

Small V shaped ears, that are carried erect, and not too far apart, covered with short hair.

Teeth:

The teeth should all be the same. Either a scissors bite or level bite is acceptable. Premolar faults are tolerated.

Forelegs:

The legs should be totally straight, well covered with hair.

Hind Legs:

Legs rather straight, well muscled, and well covered with hair.

Body:

Very compact well formed hips, and a level back line.

Tail:

A complete tail, with lots of hair, carried slightly higher than the level of the back.

Feet:

As rounded as possible, with toenails being white or black.

3/4

Coat:

The hair on the body has a length 3/4 down the sides of the dog, or long enough to reach the ground, and is absolutely straight (not wooly), shiny like silk and of fine silky texture without an undercoat.

Coloring:

Coloring of the coat of the trunk, and the head piece are as follows. White or blue-white broken or closely blue absolute, or black, without brown coloring. Hair on the breast, pure white on the belly and the legs. The head with white-blue-gold, symmetrical colored.

Weight & Height:

Up to 22 cm in height and a weight of about 3.1 kg. (8.66 inches; 6.83 pounds)

Faults:

Any and all differences within this breed standard Light colored eyes or eye rims
Light colored nostrils
Any ear that is not erect.

An overshot or undershot bite. Wavy or curly hair.

Please Note:

As of May 2002, Germany enacted the Animal Protection Dog Regulations (TIERSCHUTZ- HUNDEVERORDNUG) in which it is NOW ILLEGAL to dock tails or ears, therefore any docking of tails and ears on the Biewer is considered FORBIDDEN in Germany. So ALL Biewers’ imported, and shown, in the USA must have uncropped tails and ears. This Standard depicts the original standard, but the current new restriction from Germany will be enforced. Any Biewer shown n the United States or Germany must now be shown in its natural state. Any Biewer with cropped ears or tails will be disqualified