The Silky Terrier has an interesting point of origin. During the late 1800s, many Yorkshire Terrier dogs from England were brought to Australia. Most of these dogs were colors of tan and steel blue. They were then bred with Australian Terriers whom had tan and native blue colors. These breeding efforts were designed to create a dog with improved coat color while maintaining its robust conformation.

Many of the descendents from crossing these breeds started to appear with a slightly different look and were named the “Silky Terrier” because it was thought that an entirely new breed was starting to emerge. They were medium in size and coat length, as compared to its parental stock.