Border Terrier

History

One of the oldest dog breeds to still exist today, the Border Terrier was bred in Great Britain to drive foxes out of their dens and kill them. This breed was dealt misfortune as they were typically not fed, in order for their prey drive to be even greater. Soon, owners realized this was not necessary and that the Border Terrier in itself was enough of a hunting dog with being cared for properly. Today they make great companions, however they aren't fit for all families as their prey drive is still high.

Appearance

This breed is a small breed dog with males and females measuring 11-14 inches in height and weighing 13-16 pounds in weight. Built stocky, short to the ground and appearing very alert and active, the Border Terrier has an overall single layer wired hair coat. This coat is available in wheaten, red, grizzle and tan, or blue and tan. Some puppies may have a small bit of white within their coat on their chest. Their head is triangular in shape with their muzzle forming into a scissor bite. Their two round eyes are available in hazel to black in color. They have two small, triangular shaped ears that are folded firmly along side of their face. This breed has a thick, short tail that tapers quickly to a point.

Temperament

This breed is most like any other terrier breed, as they make wonderful family companions, are energetic, good with children and should not live with other types of small pets. This breed can be okay with other dogs he or she grows up around. Proper and early socialization and training classes is highly recommended to ensure a good foundation within your relationship with your new dog. This breed will always demonstrate a sense of prey drive, so it is important to note that they need to be watched thoroughly while outdoors and within a properly fenced in area. This breed may bark when excited and indoors, this is part of their personality and potential owners should consider this. This breed is extremely confident and ready at all times for whatever is happening in the day. Proper play time and training daily is recommended. As always, we only ever suggest positive reinforcement training methods. This breed needs to feel like he or she is always a part of the family and action going on in order to remain happy.

Grooming

This breed has a single layer, wired hair coat that requires a brushing weekly and a professional grooming about twice a year. Bathe only when needed. This breed sheds very little.

Special Notes

This breed likes to dig. This breed is known to squeeze through tight cracks and spaces whenever possible to go on the hunt and track scents. Due to the nature of this breed, a properly installed fence with stone a few inches under the ground is highly reccomended in order to avoid any possible escape route for your new dog. Please always check the area your dog will be loose within while outdoors to ensure proper maintenance of the fence and the safety of your new addition. Fully educate yourself about the Border Terrier prior to adding one to your family to make sure this is the proper breed for you. Do not add any new dog to your home unless you are able to provide a life long commitment physically and financially to your new family member. All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”. The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goal