The Australian Terrier is a small

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

of the

terrier Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

. The breed was developed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, although the ancestral types of dogs from which the breed descends were from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

Appearance

The Australian Terrier is a small dog with short legs, weighing around and standing about at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

, with a medium length shaggy harsh double

coat A coat is typically an outer garment for the upper body, worn by any gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front, and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners (AKA velcro), ...

that is not normally trimmed. Fur is shorter on the muzzle, lower legs, and feet, and there is a ruff around the neck. The coat colours are blue or silver and tan with a lighter coloured topknot, and with markings on face, ears, body and legs of a colour described in the breed standard as "tan, never sandy", or a solid red with a sandy variation. The tail was traditionally docked, in order to protect the dog from spinal injury while working and hunting in the field.

History

The Australian Terrier is descended from the rough coated type terriers brought from Great Britain to Australia in the early 19th century. The ancestral types of all of these breeds were kept to eradicate mice and rats. The Australian Terrier shares ancestors with the

Cairn Terrier The Cairn Terrier is a terrier breed originating in the Scottish Highlands and recognised as one of Scotland's earliest working dogs. The name "Cairn Terrier" was a compromise suggestion when the breed was brought to official shows in the Unite ...

, Shorthaired

Skye Terrier The Skye Terrier is a Scottish dog breed that is a long, low, hardy terrier with short legs. It is "one of the most endangered native dog breeds in the United Kingdom" according to the Kennel Club. Appearance Coat The Skye is double c ...

, and the

Dandie Dinmont Terrier A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older ch ...

;

Yorkshire Terrier The Yorkshire Terrier, also known as a Yorkie, is a British breed of toy dog of terrier type. It is among the smallest of the terriers and indeed of all dog breeds, with a weight of no more than . It originated in the nineteenth century in the ...

s and

Irish Terrier The Irish Terrier () is a dog breed from Ireland, one of many breeds of terrier. The Irish Terrier is considered one of the oldest terrier breeds. The Dublin dog show in 1873 was the first to provide a separate class for Irish Terriers. By ...

s were also crossed into the dog during the breed's development. Development of the breed began in Australia about 1820, and the dogs were at first called the Rough Coated Terrier. The breed was officially recognised in 1850, and later renamed as the Australian Terrier in 1892. The Australian Terrier was shown at a dog show for the first time in 1906 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, and was also shown in Great Britain about the same time.

Health

The Australian Terrier is known to be susceptible to the

auto-immune disease An autoimmune disease is a condition that results from an anomalous response of the adaptive immune system, wherein it mistakenly targets and attacks healthy, functioning parts of the body as if they were foreign organisms. It is estimated that ...

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome. A 2002 survey by the Australian Terrier Club of America found that the top three causes of death were old age (17%), cancer (15%), and diabetes (13%). The most common conditions affecting dogs were

diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

(10%),

luxating patella A luxating patella, sometimes called a trick knee, is a condition in which the patella, or kneecap, dislocates or moves out of its normal location. It can be associated with damage to the anterior cruciate ligament. Patellar luxation is a common ...

(9%),

ear infections Otitis is a general term for inflammation in ear or ear infection, inner ear infection, middle ear infection of the ear, in both humans and other animals. When infection is present, it may be viral or bacterial. When inflammation is present due to ...

(5%),

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision of the eye. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colours, blurry or double vision, halos around ligh ...

(5%),

flea allergy dermatitis Flea allergy dermatitis is an eczematous itchy skin disease of dogs and cats. For both of these domestic species, flea allergy dermatitis is the most common cause of skin disease. Affected animals develop allergic reactions to chemicals in flea sa ...

(5%), ruptured cranial cruciate ligament (4%), and

hypothyroidism Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disease in which the thyroid gland does not produce enough thyroid hormones. It can cause a number of symptoms, such as cold intolerance, poor ability to tolerate cold, fatigue, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, co ...

(4%).Australian Terrier Club of America 2002 ATCA Health Survey Results
. Note: There is not a direct link to the ATCA 1997 Health Survey, but the results are discussed extensively in the 2002 Survey Report. Retrieved February 2007

Life expectancy

Life expectancy in the 2002 American survey was 11 years. Bitches lived roughly a year longer than dogs. A survey in the UK of breed club members found the Australian Terrier to have a median life expectancy of just above 12 years.

Temperament

The

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

describes the ideal Australian Terrier temperament as spirited, alert, "with the natural aggressiveness of a ratter and hedge hunter". The Australian Terrier ranks 34th in

Stanley Coren Stanley Coren (born 1942) is a psychology professor, neuropsychological researcher and writer on the intelligence, mental abilities and history of dogs. He works in research and instructs in psychology at the University of British Columbia in V ...

's ''

The Intelligence of Dogs ''The Intelligence of Dogs: A Guide to the Thoughts, Emotions, and Inner Lives of Our Canine Companions'' is a 1994 book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia. The book expla ...

'', being of above average "Working and Obedience" intelligence, indicating good trainability.The Intelligence of Dogs, by Stanley Coren, Chapter 10, pages 183-185, Free Press, 2005,

References

External links

{{Authority control FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Australia Terriers