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The Border Terrier is a British
The Border Terrier was bred to have long enough legs to keep up with the horses and other foxhounds, which travelled with them, and small enough bodies to crawl in the burrows of foxes and chase them out so the hunters had a blank shot. The foxhounds that travelled with them were not small enough to do the Border Terrier's job.
Border Terriers have a broad skull and moderately short muzzle, and strong teeth. The V-shaped ears are on the sides of the head and fall towards the cheeks. Common coat colours are grizzle-and-tan, blue-and-tan, red, or wheaten. Whiskers are few and short. The tail is naturally moderately short, thick at the base and tapering.
Narrow-bodied and well-proportioned, males stand at the shoulder, and weigh ; females and .
The Border Terrier has a double coat consisting of a short, dense, soft undercoat and harsh, wiry weather- and dirt-resistant, close-lying outer coat with no curl or wave.
breed
A breed is a specific group of 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 several slig ...
of small, rough-coated terrier. It originates from the area of the Anglo-Scottish border, and shares ancestry with the Dandie Dinmont Terrier and the Bedlington Terrier from the same area. The dogs were traditionally used in fox-hunting, and worked with the Border Hunt
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
in Northumberland.
The breed was officially recognised by The Kennel Club in Great Britain in 1920, and by the American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kenn ...
in 1930.
History
Originally the Border Terrier was referred to as the Coquetdale Terrier or Redesdale Terrier from the area in which it evolved, but by the late 1800s it was generally known as the Border Terrier, probably because of its long history with the Border Hunt in Northumberland. It shares its ancestry with that of the Bedlington Terrier and the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. It was recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club in 1920, the same year The Border Terrier Club was formed. Their original purpose was to bolt foxes which had gone to ground. They were also used to kill rodents, but they have been used to hunt otters and badgers too. The first Kennel Club Border Terrier ever registered was The Moss Trooper, a dog sired by Jacob Robson's Chip in 1912 and registered in the Kennel Club's Any Other Variety listing in 1913. The Border Terrier was rejected for formal Kennel Club recognition in 1914, but won its slot in 1920, with the first standard being written by Jacob Robson and John Dodd. Jasper Dodd was made first President of the club. In 2006, the Border Terrier ranked 81st in number of registrations by the AKC, while it ranked tenth in the United Kingdom. In 2008, the Border Terrier ranked eighth in number of registrations by the UK Kennel Club.Characteristics
The Border Terrier was bred to have long enough legs to keep up with the horses and other foxhounds, which travelled with them, and small enough bodies to crawl in the burrows of foxes and chase them out so the hunters had a blank shot. The foxhounds that travelled with them were not small enough to do the Border Terrier's job.
Border Terriers have a broad skull and moderately short muzzle, and strong teeth. The V-shaped ears are on the sides of the head and fall towards the cheeks. Common coat colours are grizzle-and-tan, blue-and-tan, red, or wheaten. Whiskers are few and short. The tail is naturally moderately short, thick at the base and tapering.
Narrow-bodied and well-proportioned, males stand at the shoulder, and weigh ; females and .
The Border Terrier has a double coat consisting of a short, dense, soft undercoat and harsh, wiry weather- and dirt-resistant, close-lying outer coat with no curl or wave.
Health
Borders are a generally hardy breed, though there are certain genetic health problems associated with them, including: * Hip dysplasia * Perthes disease * Various heart defects * Juvenile cataracts *Progressive retinal atrophy Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA) is a group of genetic diseases seen in certain breeds of dogs and, more rarely, cats. Similar to retinitis pigmentosa in humans, it is characterized by the bilateral degeneration of the retina, causing progressive ...
* Seizures
* Canine epileptoid cramping syndrome Canine epileptoid cramping syndrome (CECS), previously known as Spike's Disease, is a hereditary dog disease initially found in Border Terriers and has since been documented in many other dog breeds including Labrador Retrievers and Chihuahuas, w ...
(CECS)
A UK Kennel Club survey puts their median lifespan at 14 years and listed a maximum age of 22 years, one month.
See also
* Dogs portal *List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
References
{{Scottish animal breeds FCI breeds Terriers Dog breeds originating in Scotland Dog breeds originating in England