Border and Lakeland Terriers
This wonderful woodcut from half a century before the English Stud books began, was captioned Fox Terrier 1806. Undoubtedly this was because this dog was used for fox hunting. But the dog pictured clearly depicts Border Terrier breed type and proportions. So when the Breed Standard was written more than a century later, its working heritage was reflected by its opening words which state that the Border Terrier is: 'essentially a working terrier capable of following a horse' whilst the Lakeland Terrier still contains the word 'workmanlike' in its general appearance.
History - One Terrier split into two
A strain of terrier that is supposedly the oldest of the terriers in the district was given the generic name 'Terriers of the Border Region' because they required no other designation than the work they did. It was not until the 1920's that their fame was bolstered by specialist clubs and breed recognition. Some two decades before they were recognized as a pure breed, they were described
" . . remarkable how most of them have kept their good looks whilst bred only for work . . . these Border Terriers have been running up and down Northumberland and other of the more more northern counties since time immemorial almost. Of later years they have been taken in hand by some of the 'hunting men' on the Borders as more useful for their purpose than any of what may be called, without prejudice, fancy or fashionable varieties"
But in 1920 the Border Terrier became recognized with the original breed Standard written by Jacob Robson, who kept forerunners of today's Border Terriers all his life to run with his packs of Foxhounds. His father also had similar packs.
Because like Jack Russell Terriers, Border Terriers have chests so flexible they can wriggle along and squeeze through the incredibly small earths or tunnels where the fox lives, the chest of a Border Terrier remaines capable of being spanned.
Coloured red and mustard as well as and black and tan and pepper and varying in weight from 15 to 18 pounds, they were a little larger than today's Border Terrier Breed Standard requires. But Jacob Robson stated:
'when bigger they cannot follow their fox underground so well, and a little terrier that is thoroughly game is always best'. [1]
The Lakeland Terrier was used for a slightly different purpose. He eliminated mountain foxes that lived in the Lakes District. These foxes often sought refuge on the rocky ledges inside their dens. So these terriers did not sqeeze through soft earths. Instead they had to enter rocky dens. So they had to be sufficiently narrow in the chest to enter these rocky dens and then have the length of leg to jump onto the ledges so they could tackle the mountain fox[2].
Today Lakelands Terriers are primarily showdogs and were first recognized in 1928. But there are still Terriers of the Border Region called Fell and Patterdale Terriers which work in the traditional manner. But these working terriers and are not yet recognized by the Kennel Club UK. So whilst acknowledging these current working types of terriers, in-depth discussions here are confined to the two recognized breeds which are the Border and Lakeland Terriers.
Border Terrier
Characteristics
The head of a Border Terrier, uniquely described in the Breed Standard as 'like that of an otter' is best understood by comparing the heads of these two species:
It is particularly interesting to note the similarity in:
- the shape and placement of the eyes
- the square shape of the skull
- the flatness of skull
- the set of ears
- the lack of definite stop
- the short muzzle
- the strength of the muzzle
- the width and depth of the underjaw
- the size of the nose
Skin, Body and Coat
The body of the Border Terrier is described as 'fairly long', built so the dog is capable of working underground in fox dens. So, when judging this breed the process of spanning a terrier must always be followed. Additionally, the specialized skin or pelt of the Border Terrier should be checked.
The skin or pelt of a Border Terrier is unusually thick and resilient to protect the dog should it get caught on the jagged edges of rocks and tree roots that are encountered when the dog crawls through the confines of a fox den.
The flexibility and thickness of the skin or pelt allows the dog to wriggle past these obstructions when fox hunting. Specialist terrier judges often check the skin's thickness and flexibility by grasping it across the back with two hands as demonstrated.
The Border Terrier's skin or pelt is covered by a rough coat. It comes in red, wheaten, grizzle and tan and blue and tan. Although there is no height specified in the breed standard, he has a racy build with a fairly long body and weighs around 5 - 7 kilograms (eleven and a half to fifteen and a half pounds).
Tail
The tail of the Border Terrier is described as 'fairly thick and the base and tapering'. Most working terriers should have tails which are thick at the base, so hunters could use the tail as a handle to pull the terrier out of a burrow or den, should the necessity arise. Hence the common saying among terrier folk 'no tail no terrier'. The natural undocked tails of the two dogs pictured here are ideal.
Although the Standard calls for the tail to be 'set high' and 'carried gaily' the Border Terrier's tail set-on and carriage should not be the same as those terriers whose Breed Standards have similar wording but also require the back to be short. Instead the Border Terrier's body is described as 'fairly long'.
Because the Border Terrier had to dig its way into the earths where the foxes lived, it has a Terrier front. But his hindquarters are described in the Breed Standard with one word 'racy'. Combine this racy build with the strength of loin required in a dog 'capeable of following a horse', the Border Terrier's tail cannot come vertically off the topline like that of the shorter backed terriers. Instead the correct tail set-on and carriage should be comparatively lower as ideally pictured on the two dogs pictured.
The Lakeland Terrier
At first glance, a Lakeland Terrrier's outline looks like a Fox Terrier (Wire) or a Welsh Terrier.[3] However, reflecting on the Lakeland's common origin with other Terriers of the Border Region, the differences between these three terriers of similar outline become much more obvious. As the Breed Standard of the Lakeland Terrier is, in my opinion not sufficiently explicit to reflect these subtle differences, the Lakeland is presented here as a comparison with these other two apparently similar breeds, with the respective words in all three standards appearing in the table of Comparison of the Fox Terrier (Wire), Welsh and Lakeland Terriers.
Please particularly note the following which reflect the Lakeland's origin as a Terrier of the Border Region compared with the Welsh or the Fox Terrier (Wire)[3]
- Despite the furnishings of the beard, the head should not have the elongated muzzle of the Welsh or the Fox Terrier (Wire)[3]
- The ears are set lower on the skull than the Welsh or the Fox Terrier (Wire)[3]
- The body is not as short as the Welsh or Fox Terrier (Wire)[3]
- The whole dog is smaller in both height and weight than the Welsh or the Fox Terrier (Wire)[3]
- The varying colours of the Lakeland reflect the colours of other terriers of the Border Region[3]. These are black and tan, blue and tan, red, wheaten, red grizzle, liver, blue or black
References and Further Reading
[1] Rawdon B. Lee, "Modern Dogs" of Great Britain and Ireland (Third Edition) London:Horace Cox, "Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C. 1903 Chapter XV1, Pages 451 - 455
[2] Mr and Mrs Graham Spence, "Hutchinson's Dog Encyclopedia" Published by Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) LTD., 34 - 36 Paternoster Row, London, E.C.4 1933 Pages 1121-1132
[3] For the comparison table please click here: Comparison of Fox Terrier (Wire), Welsh and Lakeland Terriers