Terrier Breeds
This section gives an in-depth look at Terriers. Terriers have been bred over the centuries to find quarry underground, hence their name 'Terrier' derived from the Latin word 'Terra' meaning earth. Historically their quarry was usually rats and foxes but also sometimes badger, stoats, weasels and otters. In today's society with no quarry to find, the terrier instinct to dig could annoy a garden conscious owner. However, their energy and fun loving character makes them excellent family pets and watchdogs.
Almost all Terriers recognised today have their origins with the peasants or the working class people who lived in local areas of the British Isles. These peasants rarely travelled out of their local region as they were often too poor to even own a horse. So the various breeds of terriers often bear the name of that region of the British Isles where they first developed. The terrain in which they worked varied between cairns or rocks, flattish meadows surrounded by stone fences or thorny hedgerows. These factors all affected not only the construction of the terrier, but also its type of coat[1].
In this section, we shall consider how the various individual breeds of Terriers split into today's various Terrier breeds As the map indicates, many of these Terriers still bear the name of the area in Great Britain where they first originated. So, we shall consider the Terriers in these areas of development. Broadly speaking these are:
- The Terriers of England
- The Terriers of the Border Region
- The Terriers of Scotland
- The Terriers of Ireland
- Terriers whose country of origin was Great Britain but whose country of development is abroad.
[1] Jane Harvey, "Mrs Jane Harvey’s Version on the Development of the Modern Terrier", in KCC Gazette (Melbourne) April 1975 Vol 42 No 4 Page 2
Today's English Terrier breeds of England trace their origin back to the now extinct Old English White Terrier and the English Black-and-tan Terrier that were common in England as early as the 1700's. These Terriers came in both smooth and rough coated varieties as well as in different sizes. By the 1800's Old English Terriers were either primarily white or black and tan as illustrated.
The Terriers of Scotland developed from the long bodied short legged now extinct Scotch Terrier. For simplicity, we shall consider Scotland consisting of the Highlands and the Lowlands. The modern Scottish Terrier originated in the Lowlands while the Cairn Terrier and West Highland White Terriers originated in the Highlands. The Skye Terrier of course originated on the Isle of Skye.
In the Border Region between England and Scotland we have 4 recognized Terrier breeds developed for fox hunting and badger digs described in the Historical Function of Terriers. To rid their farms of foxes as well as members of the weasel family which includes otters as well as badgers, farmers used what was first known as Terriers of the Border Region.
Terriers developed outside Great Britain
Terriers which developed outside Great Britain originate from British Terriers, but bear the name of their country of development. Mainly their origins were the Old English White Terrier and the Old English Black and Tan Terrier.
Today's terrier breed standards were based on their specialized ability to dig. According to the prey the dog was hunting and the terrain in which he hunted, the construction of the dog was selected and evolved accordingly. This section enunciates how the terriers' construction has been adapted from a normally constructed dog, to one with this specialized digging ability.