Border Terrier

Show Breed

Find

Compare with

Size: Small
Other Names: Border
Country of Origin: Scotland and England
Accreditation:
American Kennel Club (AKC): Terrier
Canadian Kennel Club (CKC): Terriers
United Kennel Club (UKC): Terrier
Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC): Terriers
The Kennel Club (KC): Terrier
Kennel Union of Southern Africa (KUSA): Terrier
National Kennel Club (NKC): Recognized
New Zealand Kennel Club (NZKC): Terrier

The Border Terrier is a small dog identified by his otter-shaped head, and narrow and well-proportioned body. He has a broad skull, with a short, strong muzzle, V-shaped ears, a few, short whiskers, and a naturally moderately-short tail.

A small, wiry working terrier who can share an apartment if walked and given a job; expect some coat stripping and a hunter’s voice outdoors.

The Border Terrier was originally bred as a fox and vermin hunter, and shares ancestry with the Dandie Dinmont Terrier and the Bedlington Terrier. The Border Terrier’s love of people and even temperament, makes then good therapy dogs, especially for children and the elderly. They have occasionally been used to aid the blind and deaf.

Height: Male: 13-16 inches; Female: 11-14 inches
Weight: Male: 13-15½ pounds; Female: 11½-14 pounds
Color: Grizzle and tan, blue and tan, red grizzle, or wheaten; most with a dark muzzle
Coat: Short, dense, soft undercoat; harsh, wiry, close-lying outer coat that is weather and dirt resistant, and has no curl or wave
Lifespan: 12–15 years
Litter size: 3–6 puppies

Temperament

Border Terriers are affectionate, intelligent, even-tempered, obedient, alert, and fearless. Border Terriers love company, and do not like to be left alone. They usually get along with other dogs, especially those of the opposite sex. However, if they encounter another dog they dislike, they do not hesitate to start a fight, which, as with most terriers, may be difficult to stop. The Border Terrier will get along well with cats with whom they have been raised, but may chase other cats and small animals, such as mice, rabbits, squirrels, rats, and guinea pigs.

Training

Intelligent and eager to please, Border Terriers have a mid to high training ability. From a young age, they should be trained on command. He responds better to training for tasks, than he does for being taught mere tricks. Regular training helps to maintain what he has learned.

Care and grooming

The Border Terrier’s coat usually requires hand stripping twice a year to remove dead hair. Afterwards, it takes about eight weeks for the top coat to come back in. For some dogs, weekly brushing will suffice. A Border Terrier will hike, bike, and run with his owner, and has sufficiently long legs to achieve a reasonable speed. He is excellent in agility training, quicker to learn jumps and see-saws than weaving poles. Make sure that toys given to your Border Terrier are sufficiently robust. Due to the Border Terrier’s instinct to kill and consume smaller animals, they will often destroy, and sometimes eat, toys that are insufficiently robust.

Shedding

Low to moderate; the broken coat sheds less when it is stripped.

Health

Border Terriers may develop hip dysplasia, heart defects such as pulmonic stenosis, and juvenile cataracts. Responsible breeders screen hips and hearts.

Crosses that include the Border Terrier

These hybrid pages list this breed as a parent. Open a name to see the other contributing breed.

Affen Terrier

Top

View Privacy Policy

EIW.com accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of the advertisements placed on the EIW.com website or for the contents of any website to which a hypertext link from EIW.com links. The Seller Ads and links to products and/or services are provided as a service, and EIW.com gives no warranties, expressed or implied, about the information and/or policies of the Seller Ads or the linked-to webites, or of the information shown.

EIW.com is the sole owner of the services and of all information provided by and posted to the EIW.com website. The use, reproduction, or storing of content for any purpose other than to contact a Seller, purchase a product or service, or compare prices is prohibited. You cannot use the information provided by EIW.com to recreate a directory, rebrand the informaton or redistribute the information in any way. Information provided by EIW.com is for individual, non-commercial use only. All information, processes and content contained within and that make up the services are the sole property of EIW.com. You may not reproduce, duplicate or redistribute any information provided by EIW.com for profit or personal gain of any kind. You may not frame any content or pages contained within the EIW.com website unless expressly granted permission by EIW.com.