All About
Patterdale Terrier Dogs
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The Patterdale Terrier, a.k.a. the Fell Terrier
By: Stephanie Hetu
It reads on the Patterdale Terrier Club of America standards page
that scars received while working will not be penalized, but
instead should be looked upon as badges of honor. This is a
significant point about Patterdale Terriers, of a type rather
than a breed that was initially known as the elite of working
terriers.
They were bred as working terriers. In the cold, wet, treeless
hills or fells of Yorkshire and the Lake District in Northern
England, the terrain was (and is) rocky and rough, alien to
horses who couldn't navigate the mountainsides but home to the
foxes that fed on farmers flocks. Huntsmen and whippers needed a
dog that could go to ground, rout out the fox, and keep up on the
hunts which often lasted the whole day through. Their creation of
Fell Terriers solved this problem.
Because the people needed a terrier, a working dog, and because
they needed one small enough to enter fox dens and holes when the
fox would not bolt, the Patterdale Terriers were bred to a size
of 12 to 13 pounds and under 12 1/3 inches (though today»s type
can be anywhere from 8 to 30 pounds). One strain of Patterdale
Terrier, a black and red, smooth- and/or rough-coated terrier
developed by Frank Buck and Cyril Breay was especially game,
especially hard-working, and tenacious while at work.
Today's Patterdale Terrier, whether black (which 95% are),
grizzled, or liver-colored, are not emphasized for their looks,
however. The Patterdale is still a working dog in most circles:
it is an ideal hunting companion that men use on their hunts, for
example, for raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, and, of
course, foxes. It will not retreat or back down in a fight,
regardless of the size of its prey/opponent, and will work on
command, relentlessly, which is what gives them the reputation of
being hard-bitten terriers with the scars to prove it.
Patterdale Terriers introduced to America in 1978, are also as
quiet in the home as they are driven to work outside it, and are
loyal to a fault. But as aloof, non-competitive creatures, they
are not considered as just pets. In fact, few people keep them as
around the house pets. Instead, the Patterdales are out earning
accolades for the scars gotten on the same rough hills and in the
same wet and windy woods where their ancestors first earned
theirs.
For more really great info and lot's of fun stuff for
Terrier Dogs & Terrier Dog Lovers.....Please visit:
Happy Terrier Dogs A virtual Paradise for
Terrier Dogs
Reprinted with permission
Copyright © 2005
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