All About
Working Terrier Dogs
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Tenacious Terrier Dogs, of the Working Type
By: Stephanie Hetu
Thirty-three breeds of terrier dogs make up the group known as
the working dogs, as earth dogs (from the Latin, terra, earth; or
chien terrier , from the French for earth dog), as the dogs who
best go to ground (terrier , a burrow), and as dogs that are the
best at hunting, routing, and bolting small animals and rodents
that threaten crops, flocks, and cattle (also from terrier, a
mound created from earth tossed out of a hole). In fact, these
are what terrier dogs were created, bred, and developed for.
They were made small, compact, and trained to have a tenacity,
and endurance, and an aggressiveness that would see them into the
cold, wet, windy, rocky, and tight terrains and locations that
horses and men couldn't navigate, reach, or fit into. They were
made to have an immediate reaction to anything other than their
companions that moved and were raised to chase just as
immediately. This persistence and hunting excellence (as well as
their diminutive sizes) has survived hundreds of years, making
them a continued choice for hunters. As well, because of their
smallness, they are perfect for apartments and small dwellings,
and because of their retained devotion, friendliness, and
fearlessness, they are quite popular as watchdog pets.
When terrier dogs first came into existence is not known for sure
(though distinct breeds do have a documented history), but in
general were found in places such as the British Isles, Ireland,
Scotland, Australia, Germany, Russia, and Tibet, as far back as
500 years.
In 1702, for example, observers were noting in their journals
descriptions of what some now agree was the Bedlington Terrier.
The scenario goes something like this: one nobleman visiting
another joins a hunt that passes a gypsy camp in Rothbury, in the
Hanny Hills of England . He describes the dog renowned for its
hunting prowess as one with the red of brick coat, the feet
like a rabbit's, and the toenails not of those like other dogs,
but of those of cats. Much study and deduction brings the lord to
believe this animal is of a Hungarian Greyhound and Rough Scotch
Terrier mix, inferences that once he records will become our
first information and description of a Bedlington Terrier.
Even further back, from the history books (or documents of
non-historians) we learn that terrier dogs such as the Norwich
Terrier were also found in the company of gypsies and poachers in
East Anglia (England) in the 1800's. Known then as the Cantab
Terrier, the game and hardy breed was developed for working on
hunts, in the stable yards, and in the fields.
Before this, terrier dogs were known to work in the same way on
the stone cairns on the farms in the highlands of Scotland .
These tough, rugged, and feisty pooches were used for hunting and
killing rats that threatened the grains and gardens. And it is
said that the first of these terrier dogs, known as Cairn
Terriers, were descendants of the Skye Terrier, who came from
ancestors who survived the wreck of the Spanish Armada, swam to
the shores of the Isle of Skye, and mated with the terriers
living there in North-western Scotland. This was in the 1500's.
In whichever century or decade each of terrier dogs were bred,
they were developed with short hair and short legs, and often
with small, compact, and muscular bodies to reach small spaces,
to race to far away places, to hunt and eliminate rats, mice,
snakes, otter, groundhogs, foxes, and other pests that threatened
the livelihood and therefore the lives of farmers, town folk, or
factory folk. And some were used in blood sports events, fighting
to the death other dogs, rats, badgers, and other animals, making
them more vicious and relentless alpha animals. But the terrier
dogs of today have retained only the best of all the qualities
they were originally raised with. Terrier dogs of today, that is,
are spunky, agile, and energetic. They are quick on and to their
feet and very protective. They are tough and tenacious. They are
hard-bitten, are the elite of the working dogs, are the
gentleman's terriers.
And they are loyal to the point of selflessness and will work to
exhaustion. For this alone they should be praised, awarded,
honored.
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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