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    The Breed Basics:

    The Bor­der ter­rier got its name from the area called Chev­iot Hills, which is actu­ally near the bor­der of Eng­land and Scot­land. This is where these dogs were made to attack and ter­min­ate pred­at­ory foxes. They have wiry coat that is why they nor­mally appear as scruffy. How­ever, this scruffi­ness is an attention-grabber that is why own­ers do not for­get to hug their little ball of energy.

    Cat­egory: Terrier
    Liv­ing Envir­on­ment: indoors and/or out­doors (fenced yard)
    Coat: wiry and short; double coated
    Col­ors: tan, red, grizzle and tan, and/or blue andtan
    Height: between 11 and 16 inches
    Weight: between 11 and 16 pounds

    Tem­pera­ment:

    Nat­ur­ally,

    • they are scruffy, hardy and bold hunters
    • they are act­ive as pup­pies but mel­low down as they mature
    • they are not friendly with rab­bits, rats, ham­sters, & even birds
    • they are eco­nom­ical to feed
    • they really love to please people espe­cially their owners
    • Reliable, easy going, sensitive, affectionate, friendly, Independent, sensible, long-lived
    • they are not a high strung, pesky or yappy dog. The breed has two instincts in this regard—to keep silent while stalking its prey, and to bark when in view of the quarry underground.

    Care and Exercise:

    • The Border is shown as a natural dog. It needs the absolute minimum of grooming. A weekly brushing and tidying up is usually sufficient, even for the show ring. Heavy-coated adults need to have their dead outer coat plucked away (aka hand stripped) twice a year, but no professional trimming is required. Clipping is not a recommended method of grooming since it does not remove the dead hair, but merely shortens it, softening the texture, fading the color, and encouraging noticeable shedding.
    • They should bathe only when neces­sary since they shed little to no hair.
    • Borders have the nice combination of being active out-of-doors, and generally inactive indoors. They do need a moderate amount of out-side exercise every day to avoid becoming overweight and bored. A Border makes an excellent jogging companion. At minimum, they need a good long walk every day, or better, a free run in a safe area, far away from traffic.
    • Borders are hunters. The family cat is safe, but beware stray cats, squirrels and rabbits in the family yard. Chickens usually are too much of a temptation. Borders are absolutely not to be trusted with pet rats, gerbils, etc.

    Origin/History:

    The Border Terrier descends from the ancient hunting terrier stock found along the border between England and Scotland. Border farmers, shepherds, and sportsmen for generations preserved a particular strain of working terrier. The breed finally was named in the 19th Century for its work with the Border Foxhound pack.

    This “natural dog” has never been over-bred. It retains its rugged health as an outdoor dog and its keen instincts as a hunter of foxes and barnyard varmints..

    The Bor­ders have been used as hunters of rab­bits and hares. They can even keep up with run­ning horses with their short yet sturdy legs. They were also used by farm­ers to lure pred­at­ory foxes into their dens before killing them.

    They were also trained to hunt otters, marten, and even fierce badgers. Like most ter­ri­ers that were once mol­ded as hunters, they also evolved as pets and became lovely, friendly, and loyal com­pan­ion dogs. They also take part in dog shows and they can eas­ily grab their audi­ence atten­tion with their agil­ity, appear­ance, and bright disposition.

    The breed was registered by the Brit­ish Ken­nel Club in 1920 and by the Amer­ican Club ten yearsafter.

    At present, Bor­ders are highly favored as com­pan­ion dogs and pets due to their adapt­ab­il­ity, friend­li­ness, and win­ning per­son­al­ity. Non­ethe­less, they can be reli­able when it comes to track­ing down ver­min. In fact, some of their esteemed tal­ents include hunt­ing, guard­ing the fam­ily, and per­form­ing tricks and sports that require com­pet­it­ive obedience.

    Like most ter­ri­ers, you can be rest assured to have a loyal and bright com­pan­ion dogs if you give your atten­tion and affec­tion to a Bor­der. You can be sure that they can def­in­itely drive away boredom!