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 and tan
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.
• they have a strong prey drive, will fix on prey and are difficult to distract when in that state
• they are very aware of their surroundings, and have an independent streak

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!