The Border Terrier is a medium sized terrier breed that originally came from the region between Scotland and England. This dog came from the line of Scottish terriers primarily the Dandie Dinmont and Bedlington terriers. Currently, the Border Terrier is a favorite companion of many people that it ranked 10th in UK kennel registrations and 81st in the American Kennel Club.
This breed got its name from the fact that it was developed in the Scottish borders thus the name Border Terrier. Although it existed long ago, it only gained recognition at the Kennel Club in 1920. Prior to this registration, it was listed under Any Other Variety category by the Kennel Club.
What differentiates this breed from other terriers is its otter-shaped head which is a broad skull and a short, strong muzzle. Its ears are V-shaped and hang towards the cheeks. Its tail is naturally fairly short, thick at the base and tapers at the end.
The body of this dog is narrow and long and is covered with dense and rough-looking hair. Its height is 13 to 16 inches on the average. The weight is 13 to 15.5 pounds for the male and 11.5 to 14 pounds for the female.
This dog is covered with a double coat that is soft, short and dense underneath and harsh, stringy and weather-proof at the top. This coat sheds twice a year and during these times, hand stripping is necessary in order for the coat to grow back normally. The coat colors of this breed are blue and tan, red, wheaten, and grizzle and tan.
This dog is sociable and gets along well with other dogs but it does not hesitate to fight back whenever it feels threatened. Generally, however, this dog is very friendly and does not aggress anybody intentionally and in fact, it will likely go with a stranger without suspicion. This dog is also very bright and mild tempered but at times it can be confrontational and hard-headed.
When it comes to task training, the Border terrier performs excellently and it can jump up to amazing heights and even run fast given that it has short legs. When it comes to agility, this dog is quick to learn and outperforms other breeds outstandingly. However, when it comes to learning tricks, this dog is less trainable.
Since the Border Terrier was primarily developed to be a hunter, it naturally has great stamina and energy that needs to be polished through daily exercise. This breed is decidedly sensitive to pain and most times its illness won’t show obvious signs. This dog is not very active indoors and so an apartment living is enough for its activities.
