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August 5th, 2009 by Troy Richardson

The Border Terrier is a terrier breed that originated at the border of Scotland and England primarily as a ratter and a fox hunter. Its ancestors were said to be the Dandie Dinmont Terriers and the Bedlington terriers, which were one of the primary breeds from Scotland. Today, the Border Terrier is a well-loved household companion around the world that it ranked as 81st in AKC registrations and 10th in the UK kennel club.

The name Border Terrier is derived from the fact that it was discovered living in the communities along the Scottish borders. This breed has existed for many centuries but it was only in 1920 that the Kennel Club recognized it as an official breed. Before, however, the Border Terrier would only fall under the “Any Other Variety” category.

The Border Terrier is distinct for its dominant otter-like head wherein its skull is broad and its snout short and strong. The ears of this dog are V-shaped and fall closely to the cheeks. The tail is averagely short and is thick at the base and thins towards the tip.

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.

The Border Terrier has a double coat that is soft underneath and coarse, stringy and weather resistant at the top. This rough-looking coat sheds twice a year and thus needs hand stripping during these seasons so as to remove dead hair and allow the coat to grow back unobstructed. The common coat colors for this breed are blue and tan, red, wheaten, and grizzle and tan.

This dog may look rough but it is actually amiable and gets along well with other dogs and animals. It is not aggressive and is not wary of strangers. The Border Terrier is highly intelligent and even tempered but sometimes it is confrontational and stubborn, too.

Training this dog to perform tasks is a piece of cake because it impressively learns quickly. Surprisingly, it can jump real high and run fast given the size of its legs. However, learning tricks for the Border Terrier is hard labor because it tends to be less biddable in this kind of training.

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.