Hi guys, I've found myself considering future dogs and which breed I'll choose when I finish uni (obviously I'll wait until I have a decent sized place of my own before considering a dog). Obviously, a dog will be one of my first priorities though =p as my current dog will be pretty old so he'll probably stay with my parents. I've only ever been around large dogs, but I know I probably won't have enough space to comfortably house one. So I want an energetic, intelligent dog that loves excersise but a compact one =D For me, this evidence points heavily at terriers (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm prepared for lots of walking etc after owning my labbie and I have a lot of handling experience (obedience and agility) so yeah, exercise isn't a problem. I would really like to look into showing though, as this is an absolute dream for me. So yeah, enough of the intro... Are terriers safe off lead? (Concerned about the high prey drive, basically.) Is barking much of a problem? (Met a lot of yappy terriers, sorry if I'm stereotyping.) Finally, can anyone recommend me a terrier breed that might make a good first time show dog? Just to let you know, I'm especially interested in Manchester, Irish and Welsh terriers, possibly Norfolks/Norwichs, but I've yet to do much research into the latter two.
hiya I own two terrier cross breeds and both are def. not yappy at all, in fact my old dog (12) has been the best guard dog ever and will only bark at something worth barking for ;-) I have found my old dog a dream to train, she is very very obedient and listens really well. She is an Australian terrier cross, possibly a bit of Kelpie in her (which Aussie cross breed doesn't have a bit of Kelpie in it ;-) ) Our new pup is now 6 months old, we have had her 8 weeks and she is pretty smart when it comes to learning tricks, just having a bit of trouble getting her to understand weeing is not to be done inside and she does come back when called but I must admit I need to be more persistent with my calling to get her to come back at this stage. It seems she might have a bit of Patterdale in her which probably doesn't help (after reading up on the breed) and she is still a puppy of course. After having owned a terrier for 12 years, I decided I wanted a second dog and there was no doubt I wanted another terrier of somekind. I love them, I think they are great, smart and entertaining You obviously want a purebred so if you want a larger terrier, I would go Irish, a friend of mine has one and they are awesome. For the smaller ones I think a Border is a great choice but another great choice I reckon would be a mini Schnauzer I also like the Cairn terriers and the Scotties..... Good luck anyway
How are your grooming skills. If you want to show but don't know how to hand strip then the obvious choice is the Manchester. Irish, Borders, Parson are likely the next inline in terms of an easy strip. Welsh, are in the difficult zone. Never done Norwich or Norfolk for showing so can't say how difficult they are. don't assume they are easy because they look it. Smooth Fox don't look difficult but I believe they are. I would suggest you go to discover dogs either at Crufts or earls court and talk to he people on the breed stands. National terrier is on at Stafford show ground on 3rd April. Find a good breeder who will help you with presentation. Terriers are fun dogs and not yappy unless you allow it. Recall is not their best feature especially Welsh and Lakelands, they are not disobediant just get distracted. I show Welsh and Lakelands.
When I first got Tilly, my vet said I would never be able to let her off the lead. He was convinced she would be down the first rabbit hole. He was wrong. Tilly has done bronze, silver and gold good citizen awards. She does competition obedience. I can trust her off lead completley. I think its all down to early training and socialisation. Tilly started at 8 weeks and still goes to club now. She's not yappy, is good with other dogs and loves children so she's certainly not the stereotypical terrier! I do love borders and from the ones I know, training is fairly easy (although it takes a while!). They are friendly and tend not to be as yappy as some teriers. I wish you luck with your move into the terrier world. You wont regret it!!
Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm definately going to Crufts this year (can't make it on terrier day, but I'm hoping there'll maybe be more terriers on DD because of this). I don't know a whole lot about grooming to be honest, but I'd be interested to learn =] Like you say though, probably advisable to go for a more easily groomed breed to start with. I had no idea smooth fox terriers were tricky for instance! I am slightly in love with Manchesters, so will see about them =D Good to know they can be trained to recall and aren't all yappy too!
I have 2 Kerry Blue terriers and they are chalk and cheese so it is difficult to generalise! Cherry my female is quite reactive to other dogs but she has had some bad experiences. Parker is lovely temperament and if he is chasing rabbits and you call him he will stop dead in his tracks at speed and turn straight back! If Cherry was off the lead chasing rabbits however I wouldn't waste my breath. They are very motivated to please you-mine have trophies in obedience, agility and showing and an award for heelwork to music. You only get out what you put in though-I have spent a lot of time and effort in training classes etc. Grooming is a big consideration-I didn't realise this till I had them-I can now trim them well enough for Parker to get best in show at local dog shows but it was difficult at first. Before my Kerries I had 3 Cairns and they were lovely little dogs-fantastic temperaments and very trainable. I used to do agility with one of them too. What I would say is make sure you go to a good breeder who breeds for temperament as I have seen some nasty terriers who (unsurprisingly) have feisty sire/dam.
What about a Cesky Terrier? Good off lead (will do absolutelyanything for food rewards ) Look glamorous in the show ring, but are clipped not handstripped, so easy to learn how to do it well. Not yappy. Not at all dog aggrssive.
Yeah, Kerryowner, I was concerned about the high prey drive and recall, but I guess like you say it varies with the dog. Good to know they're very tarinable if you put in the effort =] Ceskys are something to consider actually, I like the look of the darker ones. I'll check them out at crufts too, thaks for the tip!
I'll be on Discover Dogs on Saturday and Sunday - you're welcome to come and chat Mine will be the darker ones! I must admit, that if you want something with no grooming, Manchesters are nice too - and not yappy!
Thanks! I would come for a chat, but I can only make it on the Thursday (work at weekends). Still, hopefully I'll be able to find out lots of info there anyways.
I have a small JRT who does obedience, gundog displays and has his siver Good Citizen (Gold coming up ). He barks a bit, but not too much. He is my first small dog too!
Oh yeah! Had a chat to the Manchester terrier people on DD and slightly fell in love with the breed =] also seeing one run in agility later in the day was a bit of a clincher. Although I was also slightly partial to the similar looking MinPins...
I have a Parsons Russell Terrier, they are intelligent, very active, cuddly, portable, flexible, trainable and very very loyal! I couldn't recommend the breed enough for someone with previous dog experience who is prepared to be very active!
I have a jrt and she has been a dream. She lives happily alongside my four cats and has been off lead since she was 16 weeks old. I thought long and hard about getting a jack and had planned to get one last August. Lily had other ideas though and I ended up bringing her home at the end of June. She's bright as a button and extremely affectionate. I just couldn't imagine life without her!
