Terrier is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. There are five different groups of terrier, with each group having different shapes and sizes.
The Jack Russell Terrier is a British breed of small terrier. It is principally white-bodied and smooth-, rough- or broken-coated, and can be any colour.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also called the Staffy or Stafford, is a purebred dog of small to medium size in the terrier group that originated in the northern parts of Birmingham and in the Black Country of Staffordshire, for which it is named. They descended from 19th-century bull terriers that were developed by crossing bulldogs with various terriers to create a generic type of dog generally known as bull and terriers. Staffords share the same ancestry with the modern Bull Terrier, although the two breeds developed along independent lines, and do not resemble each other. Modern Staffords more closely resemble the old type of bull terrier, and were first recognised as a purebred dog breed by The Kennel Club of Great Britain in 1935.
The Patterdale Terrier is a breed "type" of dog descended from the Northern terrier breeds of the early 18th century. Bred in Patterdale, Lake District.
Dog fighting is a type of blood sport that turns game and fighting dogs against each other in a physical fight, often to the death, for the purposes of gambling or entertainment to the spectators. In rural areas, fights are often staged in barns or outdoor pits; in urban areas, fights are often staged in garages, basements, warehouses, alleyways, abandoned buildings, neighborhood playgrounds, or in the streets. Dog fights usually last until one dog is declared a winner, which occurs when one dog fails to scratch, dies, or jumps out of the pit. Sometimes dog fights end without declaring a winner; for instance, the dog's owner may call the fight.
A dog show is an animal show, an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a breed show, is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs conform to the established breed type for their breed, as described in a breed's individual breed standard.
A lap dog or lapdog is a dog that is both small enough to be held in the arms or lie comfortably on a person's lap and temperamentally predisposed to doing so. Lapdog is not a specific breed, but a generic term for a type of dog that is small in size and friendly towards humans.
A Schnauzer is a dog breed type that originated in Germany from the 14th to 16th centuries. The term comes from the German word for "snout" and means colloquially "moustache", or "whiskered snout", because of the dog's distinctively bearded snout. Initially it was called Wire-Haired Pinscher, while Schnauzer was adopted in 1879.
The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is a small to medium-sized American hunting terrier. It is lower-set, with shorter legs, and is more muscular with heavier bone density than the related American Rat Terrier. Much diversity exists in the history of the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier breed, and it shares a common early history with the American Rat Terrier, Fox Paulistinha, and Tenterfield Terrier. The Rat Terrier's background is said to stem from the terriers or other dogs that were brought over by early English and other working-class immigrants. Since the breed was a farm, hunting, and utility dog, little to no planned breeding was used other than breeding dogs with agreeable traits to each other to produce the desired work ethic in the dog. The Feist (dog), Bull Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Whippet, Italian Greyhound, the now extinct English White Terrier, Turnspit Dog, and Wry-legged Terrier all share in the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier's ancestry. These early ratting terriers were then most likely bred to the Beagle or Beagle crossbred dogs and other dogs. Maximizing the influences from these various breeds provides the modern Teddy Roosevelt Terrier with a keen sense of awareness and prey drive, an acute sense of smell, and a very high intellect. Although they tend to be aloof with strangers, they are devoted companion dogs with a strong desire to please and be near their owners at all times.
The Jagdterrier is a type of working terrier, originating in Germany, that is used for hunting quarry both above and underground. This breed of terrier is also called the German Hunt Terrier.
The Glen of Imaal Terrier is a breed of dog of the terrier category and one of four Irish terrier breeds. It is sometimes called the Irish Glen of Imaal Terrier or the Wicklow Terrier, and the name of the breed is often shortened by fanciers to just Glen.
The Norfolk Terrier is a British breed of dog. Prior to gaining recognition as an independent breed in 1964, it was a variety of the Norwich Terrier, distinguished from the "prick eared" Norwich by its "drop ears". Together, the Norfolk and Norwich Terriers are the smallest of the working terriers.
Prey drive is the instinctive inclination of a carnivore to find, pursue, and capture prey. The term is chiefly used to describe and analyse habits in dog training.
An earthdog test or earthdog trial tests the working ability and instinct of the small, often short-legged terriers or Dachshunds. These dogs were bred to hunt vermin and other quarry which lived in underground dens. Earthdog den tests involve human-made tunnels that the dogs must navigate, while scenting a rat, "the quarry". The dog must follow the scent to the quarry and then "work" the quarry. Depending on the sanctioning organization, "working" means barking, scratching, staring, pawing, digging; any active behavior. The quarry is protected at all times by wooden bars across the end of the tunnel. The hunting encounter is controlled, and neither the dog nor the quarry are endangered by the activity.
Bull and terrier was a common name for crossbreeds between bulldogs and terriers in the early 1800s. Other names included half-and-halfs and half-breds. It was a time in history when, for thousands of years, dogs were classified by use or function, unlike the modern pets of today that were bred to be conformation show dogs and family pets. Bull and terrier crosses were originally bred to function as fighting dogs for bull- and bear-baiting, and other popular blood sports during the Victorian era. The sport of bull baiting required a dog with attributes such as tenacity and courage, a wide frame with heavy bone, and a muscular, protruding jaw. By crossing bulldogs with various terriers from Ireland and Great Britain, breeders introduced "gameness and agility" into the hybrid mix.
A feist is a small hunting dog, descended from the terriers brought over to the United States by British miners and other immigrants. These terriers probably included crosses between the Smooth Fox Terrier, the Manchester Terrier, and the now-extinct English White Terrier. These dogs were used as ratters, and gambling on their prowess in killing rats was a favorite hobby of their owners. Some of these dogs have been crossed with Greyhounds, Whippets or Italian Greyhounds, and Beagles or other hounds —extending the family to include a larger variety of purpose than the original ratter, or Rat Terrier.
A working terrier is a terrier bred to hunt small mammals, such as badgers or foxes. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the name dates back to 1425 and is derived from the French chien terrier, 'digging dog', which is from the Medieval Latin terrarius, ultimately from the Latin terra (earth).
Dog fighting in the United States is an activity in which fights between two game dogs are staged as a form of entertainment and gambling. Such activity has existed since the early 19th century in the United States and was gradually prohibited in all states. It continues as an underground activity in both rural and urban locations.
A livestock guardian dog (LGD) is a dog type bred for the purpose of protecting livestock from predators.
Dog types are broad categories of domestic dogs based on form, function, or style of work, lineage, or appearance. Some may be locally adapted dog types that may have the visual characteristics of a modern purebred dog. In contrast, modern dog breeds strictly adhere to long-established breed standards, that began with documented foundation breeding stock sharing a common set of inheritable characteristics, developed by long-established, reputable kennel clubs that recognize the dog as a purebred.
