| Wire fox terrier | |||||||||||||
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| Other names | Wire hair fox terrier Wirehaired terrier Fox terrier | ||||||||||||
| Common nicknames | Wire WFT | ||||||||||||
| Origin | England | ||||||||||||
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| Dog ( domestic dog ) | |||||||||||||
The Wire Fox Terrier (also known as Wire Hair Fox Terrier, Wirehaired Terrier or simply Fox Terrier) [1] is a breed of dog, one of many terrier breeds. It is a fox terrier, and although it bears a resemblance to the Smooth Fox Terrier, they are believed to have been developed separately. It originates from England.
The Wire Fox Terrier is a sturdy, balanced dog weighing 7.7 to 8.6 kg (17 to 19 lb) for males and 6.8 to 7.7 kg (15 to 17 lb) for females. It should not be more than 39 cm (15+1⁄2 in) at the withers. [2] [3] Its rough, broken coat is distinctive. Coat colour consists of a predominant white base with brown markings of the face and ears, and usually a black saddle or large splotch of colour; there may be other black or brown markings on the body.
Two of the Wire Fox Terrier's most distinctive traits are its energy and intelligence. It has a low threshold for boredom and requires stimulation, exercise and attention. The Wire Fox Terrier is a companion animal that requires near-constant attention.
The dog should be alert, quick and ready to respond swiftly with enthusiasm. However, they should also be friendly, communicative, and playful if they receive the proper care and exercise. Bred to be independent thinkers, they are capable of tactical maneuvering for vermin and other sport.
Often, Wire Fox Terriers are abandoned or surrendered for reasons that may include: running away instead of coming on a command; chasing cars, bicycles, other dogs, etc.; or taunting and then attacking other animals, including a household's cats and other dogs –and they are able to do serious damage. But these are actually normal behaviors for a breed designed to hunt not only foxes, but also badgers and boars, with no more fear of cows or buses than they have of small prey. Keeping one as a pet requires firm control to redirect these prey instincts and provide the dog with enough exercise and diversion. With diligent supervision, Wire Fox Terriers can be amusing, exciting, long-lived companion animals.
Wire Fox Terriers kept for show are hand stripped; if the hair becomes too long, it is taken out by hand in order to preserve the colours and the glossiness of the coat. Many kept as pets are clipped monthly by a groomer. Clipping dulls the colours and makes the coat soft, curly and more difficult to keep clean, but it is preferred by many owners due to being a simpler (and cheaper) procedure than stripping.
The Wire Fox Terrier was developed in England by fox hunting enthusiasts and is believed to be descended from a now-extinct rough-coated, black-and-tan working terrier of Wales, Derbyshire, and Durham. The breed was also thought to have been bred to chase foxes into their burrows; the dogs' short, strong, usually docked tails were used as handles by the hunter to pull them back out.
Although it is said Queen Victoria owned one, and her son and heir, King Edward VII, did own a Wire Fox Terrier named Caesar, the breed was not popular as a family pet until the 1930s, when The Thin Man series of feature films was created. Asta, the canine member of the Charles family, was a Wire Fox Terrier, and the popularity of the breed soared. Milou (Snowy) from The Adventures of Tintin comic strip is also a Wire Fox Terrier.
In the late 20th century, the popularity of the breed declined again, most likely due to changing living conditions in the Western world and the difficulty of keeping hunting terriers in cities due to their strong prey instincts.
As of 2019, the Wire Fox Terrier has the distinction of having received more Best in Show titles at Westminster Kennel Club dog shows (currently 15) than any other breed. [4] Matford Vic, a Wire Fox Terrier, is one of only five dogs to have won the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show on more than one occasion. She won the competition twice, in 1915 and 1916. The only dog to win it on more occasions was Warren Remedy, a smooth fox terrier, who won it on three occasions between 1907 and 1909. [5]
The beagle is a breed of small scent hound, similar in appearance to the much larger foxhound. The beagle was developed primarily for hunting hare, known as beagling. Possessing a great sense of smell and superior tracking instincts, the beagle is the primary breed used as a detection dog for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. The beagle is a popular pet due to its size, good temper, and a lack of inherited health problems.
The whippet is a British breed of medium-sized dog, of the sighthound type, related to the larger greyhound and the smaller Italian greyhound. Apart from the differences in height, the whippet closely resembles these two breeds; it has sometimes been described as "the poor man's greyhound". It is kept as a companion dog, for competitive showing, for amateur racing as well as lure coursing. It has the highest running-speed of any breed in its weight and size range, and may have the fastest idle-to-running acceleration of any dog.
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. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just 1 kg (2 lb) to over 60 kg and are usually categorized by size or function. 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 Patterdale Terrier is a breed "type" of dog descended from the Northern terrier breeds of the early 18th century. Bred in Patterdale, Lake District.
Fox Terriers are two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terriers, and are related to other modern white terrier breeds. In addition, a number of breeds have diverged from these two main types of fox terrier and have been recognised separately, including the Jack Russell Terrier, Miniature Fox Terrier and Rat Terrier. The Wire and Smooth Fox Terriers share similar characteristics, the main differences being in the coat and markings. They have been successful in conformation shows, more prominently in America than their homeland.
The Bedlington Terrier is a breed of small dog named after the mining town of Bedlington, Northumberland in North East England. Originally bred to hunt, the Bedlington Terrier has since been used in dog racing, numerous dog sports, as well as in conformation shows and as a companion dog. It is closely related to the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Whippet and Otterhound.
The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. They share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now recognized by the United (UKC) and American Kennel Clubs (AKC) and are considered a rare breed. Rat Terriers are an intelligent and active breed that can be kept both for pest control and as a family pet.
The Sealyham Terrier is a rare Welsh breed of small to medium-sized terrier that originated in Wales as a working dog. It is principally a white-bodied, rough-coated breed, developed in the mid-to-late-19th century by Captain John Edwardes at Sealyham House, Pembrokeshire.
The Lakeland Terrier is a dog breed, which takes its name from its place of origin, the Lake District in England. The dog is a small to mid-size member of the Terrier family. While independent in personality, it interacts well with owners and all family members, and is mostly hypo-allergenic. In the United Kingdom, the Lakeland Terrier is considered a vulnerable dog breed at risk of going extinct through low levels of breeding, according to The Kennel Club. In the United States, the Lakeland Terrier ranked 148 out of 193 breeds by number of American Kennel Club puppy registrations in 2019.
The Toy Fox Terrier is a small terrier breed of dog, directly descended from the larger Smooth Fox Terrier but since 1936, it has been registered in the USA with the UKC as a separate breed.
Toy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include spaniels, pinschers and terriers that have been bred down in size. Not all toy dogs are lap dogs.
The Smooth Fox Terrier is a breed of dog, one of many terrier breeds. It was the first breed in the fox terrier family to be given official recognition by The Kennel Club. It is well known, and although not a widely popular breed today outside hunting and show circles, it is extremely significant due to the large number of terriers believed descended from the breed.
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 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.
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 1440 and is derived from the French chien terrier, 'digging dog', which is from Medieval Latin terrarius, ultimately from Latin terra (earth).
The English White Terrier is an extinct breed of dog. "English White Terrier" is the failed show ring name of a pricked-ear form of the white fox-working terriers that have existed in Great Britain since the late 18th century.
The American English Coonhound, also referred to as the English Coonhound or the Redtick Coonhound, is a breed of coonhound that originated in and is typically bred in the Southern United States. It is descended from hunting hounds, especially foxhounds, brought to America by settlers during the 17th and 18th centuries. The breed's first recognition came from the United Kennel Club in 1905 as the English Fox and Coonhound. Further recognition has been granted in recent years by the American Kennel Club, first in the Foundation Stock Service and in 2011 as a fully recognized member of the hound group.
