The muscular, merry, energetic dogs of the terrier group have great appeal. Their sturdy musculature often carries the day in conformation dog shows, garnering for these breeds a lot of attention.
For many people, a terrier may be just right. The first step to responsible and humane dog care is choosing the right dog. The right dog will be one whose behavior you are capable of managing and who will be happy in the facilities you have available.
The terrier group encompasses quite a few dogs, and in some cases the traits discussed here may not completely fit a specific terrier breed or individual terrier. Always do your homework on the breed and any breeder you consider dealing with, before making a decision to bring a particular dog home.
We’ll discuss here some behavior clues to help you consider whether a terrier is right for your home. If you already have a terrier, this information will help you live together happily ever after.
Gameness
Terriers are bred to have a quality called “gameness.” In the conformation show ring this is demonstrated by the judge having handlers allow the dogs to face one another and stand up tall. Skilled handlers don’t allow this to escalate to a fight.
In daily life the expression of terrier gameness can come out in fighting, and because there is no particular reason for the fight, it can become quite serious. The adrenaline rush can prevent the dog from feeling pain, and submission from the other dog doesn’t stop the fight because it’s not about pack order in the first place.
This is why terrier experts recommend that you not keep a terrier with another dog of the same sex. If you enjoy having multiple dogs, you’ll need to consider carefully where a terrier will fit into your group. Having a terrier may place limitations on what other dogs you can safely add to your home. The quality of gameness can also mean your terrier won’t be able to play peacefully with other dogs in settings such as dog parks, especially after maturity. Individual dogs vary, though, and this is only a tendency that in some terriers will never be expressed.
Many of the terrier breeds were originally selectively bred to work around the farm eliminating animals that interfere with farming. Some of these animals eat crops, food still growing in the ground as well as in storage after harvest. Other “vermin,” as pest animals are sometimes called, cause damage by digging holes that injure horses, cattle and other livestock.
The job of hunting out and killing “vermin” doesn’t call for close teamwork with a human, so it’s not surprising that terriers have an independent turn of mind. The killing action is fast and the dog needs to be quick, decisive, and fearless. A dog performing this work does not wait for the human’s command, but gets on with business.
Terrier gameness has also been put to human use (illegal today) for sporting purposes of pitting one dog against another to bet on the outcome. These dogs would fight to the death. Some terriers retain this inherited behavior, which is often at the root of aggression toward other dogs.
It’s important to understand that gameness is not “bad temperament.” Humans produced this trait in the dogs through selective breeding. Humans must bear the responsibility for managing the dogs to protect them from their own instincts, and to protect other dogs, too. The responsibility increases along with the size of the terrier.
Lifestyles
Some terriers require professional-caliber grooming, and you might not realize it just from looking at the dogs. Be sure to carefully research the grooming for any breed you’re considering, and remember that some terrier breeds come in more than one type of coat.
A wire coat may require regular clipping or stripping (or both), while the smooth coat may not need the care of a professional groomer. But in some terrier breeds, what looks like a scruffy, natural or smooth coat really isn’t!
Often the terrier gets groomed with clippers for family life because it’s simpler than stripping. It results in a softer coat with different color intensity than the coat groomed for the show ring by the labor-intensive stripping process.
Either grooming process will require someone carefully schooled in the methods, the right equipment, and a regular time commitment. Most people will need to use a professional groomer, and this cost needs to be included in your dog-care budget. Neglecting the grooming can cause a dog to suffer and can ruin the dog’s temperament when it hurts to be touched and begins to react defensively.
Puppies who will require professional grooming later on need to be introduced to the process early. Once your veterinarian and a good groomer pronounce the dog’s immunity acceptable, you can start with a short grooming visit for a bath and other basics. As with any dog, you’ll also need to groom the dog daily at home to build and maintain the dog’s ability to tolerate human handling.
Terriers have a reputation for being somewhat steadier than other types of dogs in certain situations, such as a noisy environment in a big city. That muscular body can also mean a small terrier is able to comfortably take longer walks with you than another type of dog the same size.
Terriers also tend to keep going stoically in spite of pain from injuries or other problems. You’ll want to keep a close eye on the dog so such things don’t get too serious before they are detected and cared for.
Training Terriers
In considering a terrier for a task you wish a dog to perform—whether the sport of agility or fetching your newspaper—remember the selective breeding purposes of the terriers. Don’t expect a terrier to be motivated in the same ways as a herding, working or sporting dog.
This doesn’t mean a terrier is untrainable, and it doesn’t make it fair or helpful to label a terrier as “stubborn” or “spiteful” because the dog doesn’t interact the same way with humans as some other breeds. It just means that if you want a terrier to do something, you’ll have to find ways to motivate the dog that appeal to a terrier’s tastes!
A terrier doesn’t pursue a pest animal on the farm to eat it. The dog’s drive is for the chase. By the same token, treats in training may not particularly excite a terrier, but the pursuit of the treats may be enough of a game to keep the dog interested in treat motivators. Since some terriers have skin problems that can be aggravated by particular foods, be sure the treats you use fit with any special diet your veterinarian has prescribed.
Some terriers may require a fairly high number of correct repetitions of a trained behavior before it becomes a habit. At that point some trainers feel that a terrier will be better trained than a more easily-trained dog, and more reliable in performing the trained task.
Training methods have made advances in recent years that have helped bring terriers to the forefront in such sports as agility where their sturdy muscles give them a physical advantage. If this is your goal, seek a trainer who has had success with dogs like yours in the activity that interests you.
Power-Packed Fun!
Terriers need to exercise their strong muscles and minds. Retrieving is a great game to play with any dog who is physically sound, and terriers love it once they learn. Be careful about tug of war games with a terrier, and discontinue these dog-human contests if the dog takes it seriously.
Teach your terrier a variety of games. Terriers seem particularly prone to obsessive behaviors such as chasing lights and shadows, so it’s important to vary the games in order to avoid creating any serious obsessions that could require medication. It’s best to avoid playing any games with your terrier using a laser light pointer or flashlight. Terriers love to play, so teaching them a variety of games is fun!