Fox Terrier

From ArticleWorld

The term Fox Terrier refers to two different breeds, the Wire Fox Terrier and the Smooth Fox Terrier, which are separate breeds. The difference is their coats, with the Smooth Fox Terrier having a smooth but hard coat and the Wire Fox Terrier having a dense wiry coat, thus their names.

History

The Smooth and Wire Fox Terries were bred independently in England around the mid 1800s. They are very similar in shape and size. The Fox Terriers were bred to solve the problem of the fox going to ground (entering its lair) and ending the fox hunt. The main requirements of the Fox Terrier were simple, if you can call it that. They had to have the endurance to run with the Foxhounds, they had to be small enough to follow the fox down into its lair and they had to tough in order to stand up to the cornered fox once inside the lair. The first Fox Terrier named ‘’Foiler’’ was registered in 1875, before this the term fox terrier was used to cover a wide variety of dogs that were bred for fox hunting.

Characteristics

Both the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier have the same basic color patterns, black and tan or tan, with varying amounts of white depending on the alleles present in the genes line. Fox terriers are loving and playful, this and their size make them ideal house pets. However, they are also very intelligent and active, thus they require a lot of exercise and have a need to be interested and feel they are part of the family. Lacking these things in their life can lead to unwanted behavior such as digging, barking and chasing smaller animals.