working welsh terriers

[timjim 43]

some info:

Introduction

Is it an Airedale puppy?

 

Is it a Wire Fox Terrier?

 

No, it's a Welsh Terrier, the Welsh version of a feisty, go-to-ground kennel dog bred to eradicate vermin from welsh farms. Closely resembling the Lakeland Terrier, which developed in Britain's northern Lake District for similar purpose, Welsh Terriers were housed with the hounds, ran with the pack, and climaxed the chase by going underground after otter, fox, or badger.

 

The Welsh have had purebred strains of dogs for more than 1000 years. In its native Wales, the terrier was referred to as daeargi, which means "dog." An old Welsh poem written about 1450 describes the hardy little terrier with some accuracy as " . . . a good bitch, a black red-bellied terrier bitch, to throttle the brown pole-cat," a dog that undoubtedly was the progenitor of the present day Welsh Terrier.

 

Some historians think that all terriers are modifications and improvements of a single breed recorded as the "Old English Black and Tan." Early pictures show the Black and Tan as a medium-to-small dog, usually wire-coated, with small ears and a sharp, alert expression. The Black and Tan no longer exists, probably because breeders and fanciers found variations of it were more suitable or desirable than the original.

 

Entire families of closely related terrier breeds gradually evolved through carefully repeated breeding of a few dogs that proved superior in hunting particular game and possessed the ability to transmit their traits to their offspring. Breeders used only the soundest, most promising dogs from each litter for future matings. Dogs that did not measure up seldom were allowed to survive: it was a harsh life for dog and man, and there was no place in it for the weak or the useless. The huntsman practiced line breeding and inbreeding well in advance of published theories of genetics.

 

The hunter's idea of a perfect terrier is evident in his final choice. He wanted a small dog, for what use is one that gets caught in the hole or eats as much food as it catches? It had to be a dog of good bone and muscle, with strong jaws and teeth.

 

The Welshman also wanted his dog to have strength and stamina with a calm disposition so he could trust it as a companion and guardian of the children or kennel it safely with other dogs. For its own protection, it had to have a rugged constitution and a weather-resistant coat. How the dog looked was less important than how useful and sturdy it was. From the beginning, the Welsh was a balanced, compact dog with no exaggeration of size or features.