Terriers

So I am now thinking about our next terrier and I want to keep my options open and start researching breeders. It probably won't be for another few years. We want to get another terrier pup before Teagan is too old to raise it properly and happily.

-Nothing too much smaller than Teagan, who is 16lbs, but for the right breed I would be willing to go smaller.
- Good amount of Prey drive
- Can settle in the house.
- Must have wiry hair.

And GO!

I'm so beyond not a terrier person but I've always thought scotties were seriously the cutest things

You should get one

and get it a little plaid coat

I love wirehaired doxies! Not technically terriers, but close enough!

I'm not a terrier person either...but I think a broken coated JRT would fit the bill.

In my opinion, it seems like a lot of terrier breeds aren't hard core working dogs anymore. Scotties, Westies, Cairns...they seem to be watered down in that regard. So I guess it depends if you want a "pet" type dog, or a more intense dog? Do you care about possible DA? Grooming requirements? Barkiness? Athleticism?

Also, if you wanted to go big, I've met a lot of awesome Airedales.

Well, yes my issue is finding a terrier that has the terrierness that a lot of the well bred ones are missing. I've been looking at Westie breeders, but all I have been finding is show bred, show bred and more show bred. Grrr... Most of all the BYB Westies I have come into contact with have had awesome prey drive. *cries*

Honestly DA comes with the terrier breed no matter what. I would be ok with dealing with DR . I need all my dogs to get along in the household. C&R is not possible with our lifestyle, but DR, DA towards strange dogs does not bother me. And future terrier will be a female as not to collide with Pan who will be kept intact.

I get Teagan stripped, so if I get another wiry terrier it will be getting stripped as well. So heavy grooming requirements is not an issue.

Barkiness does not bother me. I have a terrier already lol. Actually barkier the better..ummm keeps the bears away lol

I need a dog that can hike, ratting and go grouse hunting all day.

Airedales are a little too big for what I am looking for. I want a dog I can carry around. Two big dogs is too much lol

How about a Miniature Schnauzer? I have a Miniature Schnauzer, who sounds like everything you'd be fine with. He's 18 pounds last time weighed. He's a good barker .... if you like a nice non-manly bark, haha! His two main reasons to bark are alert barking and sass barking; although, the sass part is more so "Rooooo!".

Excellent with my other animals in the home (birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc.), but has a lot of prey drive when it comes to outdoor animals, so what I'm saying is he knows well what he can and can not go after. I can imagine that would probably be a case by case basis though, being they were bred to go after vermin.

At 10 years old he is still full of energy and can go out walking for long periods of time just fine, but he's always settled well in the house. Although can be stubborn at times, he's always picked up on things in no time. Has always learned no tricks / activities in only a day or so time (depending on how much we'd work on it), and remembers from there on out! And like I'd said, they were originally bred to be used as farm dogs to go after vermin!

For grooming, stripping is what is usually done with the breed to keep the coat wiry, although we've always just had him shaved, which creates a more fluffy & curly coat.


But yes, Miniature Schnauzer sounds good if you ask me!

What is bringing you to the conclusion that show bred terriers automatically lack prey drive?

Honestly we see some show bred terriers of many breeds at my work and I can tell you none of them are anything to scoff at. We have an Irish Terrier (well bred) who is a lovely dog but when he senses a chance to fight or hunt, he is absolutely serious in his pursuit. We also have a Welsh Terrier who is insane (and frankly infuriating in daycare). Etc etc. You will need to research lines for sure, and I cannot speak for the specifics of actually hunting with such dogs, but I can tell you that IME they are not exactly stuffed animals just because they're bred for conformation. Most I see seem to have prey drive and tenacity in spades, and certainly don't lack for "terrierness."

Border Terriers are really nice dogs. A rough or broken coated JRT would fit the bill as well.

I was going to say Mini Schnauzer as well, or JRT. As you know, I LOVE Border Terriers and love to recommend them, lol, but I'm not sure they'd be enough "terrier" for you, from the ones I've seen anyway. I love them though.

Australian Terrier? The breeders I spoke to a while back when I briefly looked into them definitely made them sound a lot more 'on' than Silky's or Yorkies, and they very much advised against keeping same-sex Aussies together. Also, the Norwich Terriers I've been around (and I was around about 5 of them today) were super high energy but none seemed too DA/DR. No idea how they are in the home though.

I've really quite liked the Rat Terriers I've been around as well. But don't know much about them.

There's a fellow I see at obedience trials in my area with Australian terriers, and they make me want one.

It would be a disaster.

Pretty much what Emily said. My experience with well bred (show bred) terriers of all sorts has not at all been that they lack terrier-ness. Perhaps if you got to know more of your local terrier people and their dogs, you'd find what you are looking for is not all that uncommon.

Patterdale terrier. They come in a broken coated variety.
I also agree with the JRT or Parson Russell. JRT's are amazing!

In big terriers,I love the Airedale!.
Cool dog,fun,clown like and can wrestle with yr other dogs.
My father has a female with a wirehair,standard Dackshund & both are cool dogs.

That covers most terriers. I like Cairns and Borders, personally.

I don't think it's so much a complete lack of "terrierness" as a degree of "terrierness." An intense working bred fell, pat or jagd is just MUCH more work to make livable (PITA to the AVERAGE lazy dog own) than other less driven terriers. On the scale of intensity MOST (but definitely not all) working bred dogs are more work than MOST showbred and BYBs are all over the map.

I don't disagree with the idea of varying degree of prey drive and tenacity, but that's not what the OP suggested. She seemed to think they entirely lacked prey drive and terrierness, which has not been my experience whatsoever. The show bred terriers I know are no joke and can have deadly serious intent when hunting and fighting.

What exactly do you want the dog for? Like what purpose do you have that needs to be met by high prey drive and extreme terrierness?

You really need to lay out your expectations and purpose for this dog before anyone could really give you an idea. A working bred terrier might not be a good fit for you depending on what you want.

Thanks guys for the help. I think what my issue with just show breeder is that is just what they are. Most of the breeders I looked into don't do anything else with their dogs. Now If I could find a show breeder that also rats their dogs or their dogs kill vermin on their farm or acreage. I would be ok with that. And it is Westie breeders that I have been looking into mainly

I have to add I am just in the beginning's of looking at breeders. So I have not fully started researching breeders yet. Just a glance at breeders websites.

What I want is a dog I can take vermin hunting, grouse hunting and the like. I like the terrier attitude and everything that goes with it. This is not my first terrier. I know what to expect with a high prey drive and independent, stubborn streak that goes with a terrier

That makes sense. If I were you, I might attend some dog shows and some performance events, and just talk to people. You might be able to get wind of certain kennels and lines that are still producing the kind of dog you want. It can be hard when you're just looking through websites to find what you want, but much easier when you meet some dogs yourself and talk to some people.

Another thing to consider is that people who show and hunt might not be advertising that they hunt their dogs either.

As for my recommendation, well, obviously I think Ado JRTs are pretty freaking fantastic