The Old English Terrier is a dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 breed of the terrier

Terrier

A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...

 type.

Appearance

HEAD: The head is strong and powerful, balanced to the size of the dog, wedge shaped. The skull and the muzzle are equal in length, or the muzzle is slightly shorter than the skull. The muzzle is strong.

TEETH: scissor or level bite.

EYES: Set squarely in the skull, fairly wide apart.

EARS: Triangular in shape, moderate in size, folding tightly above the skull or standing straight up.

NOSE: Black.

NECK: The neck is muscular and moderate in length, widening gradually from the back of the skull and blending into the shoulders.

FOREQUARTERS: The shoulder is long, sloping and well laid back.

BODY: In complete proportion, the body will be square or slightly longer than tall, measured from the front of the shoulder to the end of the buttocks, and from the withers to the ground. Lion has a slight to moderate tuck up.

The chest is deeper than it is wide.

HINDQUARTERS: The hindquarters are strong and muscular.

TAIL: May be docked or natural. If docked, a quarter to one-third is removed. If natural, the tail begins at the back-line and tapers to a point.

COAT: The coat can be smooth, broken, or rough.

COLOR: Black, or Black and white markings.

HEIGHT & WEIGHT: The Old English Terrier ranges in height from 12 to 18 inches at the withers. Weight ranges from 14 to 35 pounds.

GAIT: When working, the gait is agile, marked by the ability to move with quick easy grace , while speed and power complement each other to achieve fast and meaningful action. The movements of the Old English Terrier should meet the speed and cunningness of their minds, never hampering or slowing the Old English Terrier down.

Temperament

The Old English is a working and sporting terrier that is, in general, an exceptional athlete with a high, intense, and vigorous prey drive that is followed, if need be, by an awesome display of gameness.

The breed as a whole is very physically and mentally active. They require a lot of exercise and mental challenges. They are extremely people friendly, and make wonderful companion pets.

History

By the 18th century the Old English Terrier also known as the Black Terrier had been developed into two types, the rough-coated Black Terrier and the smooth-coated Black Terrier. The rough-coated Black Terrier had been established in England during the 17th and 18th century. The smooth-coated Black Terrier was likely the result of crosses made between the rough-coated Black Terriers, smooth-coated Terriers and other smooth-coated English breeds. By the mid- to late 18th century the smooth-coated Black Terrier type had been established.

The Old English Terrier was developed and selected based on the quarry or work which it was specifically needed for, and this led to variations in body, coat and size.

Henry Compton in his book 'The Twentieth Century Dog (1904)' wrote (concerning the history of the terrier):

There were in different parts of the island yellow terriers, and red terriers, and black terriers, and black and tan terriers, and brindle terriers, and greyish terriers; there were large terriers, weighing from 30 pounds to 40 lbs., and one mentioned as weighing 50 lbs., and there were small terriers for whom an "under 9 lbs." class was provided; there were terriers with smooth coats, and wire coats, and curly coats; there were, in short, terrier types enough to create a collection.

By the early 19th century the Old English Terrier could be found throughout the world. In Henry George Ward

Henry George Ward

Sir Henry George Ward GCMG was an English diplomat and politician. The son of politician and, in his retirement, writer Robert Ward and his first wife Catherine Julia Maling, and the cousin of William Ward and William George Ward, he entered the diplomatic service in 1816...

's book 'Mexico', Ward wrote about his harsh journey to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and the tenacity, grit, and ability of the Black Terrier that accompanied him on his trip in 1827. The Oriental Sporting Magazine, in April, 1828, printed a poem about a Black Terrier that had been killed by a tiger in Southern Konkan

Konkan

The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...

.

The Name "Old English Terrier"

The term "Old English Terrier" has also been applied, in the past and present, to the Patterdale Terrier

Patterdale Terrier

The Patterdale Terrier is a breed of working dog that originated in the Lake District of Cumbria in Northwest England. The name Patterdale refers to a small village a little south of Ullswater and a few miles east of Helvellyn....

 and the Black and Tan Terrier

Black and Tan Terrier

The English Black and Tan Terrier is the non-Kennel Club variety of dog that was drawn into The Kennel Club as the Welsh Terrier and that remains extant outside of the Kennel Club as a "Fell Terrier".-History:...

to some degree or another. however, there is only one Old English Terrier registered with any Registry.