Patterdale Terrier
Encyclopedia
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
.
The Patterdale is a type of Fell Terrier
. The Patterdale terrier was "improved" and brought into the Kennel Club
as the Welsh Terrier
after a brief naming struggle in which the name "Old English Broken-coated Terrier" was attempted before being rejected by the Kennel Club hierarchy. The Patterdale Terrier is sometimes called the "Old English Terrier" or the "Fell Terrier".
.
There is no breed standard in the UK, most working dogs stand between 12 -15 inches the withers and weighs between 14 and 20 pounds. The preferred size depends on the quarry. In the UK, all sizes are in use, depending on the terrain and quarry: in the UK, the most common quarry was the fox
. In the eastern United States, mini dogs are preferred and 30 cm (12 in) tall and 5.5 kg (12 lb) is the preferred size for groundhog
s (aka woodchucks) these have been bred from runts of the litter from the UK. However, somewhat larger dogs can be used in the American West when ground barn hunting larger raccoon
s and badger
s.
Coat
The coat may be "Smooth", "Broken" or "Rough".
All types should be dense and coarse.
Smooth: Generally smooth, may have a wiry stripe down the back. Short, dense hair.
Broken: Coarse, wavy hair on body except for head and ears which is smooth. May be some longer whiskering on muzzle, around base of neck, and chin.
Rough: Longer hair overall, including face, ears and muzzle. Very thick, sometimes,slightly curled.
Colour
Colours include black, red, bronze, or chocolate, and occasionally blue. (Any of these colours with tan is also possible)
There are slight variations within these colours. White on the chest and toes/feet is permissible. In the case of the Chocolate, they will have a liver coloured nose, whereas the Blues, will have a slate coloured nose. Influx of Lakeland, Border, and Bedlington was not uncommon in the early forming of this breed, and may partially explain some of these colours.
Patterdale Terriers can live up to 15 years.
Patterdale puppies tend to be bold and confident beyond their capabilities, and responsible owners of working dogs will not over match their dogs or introduce them to formidable quarry before they are around a year and a half of age. Even as a yearling, the dog will not be fully capable.
The Patterdale is a working terrier, and terrier work requires a high-energy dog with a strong prey drive and a loud voice. As a result, Patterdales are very energetic dogs, and can be quite vocal. It is not uncommon for a Patterdale to be cat-aggressive. However, as with all breeds there is variation. Some Patterdales are more animal-friendly, befriending cats and other dogs alike. Patterdales are prone to the sulks if their owners pay attention to others. They do not enjoy travel by car, as it often upsets the dog to be confined for a prolonged period of time.
Patterdales display an intriguing crawl, similar to an act of prostration, used to gain attention and stalk quarry through long grass. This originates from their inbred ability to compress their lungs to fit into small spaces, in search of their prey.
Patterdales which are not trained on a consistent basis, or are not exercised regularly, may quickly exhibit unmanageable behaviour, including excessive barking, escaping from the garden, or digging in unwanted places inside and outside the house.
is to hunt terriers—the indisputable leader in numbers and performance as a breed.
The Patterdale was developed in the harsh environment in the north of England, an area unsuitable for arable farming and too hilly (in the main) for cattle. Sheep farming is the predominant farming activity on these hills. Since the fox is perceived by farmers as being predatory on sheep and small farm animals, terriers are used for predator control. Unlike the dirt dens found in the hunt country of the south, the rocky dens found in the north do not allow much digging. As a consequence, the terrier needs to be able to bolt the fox from the rock crevice or dispatch it where it is found. The use of "hard" dogs to hunt foxes in this way was made illegal in England and Wales by the Hunting Act 2004
, as it runs counter to the code of practice http://www.basc.org.uk/media/terrier_code_final_form.pdf under the Act.
In the United States, The Patterdale Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club
on January 1, 1995; yet it remains unrecognized by the American Kennel Club
.
Dog breed
Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....
of working 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...
that originated in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
of Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
in Northwest England. The name Patterdale
Patterdale
Patterdale is a small village and civil parish in the eastern part of the English Lake District in the Eden District of Cumbria, and the long valley in which they are found, also called the Ullswater Valley....
refers to a small village a little south of Ullswater
Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately nine miles long and 0.75 miles wide with a maximum depth of slightly more than ....
and a few miles east of Helvellyn
Helvellyn
Helvellyn is a mountain in the English Lake District, the apex of the Eastern Fells. At above sea level, it is the third highest peak in both the Lake District and England...
.
The Patterdale is a type of Fell Terrier
Fell Terrier
Fell Terrier refers to a regional type of long legged working terrier, not a specific breed of dog.- Description and purpose :Fell terriers are types of small working terriers developed in the Fell country of northern England and used as hunting dogs. They may be crossbred or purebred...
. The Patterdale terrier was "improved" and brought into the Kennel Club
The Kennel Club
The Kennel Club is a kennel club based in London and Aylesbury, United Kingdom.The Kennel Club registration system divides dogs into seven breed groups. The Kennel Club Groups are: Hound, Working, Terrier, Gundog, Pastoral, Utility and Toy...
as the Welsh Terrier
Welsh Terrier
The Welsh Terrier is a British breed of dog. It was originally bred for hunting fox, rodents and badger , but during the last century it has mainly been bred for showing. Despite this, it has retained its terrier strength of character and therefore requires firm, non-aggressive handling...
after a brief naming struggle in which the name "Old English Broken-coated Terrier" was attempted before being rejected by the Kennel Club hierarchy. The Patterdale Terrier is sometimes called the "Old English Terrier" or the "Fell Terrier".
Appearance
The Patterdale Terrier is a small working dog. In the UK it is not a dog type that is recognized by the UK Kennel Cub as a pedigree. As such the Patterdale has been bred as a working dog, so the appearance can differ widely. This phenomenon is common in several types of working dog, including the Border CollieBorder Collie
The Border Collie is a herding dog breed developed in the Anglo-Scottish border region for herding livestock, especially sheep. It is the most widespread of the collie breeds....
.
There is no breed standard in the UK, most working dogs stand between 12 -15 inches the withers and weighs between 14 and 20 pounds. The preferred size depends on the quarry. In the UK, all sizes are in use, depending on the terrain and quarry: in the UK, the most common quarry was the fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
. In the eastern United States, mini dogs are preferred and 30 cm (12 in) tall and 5.5 kg (12 lb) is the preferred size for groundhog
Groundhog
The groundhog , also known as a woodchuck, whistle-pig, or in some areas as a land-beaver, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. Other marmots, such as the yellow-bellied and hoary marmots, live in rocky and mountainous areas, but...
s (aka woodchucks) these have been bred from runts of the litter from the UK. However, somewhat larger dogs can be used in the American West when ground barn hunting larger raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
s and badger
American Badger
The American badger is a North American badger, somewhat similar in appearance to the European badger. It is found in the western and central United States, northern Mexico and central Canada, as well as in certain areas of southwestern British Columbia.Their habitat is typified by open...
s.
Variations in coat and colour
The coat may be "Smooth", "Broken" or "Rough".
All types should be dense and coarse.
Smooth: Generally smooth, may have a wiry stripe down the back. Short, dense hair.
Broken: Coarse, wavy hair on body except for head and ears which is smooth. May be some longer whiskering on muzzle, around base of neck, and chin.
Rough: Longer hair overall, including face, ears and muzzle. Very thick, sometimes,slightly curled.
Colour
Colours include black, red, bronze, or chocolate, and occasionally blue. (Any of these colours with tan is also possible)
There are slight variations within these colours. White on the chest and toes/feet is permissible. In the case of the Chocolate, they will have a liver coloured nose, whereas the Blues, will have a slate coloured nose. Influx of Lakeland, Border, and Bedlington was not uncommon in the early forming of this breed, and may partially explain some of these colours.
Patterdale Terriers can live up to 15 years.
Temperament
The Patterdale is a working terrier, and terrier work requires a high-energy dog with a strong prey drive and a loud voice. As a result, Patterdales are very energetic dogs, and can be quite vocal. It is not uncommon for a Patterdale to be cat-aggressive. However, as with all breeds there is variation. Some Patterdales are more animal-friendly, befriending cats and other dogs alike. Patterdales are prone to the sulks if their owners pay attention to others. They do not enjoy travel by car, as it often upsets the dog to be confined for a prolonged period of time.
Patterdales display an intriguing crawl, similar to an act of prostration, used to gain attention and stalk quarry through long grass. This originates from their inbred ability to compress their lungs to fit into small spaces, in search of their prey.
Patterdales which are not trained on a consistent basis, or are not exercised regularly, may quickly exhibit unmanageable behaviour, including excessive barking, escaping from the garden, or digging in unwanted places inside and outside the house.
History
These dogs were carefully linebred. The modern Patterdale Terrier is to fell terriers, what the Jack Russell TerrierJack Russell Terrier
The Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...
is to hunt terriers—the indisputable leader in numbers and performance as a breed.
The Patterdale was developed in the harsh environment in the north of England, an area unsuitable for arable farming and too hilly (in the main) for cattle. Sheep farming is the predominant farming activity on these hills. Since the fox is perceived by farmers as being predatory on sheep and small farm animals, terriers are used for predator control. Unlike the dirt dens found in the hunt country of the south, the rocky dens found in the north do not allow much digging. As a consequence, the terrier needs to be able to bolt the fox from the rock crevice or dispatch it where it is found. The use of "hard" dogs to hunt foxes in this way was made illegal in England and Wales by the Hunting Act 2004
Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...
, as it runs counter to the code of practice http://www.basc.org.uk/media/terrier_code_final_form.pdf under the Act.
In the United States, The Patterdale Terrier was recognized by the United Kennel Club
United Kennel Club
The United Kennel Club is the second oldest all-breed registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States and the second largest in the world. According to the website, the club records 250,000 registrations annually. The UKC is not part of the International Canine Organisation, Fédération...
on January 1, 1995; yet it remains unrecognized by the American Kennel Club
American Kennel Club
The American Kennel Club is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. Beyond maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official...
.
See also
- Working terriers
- JagdterrierJagdterrierThe Jagdterrier is a type of working terrier, originating in Germany, that is used for hunting quarry both above and underground. This breed of terrier is also called the German Hunt Terrier.-Appearance:...
- American Working Terrier AssociationAmerican Working Terrier AssociationThe American Working Terrier Association was founded in 1971 by Patricia Adams Lent to encourage and promote the ownership and working of earthworking terriers of correct size, conformation and character to be usable for their intended purpose. The organization currently includes about two hundred...
- Black and Tan TerrierBlack and Tan TerrierThe 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:...
- Jack Russell TerrierJack Russell TerrierThe Jack Russell terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting. It is principally white-bodied smooth, rough or broken-coated which is commonly confused with the Parson Russell terrier and the Russell terrier with the term "Jack Russell" commonly misapplied to other small white...