Australian Terrier
History
Created in the early 1800s by crossing the Carin Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Irish Terrier, Dandie Dinmont Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier and Skye Terrier bloodlines, Australia finally created the Australian Terrier. One of the smallest "working breed" terriers, the Australian Terrier was bred for keeping small rodents such as mice and rats out of farms and other owners property.
Appearance
Both males and females measuring 9-11 inches in height and weighing in between 9-14 pounds, the Australian Terrier is built very small, short to the ground and stocky. Taking a similar appearance to their Yorkshire Terrier bloodlines, the Australian Terrier has two thin, triangular ears that stand tall on their triangular shaped skull that forms directly into a scissor bite. The breed features almond shaped, dark brown eyes. Four short and thin legs lead down to tiny paws that appear similar to "cat" paws. The breed sports a double layer, weather resistant coat that is somewhat rough to the touch, and is available in blue and tan, solid tan or solid red including all shades of these colors.
Temperament
Best suited for households with older children, the Australian Terrier is an energetic, loving and mighty dog! Not recommended for any home with non-canine pets due to their natural instinct to hunt small animals, this breed requires a firm and active owner who will only use positive reinforcement training methods. If your Australian Terrier does not receive enough daily physical and mental activity, many willful behaviors such as nipping, consistent barking and house breaking issues will become of it. It is extremely important for Terrier type breeds to have a "job" to do daily, otherwise they are known for finding their own "job" within your home. Activities such as teaching them rules and boundaries within the home, manners such as "sitting" "laying down" "paw", will help their mental being tremendously. The Australian Terrier has a very good sense of seeing and hearing, so this breed makes an excellent watch dog. Extremely affectionate with its immediate family members within the home, however may become shy around strangers. Early socialization is highly recommended to ensure a wonderful companion. This breed is also excellent when traveling and suited both for apartment and country living situations, as long as they receive a daily walk and other play time.
Grooming
The Australian Terrier requires daily brushing and bathe only when needed. This breed does not shed.
Special Notes
Please fully educate yourself about the Australian Terrier breed prior to adding one to your family to ensure a life long commitment to your new addition!
All dogs originate from wolves (Canis Lupus). Each breed of dog was originally created by mixing different breeds together in an effort to bring forth certain characteristics. Once a breeder has created acceptable “breed characteristics” within their bloodline and these “breed characteristics” have shown to be reliably reproduced in the offspring for three (3) generations, the bloodline may be upgraded from the category of “foundation stock” to “pure-bred”.
The same “pure-bred” breed standards vary from different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders. Dog DNA testing companies can have accurate results for a specific bloodline of a small colony of dogs. However, there are tens of thousands of different bloodlines in the world which have not yet been tested for marker baseline results by Dog DNA testing companies as of 2017. For this reason Dog DNA testing companies do not guarantee the 100% accuracy of their breed lineage results and will also show different marker results for the same pure-bred breed in different continents, countries, territories, regions, breed clubs, and canine pure-breed registries depending on the goals of their breeders.