The Australian Terrier is a small sized breed of dog of the terrier dog type. The breed was developed in Australia, although the ancestral types of dogs from which the breed descends were from Great Britain.

History

The Australian Terrier is descended from the rough coated type terriers brought from Great Britain to Australia in the early 1800s. The ancestral types of all of these breeds were kept to eradicate mice and rats. The Australian Terrier shares ancestors with the Cairn Terrier, Shorthaired Skye Terrier, and the Dandie Dinmont Terrier; Yorkshire Terriers and Irish Terriers were also crossed into the dog during the breed's development. Development of the breed began in Tasmania about 1820, and the dogs were at first called the Rough Coated Terrier. The breed was officially recognised with the founding of the first breed club in 1887, and the breed was recognised as the Australian Terrier in 1892. The Australian Terrier was shown at a dog show for the first time in 1903 in Melbourne, and was also shown in Great Britain about the same time. The Kennel Club (UK) recognised the breed in 1933. The American Kennel Club recognised the Australian Terrier in 1960, and the United Kennel Club (US) in 1969. It is now recognised by all of the major kennel clubs in the English speaking world, and also is listed by various minor kennel clubs and other clubs and registries.

Appearance and Size

The Australian Terrier's fur is shorter on the muzzle, lower legs, and feet, and there is a ruff around the neck. The coat colours are shades of blue or red with a lighter coloured topknot, and with markings on face, ears, body and legs of a colour described in the breed standard as "tan, never sandy". The tail was traditionally docked. As with most pet dog breeds, all proportions and aspects of the body and head as well as colours and markings are extensively described in the breed standard. The breed is a small dog with short legs, weighing around approx. 14 lbs and standing about 10 inches at the withers, with a medium length shaggy harsh double coat (dog) that is not normally trimmed.

Personality

The breed standard describes the ideal Australian Terrier temperament as spirited, alert, "with the natural aggressiveness of a ratter and hedge hunter". Aussies rank 34th in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs, being of above average "Working and Obedience" intelligence, indicating good trainability. As with other terriers, they can be dog-aggressive and somewhat bossy, and care must be taken when living in a multi-pet household. In general, adult male terriers do not get along well with other adult male dogs.

Wikipedia and GNU

The content of this entry is from the Wikipedia article "Australian Terrier" licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.