Discussion
Quite rare - took a while for us to find one: Sadie is full of mischief (particularly as a puppy - will keep you on your toes keeping puppy out of trouble) - she is now four and a half and we love her to bits, but be aware they are quite energetic and boisterous dogs,very friendly but not always with other dogs particularly other terriers. You will know if anyone is about as Sadie will hear someone approaching the house before we do, so useful as a guard dog, very alert, but happy to curl up next to you on the settee and likes to be close to you, we are lucky as she is a very friendly dog and loves people. Prone to shaking toys and taking them apart however, so would probably not be wise with a baby or very small child.
You will not get any cats in the garden if you have a wire hair fox terrier (could be a problem if you already have cats)as chasing cats seems to be an inbuilt instinct. Need trimming professionally to keep them tidy and not too hot.
Hope this helps.
A friend has an Irish Fox Terrier. Alternates days between perfect dog, stuborn dog and willfull dog. His sister in-laws both have young fox terriers. They like to play rough and are tenacious; Never know when to back down or when they've pushed their luck to the limit with my Weim'. Given they're 10kg's each and mine is 40, it's going to end in tears one day... probably for mine.
We have owned Smooths for nearly thirteen years, so I guess that leaves us well qualified.
I think they are great dogs, they have strenght of personality (can be stubborn), and the breeds tagline is "on the tiptoe of expectation...." - constantly. Younger dogs will be alert and always looking to get into mischief of some sort.
Training can be hit and miss, needs to be made interesting or they lose interest.
Ours are not hugely food motivated.
Terrier barks are easily misheard as "yappy", and FT's can be excitable to say the least.
Not sure if Wires have the smae issue, but some Smooths have ears that dont drop, and stay erect - this does ruin the "look" of the dog, but Ive a 12 year old here that I wouldnt part with that has pricked ears.
Generally a healthy breed, some talk of blindness but not bothered ours.
Ask away and I will try and assist.
We lost the white one earlier this year to Cancer, but the brown one is still here....
I think they are great dogs, they have strenght of personality (can be stubborn), and the breeds tagline is "on the tiptoe of expectation...." - constantly. Younger dogs will be alert and always looking to get into mischief of some sort.
Training can be hit and miss, needs to be made interesting or they lose interest.
Ours are not hugely food motivated.
Terrier barks are easily misheard as "yappy", and FT's can be excitable to say the least.
Not sure if Wires have the smae issue, but some Smooths have ears that dont drop, and stay erect - this does ruin the "look" of the dog, but Ive a 12 year old here that I wouldnt part with that has pricked ears.
Generally a healthy breed, some talk of blindness but not bothered ours.
Ask away and I will try and assist.
We lost the white one earlier this year to Cancer, but the brown one is still here....
Thanks chaps 
Sorry to hear about yours Mark.
I wonder how similar in temperament
the wired are to the smooth?
Did you have any issues with two?
One club site says of the wired is that they don't always get on well in pairs. They suggest not having two pups together, but to wait 6-9 months.
I noticed that the smooth are on the endangered native breeds list, so rarer than the wired.
Sorry to hear about yours Mark.
I wonder how similar in temperament
the wired are to the smooth?
Did you have any issues with two?
One club site says of the wired is that they don't always get on well in pairs. They suggest not having two pups together, but to wait 6-9 months.
I noticed that the smooth are on the endangered native breeds list, so rarer than the wired.
I would imagine temperament to be virtually the same - its only the coat thats differnt after all.
Our two were devoted to each other - always watching to see what the other was doing. One could easily set the other one off. They loved playing, and spent hours sounded like they were killing each other. They also liked to chew each others ears a lot.
We had the boy from 8 weeks and the girl about 6 months later.
I loved having two, and I felt that they gave each company when we were out.
Our two were devoted to each other - always watching to see what the other was doing. One could easily set the other one off. They loved playing, and spent hours sounded like they were killing each other. They also liked to chew each others ears a lot.
We had the boy from 8 weeks and the girl about 6 months later.
I loved having two, and I felt that they gave each company when we were out.
AdiT said:
A friend has an Irish Fox Terrier. Alternates days between perfect dog, stuborn dog and willfull dog. His sister in-laws both have young fox terriers. They like to play rough and are tenacious; Never know when to back down or when they've pushed their luck to the limit with my Weim'. Given they're 10kg's each and mine is 40, it's going to end in tears one day... probably for mine.
This is what people forget about terriers, they are bred to catch and kill rabbits and foxes etc. My little bedlington terrier pup gives my two pointers hell. Like you say they never know when to give up, even after my oldest one has had her pinned down with her whole head in her mouth it'll still leap back for another bite.Smiler. said:
Cheers Ben, very helpful. She's adorable.
No cats in the garden - excellent.
I will be working from home end of this year/early new year, we have a fair size garden & a large park across the road so exercise should be sorted.
Would you mind me asking where you got her from?
Purchased from a breeder (on a farm) at Saxthorpe, near Holt in Norfolk. No cats in the garden - excellent.
I will be working from home end of this year/early new year, we have a fair size garden & a large park across the road so exercise should be sorted.
Would you mind me asking where you got her from?
Ben
We looked at Fox Terriers, we love the size, the shape and character. Also the fact that they do not moult!
However all the discussions we had with owners and looking at the breed, we felt they were a bit hyper/over stressed for us. Most dogs we saw also did not seem overly social with other dogs, being a little aggressive.
We used the National Terrier.co.uk website for a lot of our research the site gives a fantastic write up on each terrier bred and after about a year of research we went for a Welsh Terrier.
The Welsh is similar in size and looks as the Wire Haired Fox, but black and tan and is the most social dog you can find.
She is super with all family members is not stressed out in the same way as some Fox Terriers can be. Just a wonderful pet.
Whatever you choose a wire haired terrier will be a great addition to your life!
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/sJbIWHid.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/Bi3I7T5f" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Bi3I7T5f.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/Bi3I7T5f" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Bi3I7T5f.jpg)
However all the discussions we had with owners and looking at the breed, we felt they were a bit hyper/over stressed for us. Most dogs we saw also did not seem overly social with other dogs, being a little aggressive.
We used the National Terrier.co.uk website for a lot of our research the site gives a fantastic write up on each terrier bred and after about a year of research we went for a Welsh Terrier.
The Welsh is similar in size and looks as the Wire Haired Fox, but black and tan and is the most social dog you can find.
She is super with all family members is not stressed out in the same way as some Fox Terriers can be. Just a wonderful pet.
Whatever you choose a wire haired terrier will be a great addition to your life!
Edited by M3DEV on Sunday 25th November 12:54
I would take that as a very positive approach from the breeder.
Congratulations and welcome to the Terrier World.
My only words of advice, is to see if your vet holds puppy parties. This is a wonderful way to socialise terriers making them far more accepting to other dogs around.
Ours held two puppy parties on the same night each week, one for the big dogs and one for smaller breeds such as terriers. After one night ours got moved to the big dogs party as she was too boisterous!!!
Congratulations and welcome to the Terrier World.
My only words of advice, is to see if your vet holds puppy parties. This is a wonderful way to socialise terriers making them far more accepting to other dogs around.
Ours held two puppy parties on the same night each week, one for the big dogs and one for smaller breeds such as terriers. After one night ours got moved to the big dogs party as she was too boisterous!!!
M3DEV said:
I would take that as a very positive approach from the breeder.
Congratulations and welcome to the Terrier World.
My only words of advice, is to see if your vet holds puppy parties. This is a wonderful way to socialise terriers making them far more accepting to other dogs around.
Ours held two puppy parties on the same night each week, one for the big dogs and one for smaller breeds such as terriers. After one night ours got moved to the big dogs party as she was too boisterous!!!
We were really impressed that the breeder drove 1.5+ hours to ensure everything was suitable. Congratulations and welcome to the Terrier World.
My only words of advice, is to see if your vet holds puppy parties. This is a wonderful way to socialise terriers making them far more accepting to other dogs around.
Ours held two puppy parties on the same night each week, one for the big dogs and one for smaller breeds such as terriers. After one night ours got moved to the big dogs party as she was too boisterous!!!
I was wondering what a puppy party was. Cynically, I thought it was something horrible imported from the US or something (think baby shower) so am pleasantly surprised.
The little fellah we are soon to home is the runt & had to be hand-reared, the breeder thought he was a goner but he pulled through.
With a clean bill from their vet, we are quite lucky to find one so quickly.
We got some good tips on grooming from them too, how the colour of the fur can change if the non-white sections are clipped rather than hand plucked.
What grooming do you do for yours?
I have to say Rob, she looks fantastic in this pic:
That was a one off grooming by a Cruffs show specialist, the breeder!
Her sister is a very successful show dog as was her father. Her Mum could have been if it was not for the fact that her ears were not perfectly in line as can be seen on the calendar shot..Mum is on the right!
The breeder should give you recommendations for grooming but it is correct some dogs do loose the blackness if they are clipped rather than stripped. You should be able to tell from the parents, if they are dark black it should not be too noticable, but if they are grey black then yes clipping may accentuate it.
We made the decision, that we would not be showing so it made no difference to us, whatever was easiest and less stressful to the dog was what we wanted and we decided that clipping was better.
Die hard specialist breeders will always say stripping is best, but watching it and trying it for myself I did not feel it was what I wanted to do to my dog.
Our breeder said that as both parents are very dark black, it was unlikely to make any difference to Lexie and he has proven to be correct as she remains with a jet black saddle.
All the above is for Welshies, but Foxes are very similar.
A word of caution...if you do clip, it is NOT recommended then, to later go the stripping route as you will be stripping out the undercoat as well and this can be very discomforting to the dog.
Get some photos up of the little one when he arrives.
Her sister is a very successful show dog as was her father. Her Mum could have been if it was not for the fact that her ears were not perfectly in line as can be seen on the calendar shot..Mum is on the right!
The breeder should give you recommendations for grooming but it is correct some dogs do loose the blackness if they are clipped rather than stripped. You should be able to tell from the parents, if they are dark black it should not be too noticable, but if they are grey black then yes clipping may accentuate it.
We made the decision, that we would not be showing so it made no difference to us, whatever was easiest and less stressful to the dog was what we wanted and we decided that clipping was better.
Die hard specialist breeders will always say stripping is best, but watching it and trying it for myself I did not feel it was what I wanted to do to my dog.
Our breeder said that as both parents are very dark black, it was unlikely to make any difference to Lexie and he has proven to be correct as she remains with a jet black saddle.
All the above is for Welshies, but Foxes are very similar.
A word of caution...if you do clip, it is NOT recommended then, to later go the stripping route as you will be stripping out the undercoat as well and this can be very discomforting to the dog.
Get some photos up of the little one when he arrives.
The breeder suggested that the coloured patches be stripped & the white be clipped, as if all clipped, the colour will be interspersed with white (the predominant colour) and end up looking grey. The colour/pattern should be similar to Sadie (1st pic, belonging to Ben).
There is a grooming parlour not far from us so might try there. Failing that, a breeder a few miles away will do it.
I do have pretensions of showing him in the local show, but nothing serious
It will be a while before we do anything in the grooming department though so I'll be reading up on it a bit more.
Ben, if you're still reading, what do you do with Sadie?
Anyhoo, there is a little bit of tension in Chez Smiler this weekend. I though the days of child-rearing for the mrs were over but it's a marvellous thing to watch her fussing over things - he has a bed, toys & a cage for the car - bless.
He's booked in to the local vet next week for a check over.
Will post some pics on Monday - hopefully.
There is a grooming parlour not far from us so might try there. Failing that, a breeder a few miles away will do it.
I do have pretensions of showing him in the local show, but nothing serious
It will be a while before we do anything in the grooming department though so I'll be reading up on it a bit more.
Ben, if you're still reading, what do you do with Sadie?
Anyhoo, there is a little bit of tension in Chez Smiler this weekend. I though the days of child-rearing for the mrs were over but it's a marvellous thing to watch her fussing over things - he has a bed, toys & a cage for the car - bless.
He's booked in to the local vet next week for a check over.
Will post some pics on Monday - hopefully.
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