Border terriers

[Pumpkin5piced]

Tell me everything please..

Can they ever be off lead? For reference I live in a busy city so will see lots of dogs on walks and in parks

How are they with other dogs? Children? (I hear good with children, not so much dogs)

Do they bark excessively?

Are they clingy? Can they be left at home?

I was looking at companion type breeds so I guess a terrier will be less clingy and prone to SA than them

We have a BT - not my first dog (have had gun dogs all my life) but he is my first terrier. Agree with PPs - not as terrier-ish as others, e.g. JRTs. Just delightful!

He’s a friendly character. Great with kids and other dogs. Lounges around at home happily but take him outside and he’ll go for hours. He doesn’t need to be exhausted to be good indoors, unlike some of the higher energy breeds.

Very stoic and very stubborn but very very loyal. He loves his family and walks out with us as if he’s showing us off to world! He is terrific on the lead, less so with recall (certainly not to gun dog standard, despite my best efforts but he’s not 2 yet so there’s time…!).

Sleeps in given half a chance, but typically his bedtime is 10:00pm and although the house is awake before 7am, he’s rarely out of his bed before 7:30am.

He’s anything but greedy and is not motivated by treats - this makes recall training harder! I’ve tried various foodstuffs (cheese, sausage, liver cake) and his favourite toys but after 5 or 6 treats he packs it in!

Co-exists with outdoor guinea pigs (inside a chicken wire run). They love him, he loves them but obviously I’m never going to introduce him without the chicken wire! It’s very cute when they are nose to nose. Unusually, his prey drive is v low - doesn’t chase squirrels or rabbits and he also doesn’t dig. If I didn’t have his Kc registration I’d be convinced he wasn’t a terrier 🤣!

He is such a character - his facial expressions are classic. He has a brilliant FFS face that makes me laugh out loud.

I’m his favourite family member and although he doesn't get separation anxiety, he definitely prefers me (much to the irritation of my DH and DD).

I’ve not had him done and I don’t intend to - he’s not aggressive and doesn’t pee all over everything.

BTs need hand stripping and if you even mention clippers, other BT owners will judge you harshly!! They lose their distinctive coat if you clip but otherwise it doesn’t do any harm. I hand strip him myself - it’s about £75 ‘round our way to have him stripped by a groomer (SE England) - but it’s v easy to do yourself and he loves it. Tons of videos on YouTube with instructions. Otherwise they are low maintenance because they don’t need bathing regularly due to their wire coat. Baby wipes deal with any fox poo rolling fun and I use a Mud Daddy to sluice off muck if we’ve had a muddy walk.

BTs are 50/50 with swimming and it’s love or hate. Mine hates swimming and if he accidentally ends up swimming, he has a hilarious murderous expression! He can swim though, which was important to me to check.

All in all, he’s the best big dog in a little body (under 10kg) anyone could hope for. I adore him!

On health - mine has a very mild Grade 1 luxating patella (floating kneecap). He skips sometimes for a couple of steps but there’s no pain.

I feed him grain free and hypoallergenic (based on veterinary advice) - BTs are prone to CECS. He had one mild episode when he was still a pup but I’m convinced that was due to some biscuits my family accidentally gave him. No more episodes since then.

I lost mine this year after 14 years. I’d never have another.

She was incredible in the house, never barked, lovely with kids of all ages (I didn’t have any), never chewed anything or stole food. Could be left all day, she’d just sleep. Could be walked 20 miles or not at all.

Recall was crap despite spending hundreds of £ and hours training, she was dog aggressive to any dog below medium sized, very very nearly killed a cat in the garden when she was 12 and nearly blind, grabbed hold of it’s face with her teeth.
If you took her to the pub she had to be squashed in a corner on a short lead or she’d grab hold of passing dogs.
I was still devastated when she went but I decided about 2 years in to having her that I’d never have another.

I have a BT and he is lovely. Doesn't bat an eyelid at our cats or chickens, and is often found sunbathing in the garden with the hens pecking around him!
We had him first and have since had 2 children, whom he adores. He is very gentle but loves to play with older DD (4).
He barks a lot - at any noise outside etc, and his bark is LOUD! That is the only negative thing about him though. He is perfect.

My dm has had one from a puppy. Hes great with children. Fine with other dogs and has no fear of going up to dogs 4 times his size. Cats are a major no no with him though. He just bolts after them so is on lead in resident areas. He can be left but he gets so excited when you return he starts licking the front door then runs off to go get you a toy. Lovely little dog highly recommended.

They are the best dogs ever (I am totally biased) but like all dogs, you need to put the groundwork in. And like all dogs, they have different personalities and traits - some are lazy and don't chase squirrels etc, and some are active.

They are intelligent curious little dogs that are very quick to learn. They are small enough to pick up but still a robust dog. Happy to go on short or long walks or sit on the sofa.

Their coat can take a bit of work but even then some require hardly any stripping at all. Depends on the dog.

Oh and they are very popular dogs for vets as they hardly ever get ailments etc.

I have a 6 month old border . She can be left for a couple of hours and while I do the school run . When I go back to work she will be going to a doggy day care .

We are working on recall but , but she's better at recall when she's focussed on her ball. She's so friendly with humans or any age and all dogs .

Rarely barks , only if she is barked at .

We feed her on Bella and duke raw food she's she loves and licks the bowl clean .

She's my first dog and she's the best thing I have ever done .

Mine is 9 years old.
Loves people. Used to love other dogs but having been attacked by a pair of schnauzers is now reactive to other dogs. Wouldn’t attack but will growl and lunge if approached, for that reason I tend to keep her on the lead whilst walking unless I am confident no other dogs are around.
Recall is ok but if there are squirrels around forget it.
Is pretty lazy, when I leave for work she will stay snuggled in my bed until at least lunchtime.
Won’t contemplate a walk before 9am or in the rain or the dark.
Rarely barks in the house, only if someone comes to the door.
The only time she has been to the vet is for her annual check up.
She is pretty low maintenance all around.
She hates the car though and becomes quite distressed so we rarely take her unless necessary and then give her calmex.

My boy is the best dog ever, FACT. He's just a delight in every way. We had a patterdale terrier before and she was an utter psycho, so this little guy is just amazing.

My dad also has a border, and if the local vet has a dog on his passenger seat it will more often than not be a border. Broadly speaking they are very amenable little dogs.

@MacaroniSaysShetlandPony

On health - mine has a very mild Grade 1 luxating patella (floating kneecap). He skips sometimes for a couple of steps but there’s no pain.

I feed him grain free and hypoallergenic (based on veterinary advice) - BTs are prone to CECS. He had one mild episode when he was still a pup but I’m convinced that was due to some biscuits my family accidentally gave him. No more episodes since then.

Ah yes mine is grain free too after having a few ( scary) fits

This thread I making me want to get another one, they are such cute puppies

Good looking also.......

We've had 2 - both brilliant. Didn't bark, didn't need to be on the lead, great with children, gloriously affectionate - basically perfect!

We've just lost ours, aged nearly 12 - he was a fantastic family dog, adored by everyone who met him. His only flaw, which was admittedly pretty big, was a deep-seated arsiness towards black dogs, which years of trainers and training did very little to correct. He wasn't very safe around cats either, but he loved children and was devoted to us.

I don't think we'll have another Border terrier any time soon, not because they're not a brilliant breed (they are) but because DDog's paws are just too big for another BT puppy to have to fill. Borders are small dogs but their personalities are immense.

@NorthernLion Bloody tough times :(

We have two. We couldn’t love them any more than we do. They are brilliant. One can be a bit humphy around other borders but the other is friendlier than any dog I’ve met. They are great with kids, mine and any they meet. They bark when someone is at the door.

[quote userxx]@NorthernLion Bloody tough times :([/quote]
thank you - it's the real cost of dog ownership, not the £££ on vets and collars. But so worth it!

I think I’m almost persuaded. I was going to get a cavapoo.
The only thing that worries me, even though loads of you have said it’s not a problem with yours, is being reactive to other dogs. I’ve come across this a fair bit online.
Do you
Think females would be less likely to be?

@NorthernLion oh I'm sorry, that pain is real.

When my feral fuckwit of a vicious patterdale died I thought I'd never have another dog ever, such was my bond with the horrible little shite, but this little border has really stepped up (even though I resented him when he arrived for not being her).

I love him differently but just as much. He is less dependent on me for safety and reassurance, whereas she needed me to survive. But he is confident, friendly, playful, submissive, easy going, just takes everything in his stride and he's so funny. He's barely 2 but can go off-lead almost everywhere (I'm cautious around horses as he's a bit nervous of them, and of course I take care with livestock and roads) as he's fine with all dogs and knows how to avoid trouble. He does get a bit intense around cats, but is bombproof with children, babies, everything. He adores all visitors to the door and brings the postman and Amazon drivers his toys. He does bark a bit but never persistently, he's not overly yappy.

@Pumpkin5piced

I think I’m almost persuaded. I was going to get a cavapoo. The only thing that worries me, even though loads of you have said it’s not a problem with yours, is being reactive to other dogs. I’ve come across this a fair bit online. Do you Think females would be less likely to be?

I have bitch , and she's so friendly, with other dogs I got her from a KC breeder and wasn't charged ££££ , but also knew all about the parents . So if you do your research you will be ok.

@Pumpkin5piced Mine crawls commando style when he greets other dogs, he's super-submissive and even the angriest looking dogs are enchanted by his silliness. He's as soppy as a lorry load of monkeys.

There are 3 other borders in my tiny village, all boys and all fine with other dogs. My dad's border is female and is a bit crabby, but only because she's been attacked before.

Some of it is down to natural temperament but otherwise it's a roll of the dice and what their early experiences are with dogs.

@Pumpkin5piced

I think I’m almost persuaded. I was going to get a cavapoo. The only thing that worries me, even though loads of you have said it’s not a problem with yours, is being reactive to other dogs. I’ve come across this a fair bit online. Do you Think females would be less likely to be?

I'd 100% get a border over a cavapoo. Any dog can be reactive with others dogs, if that happens there's ways around it. Go on, you know you want to 😈

I'd 100% get a border over a cavapoo. Any dog can be reactive with others dogs, if that happens there's ways around it. Go on, you know you want to
I understand choosing a border over a Cavapoo in terms of health and potential for farming but tbh, I think the reactive part of this comment is very flippant.

Some dogs are genetically more likely to be dog intolerant, terriers are well known for often (not always) being dog intolerant/aggressive, border collies are another known for dog aggression, LGD breeds etc.
I would argue that while a Cavapoo may be more likely to get health problems like heart issues, eye problems etc they would not be as likely as a terrier to end up with a dog reactivity/aggression problem.

A dog that is aggressive to other dogs can be an absolute nightmare and it can be incredibly isolating, lonely, deeply stressful and upsetting owning such a dog.
There isn’t really ‘a way around it’ imo because the ‘way’ means avoiding other dogs, which is nigh on impossible because there is always some selfish twat whose dog ‘just wants to say hello and needs a good telling off’

It means isolating walks well away from anyone, possibly in the dark at very unsociable hours.
It means whole parks, woodlands, etc can be off limits.

@Powertothepetal Sorry, it didn't mean to come across as flippant. My boy is reactive to other dogs, admittedly he's got better as he's got older. It can be hard work and at times embarrassing. My friend has a cockerpoo who is a bag of nerves and also reactive to other dogs, it's down to luck sometimes.