Please tell me about your Border Terriers

[QuarkBlisterbum]

we are thinking of getting a Border Terrier as after a lot of research we think that this would be the perfect breed for our family. Would love to hear first hand from owners of what your Border Terrier is like? Also is there any difference between dogs and bitches within the breed, ie is one likely to be an easier temperament than the other? TIA

I have a year old border bitch. She’s our first full terrier and first young puppy. Our last dog was a rescue terrier hound cross so we’re used to the breed traits. She’s from a very experienced KC breeder who breeds a line for health and temperament. We met several of her relatives and also full litter sister from a previous litter who were delightful.

I’ve taught lots of borders agility and have always liked them. They are cheeky lively little dogs and generally fit and healthy.

She is whip smart. She’d run rings around you if she could. I find her easy to train but you need to motivate her (food and play). They’re labelled stubborn but no such thing. Ours has a great recall but we’ve worked hard on it. She needs at least an hour of offlead exercise a day. She also needs brainwork! She does two classes a week (obedience and agility) and I train and play training games daily. She is a busy dog and does often need encouragement to settle. Terriers are very slow to mature for their size and she is still very puppy like.

She’s affectionate and friendly. She loves people. All people. She can take or leave dogs. Not aggressive but just doesn’t really want to interact. That’s normal for terriers. We have a mature dog savvy cat and she irritates him but doesn’t chase. He doesn’t care. She is calming down with him very slowly.

Dog or bitch is personal preference. They have become popular and are being farmed. It took us a while to find one we were happy with. Expect to pay £1.5-2.5K for a well bred puppy.

Everything above . I've worked with a few and they are lovely little personalities ! Very fun and cheeky

I have a girl and she is amazing. She has a brilliant personality and nature and everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She's my first dog and I did a lot of research before I got her.

I'm not sure if there's a massive difference between the girls and boys. My girl is one of 8 puppies and from that litter alone I think the owners of the bitches have had it slightly easier.

They are eager to please and easy enough to train. I got a trainer in from the minute I got her as she came to work with me every day so I knew she had to be well behaved. She has her moments, goes deaf occasionally if there's a squirrel
About but generally she's a really good dog. She's brilliant company, loves everyone and everything. She was toilet trained within a few weeks (I did bell training with her which was so easy) and although she was a bit of a pest with my cats to start with, she's fine with them now.

I know I'm biased but they really are fantastic dogs. She loves her walks and is at her happiest running free in the woods, but they also love their down time and chilling. A very easy dog if you research properly and get training as soon as you get them

I don't own one but have known a few. They can be great little dogs but some of them can be very bolshy around other dogs - whether that is genetics or upbringing I don't know.

I'd second what @Newpeep says about training as like most terriers they are strong-minded and fearless. There is a young one locally who is pretty much untrained and if she carries on as she is she'll get herself seriously told off by another dog one day.

I've never met one that didn't react to other dogs, unfortunately, which is a real shame as otherwise they're lovely.

I think it must be down to genetics as a lot of the owners have other dogs who never react - so I assume it's a border thing!

I think it's a combination. Ours is very wary of bigger dogs and we've worked quite hard to pair big dog with good things so she doesn't feel the need to make her own decisions! Terriers are naturally lone workers so not really that sociable but a Border was originally bred to live with hounds. The breed standard calls for them 'not to be querulous with other dogs' so if you again choose your lines carefully then there shouldn't be a problem. Our pups dad is a CC and I have seen some of his judging notes which mention his great temperament around other dogs.

Training really is key. They have brains and do need to use them. They are physically tough and fearless but they can be sensitive. Like most terriers tbh. Females can be sharp as in will tell a dog off if not acceptable but that again is normal for a well socialised adult dog. In our pup's litter there was one bitch who was really bolshy with the adult dogs and repeatedly pushed their buttons. She was going to a really experienced home on her own and is doing well.

There are lots in the dog sports who are non reactive to other dogs as they can't be in order to train and compete so I do think if you are switched on to it then you can avoid it for the most part. I don't know any that are reactive where I live.

The one I know is male, can't be near small children & has always gone for other dogs.
Fine with adults & older kids.
Also as they get older they seem to be prone to wart like growths.

We had a lovely Border until she was 3, well trained and great with children. Then it all went wrong, not good with other dogs and attacked one of our other dogs. I got scared to walk her and never off the lead. I would never consider another one.

I have a 3 year old border girl. She’s the sweetest natured little thing - cheery, eager to please, completely loyal and bonded to our family (likes to be right next to us at all times), playful and loves children and dogs. She has never once snapped or shown any indication of bad temper - she is as soft as butter and full of fun.

In terms of exercise, she does love a good run and gets 1-2 hours a day and will happily go on really long hikes with us - but on the odd days we can’t manage nothing bad happens. She just potters around the house with us and isn’t destructive and doesn’t whine.

If I were to identify downsides, I’d say we’ve never managed to stop her from jumping up. As soon as someone makes eye contact she assumes they want to be her best friend and gets very excited (and is often rewarded by people making a huge fuss of her!).

She occasionally goes deaf if there’s a squirrel around but her recall is 95% reliable. Recall took a while to knock in - until she was about 12-18 months she was so sociable with other dogs she’d just spring off to play with them But has calmed down massively on that front now.

She’s also very very bonded to me. Whilst she clearly loves and makes a fuss of her family, there is no doubting that I am her person and she’d always choose to sit with me, wait for me and behave best for me (her selective deafness happens more with DH). This works fine in our family as she’s not preferring one of the kids over the other - they at least get equal treatment!

Picture of her happy little self on DC’s bed.

We are also considering a border terrier ..it has come to see us choosing between a border or a miniature poodle (who are also supposed to be intelligent). We need a dog that will travel well in our VW campervan and not too boisterous as I am disabled

You should definitely be able to find one from a good breeder for less than £1500 OP. I say that as someone in the show world who knows a lot of good Border breeders!

Both those breeds are working type dogs and tend to be boisterous as pups. Ours is still very full on at a year. We took her out last night in our VW for a run on the beach and when we were eating chips after she’d finished her meal she was climbing around the van cruising for trouble 😂 When we camp she settles well as we’ve taught her to but day trips when lots of fun things are going on and she does need a bit of management. She is young though. They are lively and energetic dogs. Border terrier welfare would be worth contacting as they often have older dogs come in. We had a lot of help from them as we originally wanted a rescue and they brought two dogs to assess with our cat and when it was clear a pup was the only way they advised us on breeders and what to look for an avoid.

Best dogs ever. Ours is coming up to 5 and honestly she's the best decision we ever made.

Little miss Antsy Pants

My border died last year at the age of 15. She was the sweetest-natured dog who loved everyone, very intelligent, and a total joy. A bit food obsessed but that was really the only issue we had to deal with!

Thank you for all of the replies, so lovely hearing about your little characters. And really useful to hear about challenges associated with them too as we want to fully understand what we would need to work on. And the photos are great - I adore their faces!

I don't seem to be able to post photos but I'll give it a go.... here's my girl, if it attaches!

Oh-I loved my Border sooo much. She was everything you'd want a dog to be-friendly, active, hugely cuddly and just...lovely. We used to say that borders are pedigree dogs specifically bred to look like a charming mongrel!

One thing-you do have to have them hand stripped, which is expensive and not all groomers can do it. But that's not a big deal really. Go and get a border!!!

You can learn to do it yourself with a stripping comb or by hand. We had a rough-coated JRT and I used to do her myself - a session one evening and another the next and presto, smart dog.

@EdithStourton "You can learn to do it yourself with a stripping comb or by hand. We had a rough-coated JRT and I used to do her myself - a session one evening and another the next and presto, smart dog."

We did try during lockdown. She let us know very politely that she'd prefer to go shaggy until her hairdresser was available again......🤣

I've now had 3 border terriers
1st one male absolutely best dog I could have chosen to have with my 8yr old .Did so much stuff together cat friendly tolerated other dogs but adored everyone .decent recall
2nd one female more timid about people but very gentle again tolerated other dogs
3rd one currently again very good with grandson,adores dh and myself not that fussed on others .However we have had to work so hard on her reaction to other dogs she is much better but not a patch on the others we have had . Her recall is brilliant and she does a massive range of tricks .she is more nervous than the others we have had
I've always had hens rabbits lizards cats etc with no issues with them .
They are great dogs we have either hand stripped them ourselves

Not quite what you asked (sorry) but I have a one year old Australian terrier - she is delightful, can be a bit of a handful like any terrier but is polite and friendly with other dogs and has pretty good recall. They are not very common here (UK) so tend not to be puppy farmed - there is a very active and approachable breed club on Facebook if you are interested. Mine was not expensive either (KC reg from good lines).

Our boy is an absolute delight and a real little character. Happy on long walks but equally happy being a couch potato! Has always been great with my child who was 4 when Mr B came to our family.

Mr B has also been very welcoming to our Romanian rescue - she would be lost without him.

They have strong prey instincts (like most terriers) so takes great delight in chasing our cat.

A BT will make a great addition to your family!

Thank you again for the replies!

But what have you decided OP?!?