Border terriers

[CraigBrown]

Any border terrrier owners on here? I love them but have never had a terrier before- only spaniels.

Is there anything I should know about the breed? Looking for a happy family dog that will enjoy long walks and affection. If they like to swim that’s a bonus.

Mine is 2 now. She’s fabulous BUT she’s not a spaniel. I’m a trainer and wanted a small, lively, friendly dog to have fun with training and adventures…that wasn’t a WCS 🤣. She’s all of those things and more. She’s quite happy to chill out in the house when we’re busy but up for fun and will go all day.

She does Rallly obedience and is just starting to compete. We also train in agility. I competed my last dog but she’s not quite ready yet. She is really really clever and needs a job to do.

She was a horrible puppy. She needed total separation from our very laid back cat. They’re fine now. She has taken a long time to be ok on her own (FOMO) but we’re getting there now. Finally.

With terriers you have to put a lot of work in to build a bond. A lot of work! They’re sensitive so games based and reward reward reward is a must. Once you’ve got that they’ll do anything for you. Mine walks off lead most places. We’ve trained her to check in rather than a formal recall. She hunts but she doesn’t go far. She’ll always see if there is something better on offer before coming back if I call her so I tend more to reward her for choosing to check in. Can call her if needed.

Mine is from well established dual purpose lines. Mum is a working dog and dad a champ show dog. She’s sparky but not OTT. Moderate prey drive. My last dog was a terrier hound so it’s something we’re used to.

They are fabulous dogs as long as you understand them IMO. You need to go to a breeder who health tests and breeds for temperament as they are variable. I’ve taught a lot as a trainer. Some are sods. They are more energy on demand than a spaniel but they do need good quality walks.

Wonderful dogs. Love ours. My first dog and I’ve learnt a lot - one key lesson is I would really focus on training early on. My experience, I’m sure others are different:

Pros
Very affectionate and loving and good with all people and children
Great character - funny, playful
Loves long walks - great for scent games etc
Fast learner
Have a fantastic bond

Cons

Very strong prey drive - nightmare with cats, squirrels, foxes etc - not sure this is a con, it’s part of her, but to be aware. It has caused issues with neighbours’ cats etc as she just can’t let it go if she can see or sever them
Reactive to other dogs. This happened for the first time when she was about 2.. she is fearful of some other dogs and this manifests as aggression - lunging/ barking.. This means I can’t just let her off the lead and relax. We are working on it with a trainer. Many people don’t have this issue but quite a few do who I met do

Overall I adore my dog and recommend them as long as you have lots of time, patience and can give at least 1.5 hours exercise a day. If you’re experienced with dogs you may do better at mitigating some of the issues

Best of luck!

Interesting posts above. Mine has generally been fine to be alone for periods of time. She is 4 and I can leave her 4 hours no probs. I think the agility is a fab idea, totally agree they need a job/ challenge

My BT is four now and she is so funny and gentle. She will steal food if it sont put put of the way, she is good on and off the lead and friendly with other children and dogs. She hasn't gone after a cat but she is use to being on a farm. She is a ratter but very gentle and loves to snuggle up. She is the perfect dog 🐕

If I were ever to get a border terrier (and I say this as someone who has had a Jack Russell, a breed famous for its arsiness), I would check out the parents' temperaments. Some of our local border terriers are/have been lovely, but others not so much - horrible with other dogs. There is currently one around who, entirely unprovoked, and in the middle of what looked like a civil if very cautious greeting, suddenly went for my older dog.

Turns out he has form for this. And he's not the first one like it that we've encountered. But the other one we see frequently is, though entirely untrained, a delightful little personality.

They have become popular as pets therefore some of the breeding is questionable.

Mine started to become very mildly reactive at 6 months but we were able to stop it with reward based training very quickly and now she's fine. It's more frustration with her than aggression. They are known for that but it's not a given.

They should not be quarrelsome according to the KC standard as they are the more sociable terriers so yes, breeding is important.

I agree with you there, and I also think that they need competent handling, which unfortunately a lot of them don't get. If that border had gone for our long-departed JRT, she would have punched his lights out. As it was, my HPR (not above telling off a rude young dog) just backed away swiftly with a look of surprise and disdain on her face ('Well, okay, Napoleon, just keep your small-man complex to yourself!')

I don't think they make particularly good first dogs tbh. There is a lot that can go wrong if you don't handle it properly. They also need quite a bit of enrichment in order to be fulfilled (or mine does).

The girls are more feisty than the boys and the boys tend to be more laid back.

That said, mine is wonderful with people. Genuinely relaxed and enjoys their company. You can do anything to her and she tolerates it if she needs to. She is a very kind little soul and for all her brattish behaviour at times she has the most wonderful temperament and one I would trust with no hesitation around people. If she ever calms down she would make a wonderful PAT dog and quite a few are.

JanePup is the sweetest boy!
He's almost 10 months old.
And my first dog.
The first couple of months were tough, but perseverance pays off.
I'll often get comments on how relaxed and chilled he is, don't get me wrong, he can be a real crazy pup at times!
His mum is a full working dog, dad show+working.
We have been very lucky, he's never chewed anything, he was house trained very quickly and slept all night very quickly.
He can be left for 2/3 hours and he's absolutely fine.
He adores people, loves company.
Follows me absolutely everywhere.
He can be a little sulky and naughty ( he'll pick bark in our garden and chew it, taunting me first!)
But he really is the best boy.
I'd like to get him into agility or scent work, he's the happiest when he has to 'find' something,
He's turned my life upside down, but in a real positive way.
BTs are the best.

I've had two. Other than neither liked to swim, they might have been completely different breeds. Male was very untypical terrier but super good with children, not particularly affectionate, but loyal.
My latest bitch is very border terrier, very affectionate and, at 8 months, completely forgetting the super recall we had worked so hard on. 😬🤣