The Australian Terrier is a small

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of dog of the terrier dog type. The breed was developed in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, although the ancestral types of dogs from which the breed descends were from Great Britain.

Appearance

The Australian Terrier is a small dog with short legs, weighing around and standing about at the withers, with a medium length shaggy harsh double

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

that is not normally trimmed. Fur is shorter on the muzzle, lower legs, and feet, and there is a ruff around the neck. The coat colours are blue or silver and tan 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", or a solid red with a sandy variation. The tail was traditionally docked, in order to protect the dog from spinal injury while working and hunting in the field. 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.

History

The Australian Terrier is descended from the rough coated

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

terriers brought from Great Britain to Australia in the early 19th century. 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 Australia about 1820, and the dogs were at first called the Rough Coated Terrier. The breed was officially recognised in 1850, and later renamed as the Australian Terrier in 1892. The Australian Terrier was shown at a dog show for the first time in 1906 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 The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kenn ...

recognised the Australian Terrier in 1960, and the United Kennel Club (US) in 1970. It is now recognised by all of the kennel clubs in the English speaking world, and also is listed by various minor kennel clubs and other clubs and registries.

Health

There are three completed health surveys for Australian Terriers.Dog Longevity Web Site, Breed Data page. Compiled by K. M. Cassidy
Retrieved 8 July 2007 Two surveys, one in 1997 and one in 2002, have been conducted by the Australian Terrier Club of America.
. Note: There is not a direct link to the ATCA 1997 Health Survey, but the results are discussed extensively in the 2002 Survey Report. Retrieved February 2007 The Club is currently collecting data for their next survey.Australian Terrier Club of America home page
Retrieved 13 July 2007 The UK Kennel Club has a 2004 survey, but it has a much smaller sample size than the Australian Terrier Club of America surveys.Kennel Club/British Small Animal Veterinary Association Scientific Committee. 2004. Purebred Dog Health Survey.
Retrieved 5 July 2007 Some of the respondents in the American surveys were from Australia, but there is no separate Australian health survey.

Mortality

In both 1997 and 2002 Australian Terrier Club of America surveys, median longevity of Australian Terriers was 11 years (total sample size of 230 deceased dogs). In the Kennel Club (UK) 2004 survey, median longevity was 12.1 years, but the sample size was only 11 deceased dogs. 11 years is a typical median longevity for purebred dogs in general, but on the low end of longevities for breeds similar in size to Australian Terriers.
Retrieved 5 July 2007 Major causes of death in the 2002 survey were cancer (67%), old age (17%), undetermined (16%), and diabetes (13%).

Morbidity

Among 619 living dogs in the 2002 Australian Terrier Club of America survey, the most commonly reported health problems were endocrine (primarily diabetes), allergic dermatitis, and musculoskeletal (primarily luxating patella and ruptured cranial cruciate ligament). Other conditions reported among more than 4% of the surveyed dogs were adult onset cataracts and ear infections. The much smaller 2004 UKC survey, with 28 living dogs, suggested similar health concerns.

Temperament

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.The Intelligence of Dogs, by Stanley Coren, Chapter 10, pages 183-185, Free Press, 2005, They tend to get along well with other dogs, although some males may not get along well with other males in the house. An Australian Terrier should never start a fight, but they will not back down from an attacker. Since the Australian Terrier was also bred for companionship, they tend to be very people friendly, and enjoy interacting with people.

References

External links

* {{Authority control FCI breeds Dog breeds originating in Australia Terriers