Fell terrier refers to a regional
type
Type may refer to:
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of long-legged
working terrier, not a specific breed of
dog.
Description and purpose
Fell terriers are types of small
working terriers developed in the
Fell
A fell (from Old Norse ''fell'', ''fjall'', "mountain"Falk and Torp (2006:161).) is a high and barren landscape feature, such as a mountain or moor-covered hill. The term is most often employed in Fennoscandia, Iceland, the Isle of Man, pa ...
(hilly) country of
northern England
Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
and used as
hunting dog
A hunting dog is a canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and ...
s. They may be crossbred or purebred. Fell terrier types are typically small, usually 10- 15 lbs/6.5 kg, and with a narrow chest, so as to fit into the tunnels of the animals they hunt. Fell terriers are long-legged, with a rough textured coat, often red or black in colour. The tail traditionally is
docked; in the United States the tail is not required to be docked. Crossbreeding with other hunting terriers in the beginning caused the appearance to vary.
Fell terriers are bred for hunting ability and
gameness rather than to a standard of appearance (breed type). They hunt in packs or alone. The Fell terrier was originally developed by Ullswater Hunt Master Joe Bowman, an early Border Terrier breeder, where he used the best red Fell terriers available to him, so that he could continue his efforts to refine the Fell terrier even further to hunt the large Fell fox that was believed to cause serious losses for sheep stockmen. The dog needed long legs to follow hunters through heavy snow, and a narrow chest to follow the fox in a stony underground den. In the hunt, a terrier follows the
red fox underground into its den, where it either kills the fox, bolts it or holds it until the hunter (terrierman) digs the dog and fox up. The original Fell Terrier Bloodlines extend down from Harry Hardisty Turk and Sid Wilkinson's Rock, Wilkinson's Rock the most important stud dog of his Era bred down from Fred Barker and Anthony Barker's Chowt-Face Rock Terriers. Others who have contributed are Garry Middleton,
Brian Nuttall, John Park, Ken Gould, Frank Buck, Cyril Breay, Joe Armstrong, Anthony Barker, Fred Barker, Maurice Bell, Anthony Chapman, John Cowen, Tommy Dobson, Eddie Pool, Graham Ward, Sid Wilkinson and Many More (Not In Order) . Fell Terriers have been used in the United States for several generations hunting small game and have been known under the name Patterdale terrier. For the most part remain unchanged by the hunter (terrierman) who keeps the standard.
Breeds
Several named breeds have been developed from the Fell terrier type, such as the
Border Terrier
The Border Terrier is a British breed of small, rough-coated terrier. It originates from the area of the Anglo-Scottish border, and shares ancestry with the Dandie Dinmont Terrier and the Bedlington Terrier from the same area. The dogs were ...
,
Lakeland Terrier,
Patterdale Terrier,
Scorrier Terrier,
Welsh Terrier, and other locally developed breeds. All are sometimes called "Fell Terrier" interchangeably with their breed name. The "National Terriers Club LLC", The "American Fell Terrier International" has published a Fell Terrier standard. In Germany, the
Jagdterrier was developed out of Fell terrier stock in the 1920s. Fell terriers may be descended from a very old type of long-legged terrier referred to as the rough-coated Black and Tan, similar to today's
Welsh Terrier.
See also
*
Dogs portal
*
List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both extant and extinct dog breeds, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds as "a recent invention defined by conformation to ...
References
Further reading
*''Sport with Terriers'', by Patricia Adams Lent, Arner Publications, Rome NY 1973
*''Hunt and Working Terriers'', by Captain Jocelyn Lucas, Tideline Books 1995
*''The Fell Terrier'', by David Brian Plummer, Tideline Books, North Wales 2006
*''American Working Terriers'', by Patrick Burns, lulu.com publisher, 2005
External links
A Pictorial History of TerriersAmerican Working Terrier AssociationAmerican Fell Terrier International
Total Performance Canine
{{Terriers
Terriers