The Toy Manchester Terrier is a

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 ...

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, categorized as a

terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

. The breed was bred down in size in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from the

Manchester Terrier The Manchester Terrier is a breed of dog of the smooth-haired terrier type. It was first bred in the 19th century to control vermin, notably rats, at which it excelled. So efficient at the task was it that it often appeared in rat-baiting p ...

, and is placed in the

Toy Group Toy dog traditionally refers to a very small dog or a grouping of small and very small breeds of dog. A toy dog may be of any of various dog types. Types of dogs referred to as toy dogs may include spaniels, pinschers and terriers that have been ...

by 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 ...

and the

Canadian Kennel Club The Canadian Kennel Club (or CKC), founded in 1888 and chartered under the Animal Purebred Act, is one of the national kennel clubs of Canada. It maintains breed registries services for those purebred dogs approved for its control by Agriculture ...

(the Manchester Terrier is placed in the

Terrier Group Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary gr ...

). Neither the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

nor

The Kennel Club The Kennel Club ("KC") is the official kennel club of the United Kingdom. It is the oldest recognised kennel club in the world. Its role is to oversee various canine activities including dog shows, dog agility and working trials. It also opera ...

recognize a

Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

variety of the Manchester Terrier.

History

The Manchester Terrier, from which the Toy Manchester Terrier was bred, was developed in the 19th century from

crosses Crosses may refer to: * Cross, the symbol Geography * Crosses, Cher, a French municipality * Crosses, Arkansas, a small community located in the Ozarks of north west Arkansas Language * Crosses, a truce term used in East Anglia and Lincolnshire ...

between an old Black and Tan Terrier with the

Whippet The Whippet is a dog breed of medium size. It is a sighthound breed that originated in England, descended from the Greyhound. Whippets today still strongly resemble a smaller Greyhound. Part of the hound group, Whippets have relatively few ...

, along with other breeds, primarily for rat-catching. In England, another breed was also developed in the 19th century in Manchester, the English Toy Terrier, as a separate breed from the Manchester Terrier. The English Toy Terrier was a popular pet in Victorian England, and bred to be very small, some weighing as little as 1 kg (2.2 lbs.) The Toy Manchester Terrier breed was developed by breeding down the Manchester Terrier in size. In the United States in the 1920s the breed was called the Toy Black and Tan Terrier. The name was changed to the Toy Manchester Terrier and the American Toy Manchester Terrier Club was formed in the 1930s. The American Toy Manchester Terrier was recognised by the

in 1938, but by the 1950s the breed had declined and the breed club ceased to exist. Due to declining numbers of the breed, the Toy Manchester Terrier breed was re-defined as a size division of the Manchester Terrier in 1958 by the American Kennel Club, and the club name (including the two breeds as varieties) was changed to the American Manchester Terrier Club in 1958. In England, the very similar

English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) The English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) is a small breed of terrier in the toy dog group. Appearance According to the Kennel Club (UK), the English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) should be in height and in weight. The only permitted color is black ...

has also declined, to the point where it is listed by the Kennel Club as being in danger of extinction. In order to rescue the breed, the Kennel Club has opened the stud book to allow certain selected examples of the North American Toy Manchester Terrier to be registered and bred as an English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan). However, the two breeds are not considered to be identical, and the standards for the two breeds show different requirements.

Appearance

The Toy Manchester Terrier in North America is a small, long-legged dog with a short coat marked with tan, a long tail and ears which stand upright. In color and general conformation the Toy Manchester Terrier follows the standard for the Manchester Terrier. However, the Toy Manchester Terrier cannot exceed 12 pounds (5.4 kg) in weight; and, unlike the larger Manchester Terrier, for the Toy Manchester Terrier, cropped ears are a disqualification. Ears should be wide at the base and pointed at the tip. Flaring "bell" ears are a serious fault, meaning that it is undesirable to breed a dog with such ears; it does not mean that the dog has any disadvantages as a companion.

Black and Tan

Black and Tan is a dog coat colour that derives from one of the

alleles An allele (, ; ; modern formation from Greek ἄλλος ''állos'', "other") is a variation of the same sequence of nucleotides at the same place on a long DNA molecule, as described in leading textbooks on genetics and evolution. ::"The chro ...

known to exist at the genes mapped in dogs, and can be recognised with genetic testing (

agouti gene Agouti-signaling protein is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ASIP gene. It is responsible for the distribution of melanin pigment in mammals. Agouti interacts with the melanocortin 1 receptor to determine whether the melanocyte (pigment ...

, a^t a^t).

Similar breeds

The English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) is considered to be the same breed as the Toy Manchester Terrier. In contrast with the Toy Manchester Terrier though, the desirable size for the English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) is slightly smaller, and wider ears are also preferred. While the visual similarities of the

Miniature Pinscher The Miniature Pinscher, also known as the Zwergpinscher and Mini Pin, is a small breed of dog of the pinscher type originating in Germany. The breed's earliest ancestors may have included the German Pinscher mixed with Italian greyhounds and dachs ...

, another toy dog that somewhat resembles the Toy Manchester Terrier, remain a matter of controversy, genetic research (published in 2017) has shown that the two breeds have shared, unique ancestry.https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(17)30456-4 The ancestors of the Toy Manchester and Miniature Pinscher may have become geographically separated many centuries ago and retained similarities simply through breeding selection for the same traits; nevertheless, the 2017 also showed that the two breeds remain more closely related to each other than to other breeds. The Russian Toy is another similar dog, developed in Russia from early imports of the English Toy Terrier. They may be of various colours, not just Black and Tan, indicating a possible background in other breeds as well.

References

{{American dogs Terriers Companion dogs Dog breeds originating in the United States

History

Appearance

Black and Tan

Similar breeds

See also

References