English Toy Terrier

The English Toy Terrier is reputedly the oldest English toy breed in existence. It is known as the Manchester Terrier in the USA, after the English city where it was first bred in order to chase and kill rodents during the Industial Revolution. Many people have heard of the breed through the famous children’s story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Today’s English Toy Terrier can be traced back to the Black and Tan Terriers first recorded in the 16th century. During the 1800’s, these terriers were in high demand as ratters and were carried by hunters in their pockets and set down when necessary to flush out foxes, rabbits and other small game. Another popular past-time entailed rat-killing contests in which terriers were turned loose in a rat pit and spectators placed bets on how long it would take the dogs to kill the rats.  Breeders in Manchester worked toward producing a two-in-one dog to excel at both hunting and ratting. They crossed Black and Tan Terriers with Whippets, resulting in a distinctive Manchester type of terrier.

The breed reached the height of its popularity during the Victorian Era. The Standard Manchester Terrier was thought to be a fitting companion to the “discerning gentleman” but the Victorian ladies  wanted a smaller dog to entertain themselves. As the terrier became ever more popular, the demand grew for increasingly smaller dogs, leading to the miniaturisation of the breed. A lot of interbreeding occurred, with the offspring from these litters being very small and suffering from many health problems. As a result, the breed declined in popularity and almost disappeared altogether.

Thanks to a few dedicated breeders, today’s Toy Manchester Terrier is much healthier and sounder, although slightly bigger than its Victorian ancestors, whose size took priority over the animal’s health and temperament.

In Australia, the breed was fairly popular around the 1960’s, although it has faded in popularity over time until by the 1990’s there were only two breeding pairs left in this country. Since then a concerted effort has been made to boost the numbers, but these remain relatively small (around 100), and there are no English Toy Terrier clubs in this country.

Active, swift, and athletic, the English Toy Terrier will benefit from one or two daily walks to maintain  mental and physical health. Although their size gives them the appearance of being dainty and frail, they can in fact walk for many kilometres. As an active toy breed they can take care of their own exercise needs fairly well, making them suitable companions for the elderly and less-mobile.

While they enjoy relaxing on the sofa with their owner, they are equally keen to go outside and chase a few balls or run around and play vigorously. They love a challenge and are ideal candidates a variety of dog sports, such as obedience, agility, flyball and even freestyle dancing.

English Toy Terriers  are easy to train and love learning new things, although like other terriers can be easily distracted. They are very intelligent and like to think their way through every situation. They enjoy pleasing their people and are best trained using positive, reward-based methods. They do not respond well to harsh corrections, so keep training sessions fun and filled with plenty of praise for jobs well done.

English Toy Terriers are a low maintenance, ‘wash and wear’ kind of dog. With a short, fine coat that requires little attention, an occasional bath when necessary, with a shampoo formulated for dogs, is all that is necessary to keep them looking and smelling clean.

Between baths, a weekly wipe down with a damp cloth will keep the coat glossy and shining. Regular ear cleaning and nail cutting are also required. They will look forward to grooming sessions as a bonding experience with the human whom they love!