- Red, wheaten, grizzle and tan, or blue and tan
About the Border Terrier
Origin: Great Britain
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 6-7 kg
- Female
- 5-6.5 kg
- Height
- Male
- 33-41 cm
- Female
- 28-36 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Terriers
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Border Terrier?
Small, sturdy working terrier with weather-resistant wiry coat and distinctive otter-like head, bred for fox hunting with a plucky and affectionate nature
Border Terrier history and origins
Developed in the 18th century in the Cheviot Hills along the English-Scottish border by farmers and shepherds to hunt fox alongside foxhounds. Needed to be small enough to follow quarry into dens and burrows but tough enough to keep up with horses and work independently.
Border Terrier appearance and size
Males typically weigh 6-7 kg and stand 33-41 cm at the shoulder; females 5-6.5 kg and 28-36 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Terrier
- Behaviour and temperament
“Combining activity with gameness”
Quoted from FCI standard n°10. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Terrier” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Border Terrier
What you get with the Border Terrier
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Terrier”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Combining activity with gameness”
- Longer-lived than a crossbred dog — median 14.2 years across 9252 animals, against 12
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; McMillan et al. 2024, median age at death. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Border Terrier
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Harsh and dense
with close undercoat
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°10 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Border Terrier in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Border Terrier
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Border Terrier on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Border Terrier owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Border Terrier breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.