- Preferred: Pepper or mustard. • Pepper: Ranges from dark bluish black to light silvery grey, intermediate shades
- Body colour coming well down shoulder and hips gradually merging into colour of legs and feet which varies according to body colour from rich tan to pale fawn.
- Profuse silvery white « topknot ». • Mustard: Varies from reddish brown to pale fawn.
- Profuse creamy white « topknot », legs and feet of a darker shade than head.
- In both colours feather on forelegs rather lighter than hair on fore part of leg.
- Permissible: Some white hair on chest and white nails
- Undesirable: White feet
- Hair on underside of tail lighter than on upperside which should be darker colour than body
About the Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Origin: Great Britain
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 8-11 kg
- Height
- 20-28 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Terriers
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Dandie Dinmont Terrier?
Small, long, low-bodied terrier with distinctive topknot of silky hair, large soulful eyes, and unique pepper or mustard colored crisp double coat. Originally bred for hunting badgers and otters with a gentle expression despite their tenacious nature.
Dandie Dinmont Terrier history and origins
Developed in the 18th century in the border region between Scotland and England for hunting badgers and otters. Named after a character in Sir Walter Scott's 1815 novel 'Guy Mannering'. Recognized by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1875 and AKC in 1886.
Dandie Dinmont Terrier appearance and size
Typically 8-11 kg and 20-28 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Terrier
- Behaviour and temperament
“Game, workmanlike Terrier. Independent, highly intelligent, determined, persistent, sensitive, affectionate and dignified”
Quoted from FCI standard n°168. 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
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Dandie Dinmont Terrier
What you get with the Dandie Dinmont Terrier
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Terrier”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Game, workmanlike Terrier”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Upper side of tail covered with wiry hair, underside not so wiry with neat feathering of…”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. 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 · Dandie Dinmont Terrier
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred, permissible and undesirable.
Coat
Very important feature of the breed.
Hair should be about 5 cm long.
Double coat with a soft linty undercoat and a harder topcoat, not wiry but giving crisp feel to the hand.
The coat should not « shed » down the back but should lie in pencils caused by the harder hair coming through the softer undercoat.
The forelegs have feather about 5 cm long.
Upper side of tail covered with wiry hair, underside not so wiry with neat feathering of softer hair
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°168 — 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 Dandie Dinmont Terrier in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Dandie Dinmont Terrier
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Dandie Dinmont 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 Dandie Dinmont 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 Dandie Dinmont 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.