The Australian Terrier is a compact, pretty dog with a friendly, cheerful disposition. It will be a great companion for active people who love long walks. But before deciding on such a crucial step as buying a dog, you need to learn more about the features of the breed you like. Today’s publication will help you with this.
Historical reference
The Australian Terrier was bred in the 19th century. Unfortunately, to this day, complete information about the ancestors of these animals has not been preserved. But it is possible that they were obtained by crossing Yorkshire and English Terriers. According to some reports, breeders rushed blood of several more breeds.
During their development, these dogs changed their appearance several times. Initially, they resembled cores and Yorks, later they became similar to scotch tape and after some time they acquired their own unique appearance.
In 1898, the first club of representatives of this breed was organized in Melbourne. In addition, it included Yorkshire and Australian Silky Terriers. Later, two new ones were created on the basis of this organization.
The official standard was approved only in 1921. And twelve years later, it was recognized by English dog handlers. Today it is a completely independent breed, which is very popular among Australian, British and American dog breeders. The most famous nurseries that breed these animals are in their historical homeland.
Breed description
The Australian Terrier is a small, well-built, squat dog of moderate length. The height of the adult is 23-28 cm and weighs 6-8 kg. On a strong, elongated head with powerful jaws, a flat cranial part and a convex forehead there are oval brown eyes and small, erect, slightly pointed ears.
Under a fairly strong body with a deep chest, convex ribs and a strong top line, there are straight short limbs. The powerful neck smoothly passes to the oblique shoulder blades, the straight back and the powerful lower back. A high-set tail is stopped in puppyhood, leaving a little less than half the original length.
The whole body of the dog is covered with thick, straight, stiff hair. On the body, its length reaches six centimeters. There is shorter hair on the face and limbs. As for the color, the standard allows a pure fawn, red or black and silver shade. In the latter case, there should be a saturated tan on the ears, front of the head and lower body. White spots on the paws or chest area are considered defective. Such animals are not allowed to participate in exhibitions and are not used in breeding.
Australian Terrier Character
These small dogs are energetic and friendly. They are very affectionate and confident. However, they are inherent in some aggressiveness, characteristic of all representatives of hunting breeds. They are quite independent, stubborn and selfish. In addition, these miniature doggies get along badly on the same territory with other dogs.
Despite the fact that they love the attention of man, they have a natural tendency to vagrancy. Therefore, on a walk, it is undesirable to let go of the leash. They always remain vigilant and love to bark. The small size does not prevent them from being wary of strangers and being good watchmen.
Training and training
Australian terriers are dogs that require early socialization and strict upbringing. Since they are stubborn enough, inexperienced owners often grow intolerable and completely uncontrollable animals. Therefore, representatives of this breed is undesirable to start as the first dog.
From an early age, the dog must clearly learn the command “to me”, otherwise it will be difficult to catch. To learn to understand your pet, you can try to deal with him mini-agility. Such training will be useful for both the dog and the owner himself. It should also be understood that representatives of this breed are almost impossible to wean chasing cats. This behavioral characteristic is due to a pronounced hunting instinct.
Maintenance and care
These animals perfectly adapt to the rhythm of life of their owners. They easily adapt to any conditions of detention. The Australian Terrier will be equally comfortable in a large private house, and in a small city apartment. But in that, and in another case, he needs to ensure regular physical activity. This miniature, but very active dog is not enough ten-minute walk in the yard. She often needs to be taken to a park or forest, so that she has the opportunity to run around and throw out the accumulated energy. In the absence of regular long walks, the dog can begin to do dirty tricks.
As for care, it comes down to systematic combing with a stiff brush, regular wiping of the auricles and cutting of claws. In addition, do not neglect routine vaccination and treatment of external and internal parasites.
Feeding recommendations
The Australian Terrier is a fairly unpretentious dog. But, despite this, he needs to provide proper and well-balanced nutrition. You can feed such a dog with both industrial and natural food. In the first case, it is recommended to give preference to products from trusted manufacturers, which do not contain corn, wheat and artificial preservatives.
Those who decide to feed their dog natural food should remember that meat is the basis of their diet. A couple of times a week it can be replaced with low-fat marine fish and offal. Fruits, vegetables, eggs, cottage cheese and kefir also play an important role in the dog menu. It is strictly forbidden to treat the animal with spicy, fried, sweet or smoked food. Do not offer your pet tubular bones, river fish, legumes, potatoes, citrus fruits and chocolate.
Health and Life Expectancy
Australian terriers have virtually no genetic diseases. They differ in extremely good health. But, like any other creature, their body sometimes malfunctions. One of the most common problems that occur in representatives of this breed is dysplasia of the elbow or hip joints. Therefore, before buying a puppy, you need to carefully study its pedigree and find out if any of his ancestors had such a disease.
In addition, this breed is sometimes diagnosed with a dislocation of the patella, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, diseases of the eyes, skin and thyroid gland. As for life expectancy, on average it is about fifteen years.
Silky Terrier
This breed was bred on the basis of Australians, Yorks and cores. It is possible that Norwich and sky-terriers took part in its creation. These small dogs are distinguished by a strong and dense physique. The height of the adult is 22-26 cm, and the weight does not exceed 7 kg. In general, they are very similar to the Australians. They have the same clever and penetrating look, cropped tail and small erect ears. The main difference is that the entire body of the Australian silky terrier is covered with long and thin coat of sand, red or blue-fawn. Its length is usually about 16 cm.
Silky terriers are friendly and energetic dogs that do not tolerate rough treatment. They are very devoted to their owner and members of his family. It is also important that these miniature beauties get along well with other pets and do not show aggression to cats.