Border Terrier

Description:
The Border terrier is a work dog and is medium sized. Its coat is very wiry and it differs from other terriers because of the shape of its head, which looks like a nutria. A working Border terrier's height is around thirty-three to thirty nine centimeters and the female's height is around twenty-nine to thirty five centimeters. Its bone structure is medium sized although its shoulders are relatively narrow as is the body and hind area. They have a very wiry coat, which is their characteristic, and it is very resistant and very tightly set on their bodies. (However it isn't curly or wavy). The eyes of this dog are considered to have an intelligent look to them and its ears are small and are v shaped. The nose is short and full; the neck is clean and muscular and broadens gradually towards the shoulders. The back of this dog is strong and should not sink behind the shoulders. Its ribs are well back and should not be too rounded; the inferior line of this dog should be pretty straight. The tail is moderately short, thicker at the bottom and thinner at the tip. It has a long femur and its legs should look strong. The color of a Border terrier can be red, grey or fire, the nose is dark and sometimes they have a white spot on their chest. 

Ideal owner:
Border terriers are excellent family dogs. They are unusual dogs and are full of charm and life. Since it is a terrier, it is an exterminator of rats, squirrels etc. if you have a cat in your home, it is safe however other smaller animals might not stand a chance. The owner of a border terrier will need to keep it inside a fenced area that is high enough so that it cannot jump over it or climb over it and the owner will also need to make sure the fence is inside the ground deep enough because these very intelligent fellows will dig underneath it. This dog is extroverted, trustworthy, friendly, sensible and affectionate; they are also very independent and they like making their own decisions. They need to get trained at a young age. It naturally likes to hunt for its meals so taking it out on a walk will be an interesting experience. It does not normally have behavior problems. A lot of owners get two so they can keep each other company.

Growth:
At birth the Border terrier weighs around 280 grams. It grows pretty slowly and it takes around a year and a half for it to reach its full adult size, although some other ones take less. A border terrier should weight around 1 and half kilograms to two and a half kilograms at the age of eight weeks. Its wiry coat should be noticeable to the touch at the age of three months although it goes getting harder as the dog grows and changes its puppy hair. Temperament problems do not usually occur although they need consistent socialization with people and other dogs; this is actually vital so that it does not become introverted and shy. They usually go through a shy stage and when this happens the owner will need to be patient and stimulate it by taking it out to meet other people and dogs. However it will also be necessary for the owner not to stimulate it excessively so that it does not go out of control when it is an adult. The testicles sometimes take awhile to come down and this can take up to six months.

General health:
The Border terrier is a very fun loving dog that has an approximate life span of fifteen years. The right amount of socialization, a lot of exercise, training etc will help this adorable dog to become a happy and well-behaved dog. Besides stripping which is necessary, the Border terrier is pretty easy to care for because of its smaller size and its resistant nature. It has been seen that they sometimes suffer from congenital heart problems, hip dysphasia, and progressive retina atrophy. At birth it will be necessary to get them checked to for heart problems.