Sealyham Terrier Breed Origins and Caracteristics
Description:
First and foremost the Sealyham terrier must look perfectly balanced, this is on terrier that is very determined and has extraordinary body substance. Its height is around thirty-one centimeters from the wichers and the males weigh around nine kilograms and the females around eight and a half. The head is long, wide and strong looking, and should have a nice balance to them; it shouldn't look rough. The skull should be slightly arched and wide between the ears and have a moderate stop. The cheekbones should not be prominent; the nose should be black. The ears are dark, round, and deep and should have a medium size to them. The thin ears should fold on the superior part of the skull and should be rounded on the tips; they should not have a leathery texture to them. The neck of this dog should have a good length and should be muscular and well placed on the dog's shoulders, oblique but not too muscular. The front legs should look strong and have good bone structure. The chest should descend well; its legs should not be too short nor should they be bent or curved and the elbows should not look open. The hind legs are very important for the size of the dog and should not be as long as the front legs. The hocks should be well angled and parallel. This dog's body in general should look strong and compact; the top line of its body should be straight. Its outer coat should be long and wiry; the inner coat should be resistant to all types of weather conditions. The color of this dog's coat should be all white or white with some lime colored spots, auburn, or reddish on the head and ears. Black spots or an excess amount of spots are undesired.
Ideal owner:
Both energetic and loyal, the Sealyham terrier is an ideal play companion for kids as it is a great guard dog and a competent worker. This dog was bred for hard work such as catching badgers, foxes, and other pests. Sealyham terriers have a very strong hunting instinct and they love digging in the ground therefore this factor needs to be adequately canalized. The dog is very elegant and it is very easy to see it at a dog show chasing after badgers. Its high level of energy might be too much for an older person to deal with.
Growth:
At around eight weeks this dog should weigh around two and a half to three and a half kilograms. The tail is docked until a third or in the middle during the first week of life. It reaches its full height at around eight months of age; however full maturity is reached when it is between twelve and eighteen months of age. The future owner will need to pick out a puppy that has a solid white body and does not have spots on it (if you are only intending to use it as a companion dog then some spots are alright), its eyelids should be dark, its eyes should be oval shaped and should be dark brown, its back should be somewhat longish. The head should look a little too big for the body; the legs should be straight; and the tail should carried high. The coat is straight at eight weeks of age, but should not feel woolly. This dog changes its coat when it is around four or five months old and this usually coincides when it is teething. Getting its coat stripped helps to facilitate the whole coat changing process. The color of its coat might become lighter during the change of coat especially if the hair is cut. At adolescence this dog might be a big of a messy eater and it requires of a lot of exercise. When it is around eighteen months old it might show some aggression towards other dogs, but this will go away if it is trained correctly.
General health:
The biggest health concerns in this breed for breeders are its eyes, skin and coat. Retina dysphasia, which is evident at birth sometimes, occurs in this breed. Congenital retina dysphasia, which is usually followed by cataracts, will usually end up making the dog go completely blind. There have been cases of glaucoma and it has been shown that this is the cause of loosening of the retina. Most of the skin and coat problems that occur are allergy related. It is very important to detect these problems as soon as possible; these problems can be prevented by obtaining a dog that has come from a good lineage and to make sure of course, that the dog is getting a healthy diet and that its coat is taken care of. The amount of care that must go into this dog's coat is considerable and it must be done professionally. The owner will need to commit to dedicating at least one hour every week to keeping it abundant coat brushed. Remember that this is a very active dog and cannot be considered a cute little house decoration, to the contrary this dog needs a lot of exercise and play time. The owner will need to keep an eye on any back lesions since although it does not occur often, this breed is short and has a long back which facilitates these types of lesions. The life span of the Sealyham terrier is around twelve years or more.
