A Vintage Year

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226 – June, 2022

By Amy Fernandez

A lifetime in the dog biz imparts an interesting perspective on lots of stuff. Among the most fascinating phenomena I’ve witnessed is the rise and fall of various breeds. It’s impossible to bottle any predictive cues to spot these trends. They’re shaped by so many random and varying circumstances, which rarely stand out as a proximate cause to explain anything. What I’m trying to say is that it’s virtually impossible to tick those boxes until a breed is actually peaking (up or down).

For example, 1966 was truly a vintage year for the Wire Fox Terrier. After ruling the dog game for over 70 years, the breed took a serious nosedive. The headline reasons were traceable to the Great Depression and World War II, but there were plenty of others. The upshot was that most of the fabulous kennels responsible for that domination abruptly disappeared.

But something was cooking below the radar. It wasn’t obvious, but against all odds Wires began gaining traction as the post-war sport revitalized. By then, many experts confidently predicted the demise of a breed that had run its course. The Wire was simply too complicated and old-fashioned to remain competitive.

But you know the thing about Terriers, they are tenacious. Also, nothing looks dumber than overconfident “expert” pronouncements. If they’d bothered looking a little closer, they might have noticed the unbelievable quality and talent coalescing in the breed. It emerged throughout the country, turning the ‘60s into an unprecedented hotbed of Wire Fox Terrier quality.

Click here to read the complete article
226 – June, 2022

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