Breed Priorities – The Border Terrier

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114 – March, 2025

By Nikki Riggsbee

Developed along the Scotland/England border, the Border Terrier is a functional working terrier. Their job was to catch and kill the fox and other vermin in the area that preyed on local sheep. The Border Terrier had to have legs long enough to fol-low the foxhounds and horses. They needed to be small enough to dig and go to ground after the fox. They had the temperament that let them get along with the hounds. They needed a coat that would protect them from the rough terrain and harsh weather. Their breed standard focuses on the features that support these functions. Unique to the breed is its characteristic “otter” head.

Twenty-five Border Terrier experts were invited to complete a survey to identify the priorities on which the breed is evaluated in conformation competition. Almost all of those invited were AKC judges. Twenty-two of the group agreed to participate. Fourteen sur-veys were returned, which is almost sixty percent of the original list. The participants averaged almost thirty-five years in the breed and over seventeen years judging it. Three-quarters had judged the nati-onal specialty and other Border Terrier specialty shows.

Border Terrier Virtues

The survey included two lists, one of faults and one of virtues. Below is the list of Border Terrier virtues in sequence by the average of the experts’ ranks, from most important to least important.

1. “Otter” head

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114 – March, 2025

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