The Sealyham Terrier – A Late Start Leads to Amazing Success

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196 – September, 2022

By Amy Fernandez

Quite possibly, the biggest purebred challenge is maintaining quality control. Think about it. Extreme popularity inevitably spawns mass production, etc.–no need to revisit that trauma chain. Then again, the horrors of extreme popularity tend to overshadow the other side of the deal, i.e. all those underrepresented breeds. Without ongoing population viability, the entire process of breed improvement implodes. Some breeds are simply too obscure/exotic/specialized to attract much mainstream support. However, that cultural perception is a problem in itself because, since the very start of this deal, we have seen that the dog biz is very, very fickle.

Many breeds remain unchallenged at that pinnacle of mainstream celebrity for decades. And while everyone is busy resting on their laurels, the unthinkable happens. If you cannot imagine that fate ever happening to the beloved Labrador, just think Fox Terrier. Their slow but steady revival in recent years is the second thing nobody saw coming for that breed.

The roundabout point I’m trying to make is that–good times or bad–every breed relies on a coterie of hardcore, dedicated humans keeping that show on the road. They love the breed. They understand it, and most of all they have the insight to see a way forward when everything derails. So let’s talk about Sealyhams.

In terms of American success, you could say that the Sealy grabbed the tail-end of nineteenth-century Terrier obsession. In that respect, the breed got a very late start in its homeland. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that it had established a standalone identity in Wales by the mid-1800s, it didn’t get its first specialty club until 1908. By then, many British Terriers were ten steps ahead. The Kennel Club granted the first Sealyham CCs two years later. And true to form, AKC admitted the breed shortly thereafter. Also true to form, the first Sealyham recorded in the AKC studbook was owned by August Belmont (who was then AKC president as well as a significant player in Fox Terriers). So far, so good. America’s first Sealyham specialty club was founded in 1913 (guess who was president). At that point, the Sealyham business looked like smooth sailing. The real story was a little different.

Click here to read the complete article
196 – September, 2022

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