The Fox Terrier

The original strains of Fox Terriers were based on what were called White Terriers, which now are extinct. Many hunt kennels in Great Britain kept their own strains of terriers to work with their hounds. The hounds would give the fox chase, and the mounted staff and hunters would follow to observe and hear the hounds sing. Of course, chasing foxes with a pack of hounds and many riders is hardly an efficient method of fox control. It is more a country tradition and an active outing—part of the rich history of humans and hunting.

The hounds were always the aristocrats, and the terriers were the hunting partners of the hounds. Pedigrees were carefully kept on hounds, but many terriers were simply the product of one good working dog bred to another for the job of dislodging a fox the hounds had chased to ground. When the fox was chased into an earthen den, the hounds and field of riders were moved back by the Master of Foxhounds so the terrier could enter the deep underground passage.

Sometimes a staff member would carry a terrier in a pouch on horseback so the terrier would be handy the minute she was needed to enter the earth for the foxhunters. The terrier willingly
entered, and her intrusive presence below ground would give the fox the idea to move on and the chase could continue. The dog was not bred to do the fox harm. The fox is a formidable opponent, larger and more at home in the earth. The Fox Terrier therefore had to be a strong, spirited dog to encourage the earth dweller to bolt and continue the chase. Although smaller than the fox, the terriers often knew the landscape and where the dens were. They could listen and figure out which den the fox might duck into and be there before the hounds by taking shortcuts. The intelligence of the terrier has always been notable when applied to hunting.

The Fox Terrier in the Show Ring
The popularity of the terriers reached its zenith in the late nineteenth century, and Fox Terriers were accepted as an English Kennel Club breed. Popular fashion tends to require change, and it was not long before the Fox Terrier was caught up in the whims of the show ring.

The breed developed an upright scapula (shoulder blade), a deepened chest, and a lengthened, narrowed head. In the show ring a smooth coat was favored over the less popular but more protective wiry-haired coat (rough or broken coat). The show ring’s Fox Terrier was no longer at all like the working terriers in the hunt kennels. With its redesigned structure, it could not enter shallow earth even if the instinct to do so remained.

Russell himself was a member of England’s Kennel Club (he was one of the original founders in 1873, and judged Fox Terriers at the first sanctioned show in 1874), but he did not exhibit his own dogs. Apparently disapproving of the changes in the terriers, he stated: “True terriers they were, but differing from the
present show dogs as the wild eglantine differs from a garden rose.”

The Working Terrier
As the popular Fox Terrier went to the shows, John Russell and other working terrier men went into the fields and followed hounds in pursuit of quarry. Many a man lacking wealth or a fine horse would nevertheless keep a few terriers to hunt when they were not hard at work. The ability of a good working dog to afford a man some sport locating fox or badger meant more than any pedigree. With the limited transportation available in those days, the terriers were rather closely bred. The best local working dogs were bred to local bitches, and definite types began to develop region by region, with size and temperament suitable to the area. All of these types were called “hunt” or “fox” terriers.

These working terriers have also been residents of stables for many years. Many are very adept at hunting vermin. The characteristics of gameness, hardiness, and intelligence have shaped this dog to several jobs over the years. Sometimes other breeds were crossed for the necessities of the work or terrain the terrier was applied to. But always the dog had to remain a small dog able to enter an earthen den and game enough to want to. The Jack Russell Terrier remained at work, and the show ring terrier became known as the Fox Terrier.