Of 33 breeds and with ancestors who were a game and hardy lot of tenacious terriers most often used for ratting (hunting vermin), today»s Welsh Terrier is still a keen-eyed sporting breed, game for hardy activity.
Featured in sporting art pieces as far back as the 18th century, the Welsh Terrier hails as a direct descendant of the Black and Tan English Terrier, and today wields many of the same characteristics: it no longer hunts the badger, the fox, or the otter»as it once did and as it was first bred to do»but it retains the eagerness to please, the alertness, and the intelligence of its forefathers and mothers.
Because it has retained the temperament of yore, the Welsh Terrier is best placed in an environment where there is frequent activity and where it can get and give the attention it instinctively needs to get and give. While it is a well-mannered breed»with few behavioral problems»and while it is of a compact size and therefore can fit nearly anywhere, it still needs a well-contained space (where it cannot escape, though it will surely try), to rush and chase about.
So if the Welsh Terrier lives in a smaller city dwelling (or even if it lives in the country in a home with lots of land and space), it needs to expend energy through rigorous daily exercise. The Welsh also needs a fair amount of grooming: it is best to hand-strip the thick, rough, wiry coat of dead hairs which don»t shed but instead will cluster and mat if not attended to. Its coat does not need very much bathing, and in fact can lose the natural oils and textures if bathed too much, so the maintenance is respectively minimal and undemanding, keeping in the heat or keeping the cool by repelling water, showing little of the dirt this pooch loves to dig in, and insulating this warm and friendly breed in most weather conditions.
More autonomous than a lot of breeds, the Welsh Terrier is not a lap dog. Sure, it will take and give a small bit of love, but will not sit still for coddling, pampering, or dressing up in doll clothes. Instead, it prefers to climb, dig, run, and move about»as if it is expressing the drive to hunt and obey as its forerunners did.
So get your sporting gear or put on your running shoes. For the Welsh Terrier, with its rugged 15-inch and 20-pound body, packed with spunk and spirit, will have you chasing to keep up with the breed that was developed to chase to keep up.
