THE BORDER TERRIER’S VOCATION
This same region holds a large concentration of sheep farms which themselves take advantage of the topography and are a means of livelihood and support to a large seg- ment of the population. As in the rest of the UK, the Red Fox is at the top of the food chain and has been hunted as a predator (particularly to lambs) for centuries. Every organized hunt, now as then, responds to “call outs” from farmers who have sustained livestock damage and loss from predatory foxes. Often, the foxes den up in clefts in the rocks found throughout the area. Once put to ground by the pack of hounds, it is up to the terrier to bolt or dispatch the quarry. So, we are not hunting the fox in the fells exclusively for sport, but for necessity. No verdant fields, inviting stone walls, or pre-built fence panels. Packs of English Fox- hounds were bred a bit differently to enable them to climb and travel the fells. No fox dens used by successive generations, and enlarged and remodeled, each now tenant. No opportunity to dig down to your terrier and resolve the situation and rescue the tyke. Instead, the terrier is sent into a dark, hard, cramped, and unforgiving den to complete its task of worrying, bolting, and sometimes dispatching a formidable opponent, a voca- tion that requires a specific set of tools. This same set of circumstances also led to the development of the Patterdale, Fell, and Lakeland Terriers, breeds which share a remark- ably similar DNA but are distinctly different from the Border Terrier. The current AKC Standard for the Border Terrier was not written by huntsmen, but it clearly conveys the attributes absolutely necessary for the breed’s success as a working terrier. (In the vernacular of the original terriermen, the “working terrier” is limited by definition to one whose principal purpose is to enter an animal’s natural den under- ground and worry or dispatch the quarry.) The long-legged terriers, although they may work hard at their own vocation, do not fit that narrow definition.) That same Standard still provides a Scale of Points that attempts to assign a relative value to various parts of the Border Terrier’s conformation, and it does a pretty good job of that. It is only by actually working the dog at its original, singular, unique vocation that you form your own priorities of virtues and faults. The Standard has a Scale of Points (which used to be in many Standards but has disappeared from most) that attempts to value broad areas of conformation. The Scale isn’t wrong! It does not, however, accurately call attention to those qualities that are absolutely essential to the BT in its daily work, whether in the fells of England or the fields of New Jersey.
There are two qualities that should rank uppermost in the minds of any breeder, judge, or hunter. The first of these is, “capable of being spanned by a man’s hands behind the shoulders.” The second is, “Hide very thick and loose fitting.” Both are vital to the dog’s abil- ity to do its work properly, in fact, to survive altogether in its subterranean efforts. The Border Terrier is primarily designed to hunt the Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), and like many terriers, the BT’s conformation some- what resembles that of its quarry. All Red Foxes are easily spannable, most of them with a narrow girth of chest that enables them access to dens and sanctuaries inac- cessible to the majority of their pursuers. By the same token, the foxes have a loose-fitting skin that enables them to seemingly “ooze” through openings as small as two inches by four inches, an ability which again will defeat most pursuers. As Conformation judges, we have an absolute responsibility to confirm the girth of chest through proper spanning (and knowing what to do with the information gained from the process) and “pelting,” both of which are essential to the working Border Terrier’s survival. Neither attribute is men- tioned specifically in the Scale of Points and space does not permit us to deal with it here. While the Standard calls for a BT that is able “to follow a horse,” it is the fell huntsman like the iconic Johnny Richardson with whom the dog needs to keep pace. There are no mounted hunts in the Fell District and both hunt staff and the field ride “shank’s mare.” Terriers are usually brought up to the den where hounds have put their quarry to ground.
left: Despite their prowess in the cement canyons of New York, ratting is not the BT’s primary vocation. Terrierists limit the definition of a true working terrier to one that pursues its quarry into the earth, a task for which the Border Terrier is ideally suited both in conformation and temperament. (R Reynolds photo) right : The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) actually has a rather narrow and very compressible girth around the chest (usually well under 14 inches) that enables it to inhabit dens only slightly larger than the animal itself. This fact is belied by the profuse coat which can produce a robust appearance. Spanning the Border Terrier is absolutely necessary to ensure its ability to pursue its quarry in the close confines of the earth. (R Reynolds photo)
54 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MARCH 2024
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