AUSTRALIAN TERRIER Ready, Willing & Able! BY HEATHER RIFE, DVM V ery few performance dog owners look at a terrier and think… “That’s my next per- formance dog!” Those of us who are lucky enough to own Australian Terriers know
that these little dogs represent one of the best-kept secrets in the dog world. We are a plucky, tenacious bunch that revels in the joy that comes with sharing our lives with a dog that views every single day as a day to work towards a common goal with its owners. My personal start in Australian Terriers came about when I needed to downsize to a smaller dog. After decades of competing with Doberman Pinchers, I needed a small dog with a larger-than-life personality. I wanted a dog that would be competitive in performance work as well as in the show ring. When my Obedience and Agility friends heard that I was thinking of an Australian Ter- rier, they were aghast, going so far as to schedule and hold an intervention disguised as a dinner party. They recommended a Bichon, Whippet or Papillion. I resisted their efforts. I did my homework and located a terrific breeder 10 states away. I was not disappointed when little “Martha” showed up at my doorstep as, eventually, she became everything I had hoped for in an Aussie.
284 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2023
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