Rat Terrier an Overview BY DARICE RAGAN The
AN AMERICAN ORIGINAL The Rat Terrier is an American breed. Early 19th century immigrants originated the breed from a mixture of crosses; Smooth Fox Terri- ers, Old English White Terriers, Bull Terriers, and Manchester Terriers. Later, Chihuahuas, Toy Fox Terriers, and available Feist breeds were added to the cross. During the 1910s and ‘20s, most farmers owned a Rat Terrier. Rabbits were plaguing crops in the Midwest, so farmers began breed- ing Rat Terriers to Whippets and Italian Grey- hounds for “speed.” Farmers in the Central and Southern regions bred their Rat Terriers to Beagles to bring out a stronger prey drive, and this gave the Rat Terrier breed the “nose,” as well as the good disposition, they are known for today. Bred primarily for protection against vermin on the farm or ranch, and not as an earth dog, the Rat Terrier will follow most quarry to ground but is more suited to trailing, flushing, treeing game, and hunting rabbits and vermin. One Rat Terrier is reported to have killed over 2,500 rats in a span of only seven hours in a rat-infested barn. The Rat Terrier is a hard- working farm-hand, able to rid an infested barn of vermin with no problem. The Rat Terrier is not a sparring breed.
“Bred primarily for protection against vermin on the farm or ranch, and not as an earth dog, the Rat Terrier will follow most quarry to ground but is more suited to trailing, flushing, treeing game, and hunting rabbits and vermin.”
256 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2024
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