Fell Terrier

The fell terrier is a regional type of small, long-legged working terrier from the fell country of northern England. It is a type and not a formal breed: fell terriers may be purebred or crossbred, and they are bred for hunting ability and gameness instead of to a standard of looks.

History

The type was developed for hunting the large fox of the fells, which was blamed for heavy losses among sheep. Joe Bowman, master of the Ullswater hunt and an early Border Terrier breeder, is credited with its original development, working from the best red fell terriers he could find. The dog needed long legs to keep up with hunters through deep snow and a narrow chest to follow a fox into a rocky den. Many other breeders in the region contributed to the bloodlines after him, among them Cyril Breay, Frank Buck, Sid Wilkinson, Brian Nuttall, and Fred and Anthony Barker. Wilkinson’s dog Rock was the most important stud dog of his time.

Fell terriers may go back to a very old kind of long-legged terrier, the rough-coated Black and Tan, which resembled the Welsh Terrier of today.

Several named breeds have grown out of the fell terrier type, including the Border Terrier, Lakeland Terrier, Patterdale Terrier, Scottish Terrier and Welsh Terrier, and any of these may still be called a fell terrier. In Germany the Jagdterrier was developed from fell terrier stock in the 1920s. In the United States, fell terriers have been used on small game for several generations, usually under the name Patterdale terrier. Two organizations, the National Terriers Club and American Fell Terrier International, have published a fell terrier standard.

Appearance

Fell terriers are small, usually 4.5 to 6.8 kg (10 to 15 lb), with long legs and a narrow chest that lets them fit into the tunnels of the animals they hunt. The coat is rough in texture and often red or black. The tail is traditionally docked, though this is not required in the United States. Because early dogs were crossed with other hunting terriers, looks have always varied.

Temperament

These are working dogs, valued for gameness. They hunt alone or in packs. In a fox hunt the terrier follows the fox into its den, where it kills the fox, drives it out, or holds it in place until the terrierman digs down to them.

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