fox terrier

fox terrier

fox terrier, breed of long-legged terrier developed over several centuries in England. There are two varieties, the smooth and the wirehaired. The coat of the former is dense, short, and flat, while that of the latter is longer, harsh, and wiry. The color in both varieties is white with black or black-and-tan markings. The fox terrier stands about 15 in. (38.1 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 15 to 19 lb (6.8–8.6 kg). Although the wirehaired is the older variety—some authorities trace its ancestry to the mid-17th cent.—the smooth was the first to be exhibited in the show ring. Both were perfected in the 19th cent. Widely bred to hunt foxes, the fox terrier is a very popular family companion and pet. See dog.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Fox Terrier

 

a breed of hunting dog developed in Great Britain. The fox terrier, sturdily built and with a square trunk, measures 35–40 cm in height. There are two varieties: the wirehaired and the smooth-haired. The coat is wiry and somewhat curly and broken in wirehaireds and stiff, straight, and short in smooth-haireds. Wirehaireds have brushlike whiskers on the underjaw and the sides of the muzzle, which give the head a rectangular form; the front extremities are covered with a stiff, curling coat that gives them a column-like appearance.

The tail in both varieties is cropped to one-third its length. The coloring is white with black, tan, and gray spots. The dogs have a strong hunting instinct. The fox terrier, one of the dogs most commonly used to hunt burrowing animals, is bred in many countries, including the USSR.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.