About Rat Terriers

The Rat Terrier is an American original with a breed name said to be coined by Teddy Roosevelt.

They are a compact, tough, smooth-coated exterminator dog. The breed comes in two size varieties and are happy-go-lucky, playful, and portable companions.

Balanced, compactly built Rat Terriers are tough but elegant-looking. There are two size divisions: Miniatures stand 10 to 13 inches at the shoulder; standards are over 13 inches and as high as 18 inches.

Their smooth, shiny coat comes in varieties of pied patterns. (Pied, a word borrowed from the horseman’s lexicon, means “comparatively large patches of one or more colours in combination with white.”) These smoothly muscled exterminators are constructed for the efficient movement required for a long day’s work.

Exterminators

Rat Terriers originated to dispatch vermin. Preservation breeders believe that maintaining hunt drive is an important task in our breeding programs. Good news is that hunting instinct varies from each Rat Terrier from moderate to intense. If you are looking at adding a Rat Terrier to your family, make sure you consider this attribute of the breed and talk with the breeder about how they evaluate hunt drive.

Scroll through the photos to see Rat Terriers at work.

Family Companions

Something that sets Rat Terriers apart from their terrier cousins is that they do have an "off switch" and they are good natured with other dogs when socialized well.

They are also great family companions, and it is true "It's hard to have just one in your life", so you have been warned :).

Sport Dogs

Rat Terriers are very athletic dogs who excel in dog sports.

You can find Rat Terriers across Canada participating in Conformation events and performance events such as Agility, Scent Detection, Sprinters, Obedience, Rally-Obedience, NASDA sports, Dock Diving and Barn Hunt to name a few sports.

Enjoy the photos of our beloved companions enjoying various sporting events.