Thread: Patterdale Terriers || Information and Where to Find One?

Hi my name is Sarah. Im a part time vet nurse and dog groomer and looking for a dog for me and my partner. Well I came across a patterdale terrier at work acouple of months ago. Absulotly fell inlove with it and the breed straight away. And have been doing research on it ever since. Now iv been really thinking of getting one as I believe it would fit your active lifestyle quite well. My problem was that I have never been able to find a listed australian breeded and have only found 2 cross breds on like trading post.

So im kinda new with the whole buying dogs (mind you have been buying and selling horses my life so far I would have guessed its not all that different)

So would any one would like to suply me with some breeders I can get incontact with and maybe even some more information about the breed. Thanks =]

ohhh I didnt think there were any in australia... at least as far as I know they are not yet recognised by the ANKC you could try to contact them they will know if they are in the country... of course there could be some not yet recognised.... they are a lovely dog, but really take a lot of work to keep one as a pet.... they are pretty head strong from my understanding...

Did a google search and came up with a few in Australia, so they must be here... I'd make sure you do a lot of research into your lines... they are a very temperament head strong little dog, who thinks they can take on the world...


The Patterdale Terrier is native to the Lake District of Cumbria in Northwest England. The name Patterdale refers to a village a little south of Ullswater and a few miles east of Helvellyn.

Appearance
According to breed standards, they stand between 25,5 cm (10 inches) and 38 cm (15 inches) at the withers and weighs between 4,5 kg (10 pounds) and 11 kg (24 pounds). The size depends on the quarry. In Great Britain, all sizes are in use, depending on the terrain and the quarry. Quarry here is mostly fox. In the eastern United States, smaller is preferred and 30 cm (12 inches) tall and 5.5 kg (12 pounds) is considered the maximum usable size for groundhogs (aka woodchucks). However, larger (9 - 12 kg) is preferred when hunting raccoons in excess of 13 kg (29 pounds).

95% of the breed is black, but bronze (black that shines brown in sunlight), grizzle, chocolate, red, liver (with red nose)and black-and-tan are also acceptable. White feet and white chest markings appear in all coat colours. Coats are smooth, rough, or broken-coated. However, this breed is rarely shown and breeders are more concerned with the practicality of the breed than with outward appearances. Practicality means strong neck, jaws, and teeth; staying power at bay; ability to squeeze into tight burrows; durability and endurance; and peaceful with humans, livestock, and other dogs.

Temperament
Most Patterdale puppies are bold and confident beyond their capabilities, and therefore are never, or briefly, entered to rats as they soon lose all caution when confronted with quarry of any size. Many a bold pup has lost his life in a raccoon den while on a casual walk-in-the-woods in the States. They have great stamina and can work quarry all day, or play all day with the kids. Yet, indoors they are relaxed and quiet. They have been exported abroad notably to the States where they appear to be used primarily as hunting dogs.

An excellent book about the origin of the breed and fell terriers in general is The Fell Terrier by D. Brian Plummer from The Boydell Press. Plummer goes into depth describing the land and the people that shaped the big dog in the small package currently called the Patterdale Terrier.

History
The Patterdale Terrier of modern times refers to the mainly black smooth coated fell terrier first popularized by Cyril Breay from Kirkby Lonsdale and Frank Buck from Leyburn in Yorkshire during the early part of the 1950s. At that time, any "typey" fell terrier being shown in the Lake District was called a Lakeland Terrier, or simply called a coloured terrier, whether or not they were from Ullswater county. In the early 1960s, Brian Nuttall of Holmes Chapel began breeding dogs that he acquired from his grandfather and from Breay and Buck blood lines. These dogs were carefully linebred. Nuttall blood lines are still considered to be of the highest quality and adds a bit to the price of a puppy. The modern Patterdale Terrier is to fell terriers, what the Jack Russell Terrier is to hunt terriers?the indisputable leader in numbers and performance as a breed.

They were developed in the harsh environment in the north of England that is unable to sustain agriculture and too hilly in the main for cattle. Sheep farming is the dominant farming activity on these hills. Foxes being perceived by farmers to be predatory on sheep and small farm animals, terriers are used for predator control. Unlike the hunt terriers to the south, typified by the Jack Russell terriers of today, which are bred to bolt a fox to continue the chase, or to bay the fox until the fox can be dug to, these fell terriers were bred to bolt the fox or dispatch it, if it chooses to fight. Where much of the "earths" in south of England are an easy dig, much of the north of England includes "earths" too rocky and/or too deep to dig. The fell terriers that survived to pass on their genes, have created a truly "tough as nails" dog.

Some puppies are allowed to chase rabbits, but most tire of chasing any quarry that won't turn and fight.

Predator kennels in sydney have pure patts, they breed pure gould and gould X nuttle line dogs.

They arnt a generic little dog you know, think of them as like a gamebred APBT with the drive to match. you should really research the breed for a while, they can be a handfull if not managed corectly.

Yeah I have done all my research and I think I have my experiance worth. Iv had a beagle before which I trained up for obediance classes. I also help with training at my local obediance club.

Yet then again im still looking around for the right breed for me and my partner.

Originally Posted by sezzaleerose

Hi my name is Sarah. Im a part time vet nurse and dog groomer and looking for a dog for me and my partner. Well I came across a patterdale terrier at work acouple of months ago. Absulotly fell inlove with it and the breed straight away. And have been doing research on it ever since. Now iv been really thinking of getting one as I believe it would fit your active lifestyle quite well. My problem was that I have never been able to find a listed australian breeded and have only found 2 cross breds on like trading post.

So im kinda new with the whole buying dogs (mind you have been buying and selling horses my life so far I would have guessed its not all that different)

So would any one would like to suply me with some breeders I can get incontact with and maybe even some more information about the breed. Thanks =]

Hi Sarah,
A few of my family members have pure breed patterdale terriers, although designed for hunting they make ideal family pets. I have one myself but need to find him a new home as i'm going away and can no longer keep him.
He's a full grown pure breed patterdale male terrier who's black wire coated and very friendly. Feel free to email me if your intersted

I am very much want to buy a Patterdale Terrier. I fell in love with my sister in law's Patterdale whilst we were in the UK... unfortunately didn't have enough room in the backpack to smuggle him home!! and now I have my heart on buying on here in Australia. I do realise that they can be more than a handful, but we have a labrador that is just as much as a handful and we know that Patterdales' make great little companions of other dogs. So if anyone can steer me in the right direction of a breeder either in Victoria or NSW. That would be fantastic. Julie

Originally Posted by sezzaleerose

Hi my name is Sarah. Im a part time vet nurse and dog groomer and looking for a dog for me and my partner. Well I came across a patterdale terrier at work acouple of months ago. Absulotly fell inlove with it and the breed straight away. And have been doing research on it ever since. Now iv been really thinking of getting one as I believe it would fit your active lifestyle quite well. My problem was that I have never been able to find a listed australian breeded and have only found 2 cross breds on like trading post.

So im kinda new with the whole buying dogs (mind you have been buying and selling horses my life so far I would have guessed its not all that different)

So would any one would like to suply me with some breeders I can get incontact with and maybe even some more information about the breed. Thanks =]

did youfind any breeders in australia? my family are interested in them

Is thread for real or what ?

Originally Posted by sezzaleerose

Hi my name is Sarah. Im a part time vet nurse and dog groomer and looking for a dog for me and my partner. Well I came across a patterdale terrier at work acouple of months ago. Absulotly fell inlove with it and the breed straight away. And have been doing research on it ever since. Now iv been really thinking of getting one as I believe it would fit your active lifestyle quite well. My problem was that I have never been able to find a listed australian breeded and have only found 2 cross breds on like trading post.

So im kinda new with the whole buying dogs (mind you have been buying and selling horses my life so far I would have guessed its not all that different)

So would any one would like to suply me with some breeders I can get incontact with and maybe even some more information about the breed. Thanks =]

The patterdale terrier has been in Australia since 1994 when the first one ( paige) was imported in pup to Portland Victoria. Soon after a dog (lou)was imported and most of the patterdales in Australia descend from these two dogs and the resulting pups paige had in quarantine. Pure patterdale terriers are very rare in Australia as they are first and foremost a hunting only breed and many have been crossed with mini foxies, borders and australian den dogs to take the strong hunting instinct out of them and to make them more dog friendly. There are a couple of other strains that were imported later on and they are based in sydney. They are not a registered breed and you can count the number of breeders of pure blood in Australia on one hand. The majority of these pure types are within 1 hour of melbourne.