National Dog Show Rat Terrier: Everything You Need to Know

The Rat Terrier is a small to medium-sized dog breed that originated in the United States.

This breed is known for its friendly and outgoing personality, making it a great companion for families and individuals alike.

Rat Terriers are highly intelligent and trainable, which is why they excel in dog sports and agility training.

They come in a variety of colors and patterns, including solid, bi-color, and tri-color, and have a short, smooth coat that requires minimal grooming.

With proper care and attention, Rat Terriers can live up to 15 years or more, making them a long-term companion for many dog owners.

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The Rat Terrier is a cheerful and sensitive breed, known for its calm demeanor and love of lap time. They're intelligent, active, and fun-loving, making them great companions.

Rat Terriers are prone to separation anxiety, so it's essential to provide plenty of socialization, early crate training, and practice being alone in a crate or dog-proofed room. They can become bored and destructive if left alone for too long.

Here are some key characteristics of the Rat Terrier breed:

Overall, the Rat Terrier is a loyal and loving companion that thrives on attention and interaction with their family.

The Rat Terrier's appearance is quite unique. They range from 10 to 25 pounds and stand 10 to 18 inches at the shoulder.

Their size can vary, with a miniature size of 13 inches or under becoming increasingly popular as a house pet. However, this miniature size is still a hunting dog.

A larger strain, known as the Decker or Decker Giant, has been developed, weighing in excess of 25 pounds. This larger variety is recognized by the National Rat Terrier Association.

Rat Terriers come in a variety of coat colors, including black tan point with piebald spotting, chocolate, tan, blue, isabella, lemon, and apricot. They may be tricolor or bicolor, always with some amount of white present.

Their ear carriage is erect, tipped, or button, giving them an intelligent and alert expression. Some breeders prefer a natural, undocked tail, which is accepted in the breed standards.

Their tail can be docked to about 2-3 inches, but many Rat Terriers are born with a bobtail gene, resulting in a variety of tail lengths.

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The Rat Terrier's temperament is a unique blend of cheerfulness and sensitivity, making them a delightful companion for the right owner. They're generally calm and enjoy lap time, but also have a strong terrier personality that's always up for an adventure.

Rat Terriers are highly trainable, but they do require early socialization to a wide variety of people and places, especially during the first three months of life. This will help them develop good manners and a confident personality.

These dogs thrive on mental stimulation and exercise, and can become bored and destructive if left alone for too long. They need plenty of training and exercise, plus a dog-proofed home, to keep them out of trouble.

Rat Terriers are loyal to their owners and respectful if they receive proper training at a young age. They're generally friendly toward other dogs, but may not back down from a fight if provoked.

With the right amount of attention and care, Rat Terriers can be a super therapy dog and excel at dog sports like agility, flyball, and rally. They're also relatively low maintenance when it comes to grooming, requiring only a quick weekly brushing to remove dead hairs.

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This breed comes in two sizes: Miniature and Standard.

The height of a Miniature breed is between 10 to 13 inches at the shoulder, while the Standard breed is between 13 to 18 inches.

Their weight range is relatively wide, from 8 to 25 pounds.

You can expect them to be a decent size, but not too big or too small.

Here's a quick size comparison:

The Rat Terrier is a cheerful and sensitive breed, known for their terrier personality, but with a calmer tone than some other terrier breeds. They enjoy lap time with their people and are always willing to share their opinion.

They are smart and active, making them a great companion, but also prone to boredom and destructive behavior when left alone. This means they need plenty of socialization, early crate training, and practice being alone in a crate or dog-proofed room.

Rat Terriers are generally not yappy, but if they don't receive enough attention, they can become nuisance barkers. They're generally friendly towards other dogs, but won't back down from a fight.

Here are some key characteristics of the Rat Terrier breed:

They're adaptable to many types of homes, but their high activity level and potentially noisy nature make them a better fit for families with older children and people who can spend a significant amount of time with them daily.

The Rat Terrier is a hardy breed, but it's essential to be aware of potential health issues. Regular outcrossings throughout its history have made the breed resilient, but with its growing popularity, some problems are becoming more common.

The Canine Health Information Center recommends testing Rat Terriers for patellar luxation, cardiac abnormalities, pancreatic issues, hip dysplasia, and Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome. The average lifespan of a well-bred Rat Terrier is 16–19 years, which is a testament to the breed's overall health.

With proper care, Rat Terriers can live long, happy lives.

The average lifespan of a well-bred Rat Terrier is 16-19 years, which is a testament to their hardy nature due to regular outcrossings throughout their history.

Rat Terriers are generally a very hardy breed, but some issues are becoming more common with their growth in popularity.

The Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) recommends that Rat Terriers be tested for patellar luxation, cardiac abnormalities, pancreatic issues, hip dysplasia, and Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome to ensure their health.

Regular testing for these potential issues can help prevent or catch problems early on, giving your Rat Terrier the best chance at a long and healthy life.

Rat Terriers have short, easy-care coats that require weekly or more frequent brushing with a soft bristle brush or rubber curry brush.

Regular brushing will help reduce loose hair floating around your house. The more often you brush, the less hair you'll have to deal with.

Rat Terriers shed moderately year-round, with a heavier shedding season in the spring and fall.

An occasional bath is all your Rattie needs to stay clean.

The Rat Terrier breed has a rich history that spans centuries. The earliest-known record of a rat-catching dog is that of "Hatch", whose remains were recovered from the Mary Rose, the flagship of Henry VIII, sunk in 1545 and re-raised in 1982.

The breed name comes from its occupation as a rat-baiting dog, but its ancestors were bred for speed, which they use for controlling vermin and hunting small game like squirrels and hares.

Rat Terriers were cherished as loyal hunting companions and efficient killers of vermin on 20th-century American farms, making them one of the most popular dog types from the 1920s to the 1940s.

However, the breed's popularity declined from the 1950s onward due to the widespread use of chemical pesticides and the growth of commercial farming.

Here's a brief timeline of the breed's recognition:

The Rat Terrier Club of America is the official breed parent club for the American Kennel Club (AKC), and the National Rat Terrier Association is the largest independent registry, maintaining lineage records for decades.

The breed's genetic diversity has contributed to its overall health, keen intelligence, and soundness, making it a popular choice for service dogs in hospice, treatment for depression, and other human-care jobs.

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