Tenterfield Terrier

Small ratting terriers came to Australia aboard the ships of the first European settlers, where the smallest of them had been chosen to keep rodents down on the voyage. Once ashore they spread across the country as pest controllers and family dogs, small enough to follow vermin into a burrow and agile enough to jump up onto a horse behind their owner.

By the late nineteenth century the type was well established in rural Australia under the name mini foxie. The National Tenterfield Terrier Council of Australia records that the name was a problem, because it implied a miniaturised Smooth Fox Terrier, which the breed is not. A ballot in 1992 settled on Tenterfield Terrier by an eighty-five per cent majority.

The name honours George Woolnough, the saddler of Tenterfield in New South Wales, who was known throughout the district for his terriers and who was later made famous by his grandson Peter Allen in song. The breed club was formed in 1993 and Dogs Australia recognised the breed in 2002.

The breed is registered by Dogs Australia.

What the standard asks for

“The Tenterfield Terrier is a strong, active, agile working terrier of great versatility and of pleasing proportion.”
— Dogs Australia breed standard

Temperament: Confident, with an eagerness to learn, showing great loyalty to its owner and although fearless and bold at work, he is an ideal companion dog in the home.

Size, standard by standard

• Dogs Australia — height 25.5-30.5 cm

Full standards: Dogs Australia.

Country of origin: Australia

• The breed is named after a saddler, not after its place of origin.
• That saddler was made famous in a song by his grandson, Peter Allen.
• The name was chosen by ballot in 1992, with an eighty-five per cent majority.
• Its earlier name, mini foxie, was dropped as misleading.
• Its ancestors came to Australia as ships' ratters.