Terrier Group

Terriers were built to go to ground after rats, foxes, and badgers, and that wiring did not switch off when they moved into living rooms. Expect a dog that is bold, busy, quick to react, and convinced it is right. None of that is a flaw. It is the breed doing exactly what it was made to do.

What terriers need is a person who finds that funny instead of frustrating. Give them a job, a walk that actually tires them out, and clear rules, and they are some of the most rewarding dogs you can own. Skip the exercise and the structure and you get the digging, barking, fence-testing terrier of legend. The Wheaten is the soft one of this trio; the Jack Russell is the one that will outrun your good intentions.

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