All About
Rat Terrier

Rat Terriers are little, but they need a lot of extensive activity to maintain health, happiness and an even temperament. They thrive on farms, and are the most efficient rodent catchers you'll find. If you don't live on a farm, you'll want to walk your Rat Terrier a couple of times a day, and allow him to burn off energy chasing balls in the yard. These little dogs can chase and fetch for hours at a time, without getting bored.

Their size makes them appealing for apartment dwellers, but a true commitment should be made to letting your Rat Terrier have as much outdoor activity as possible. Couch potatoes should look for a less active breed, as these dogs won't be happy lounging around on a couch all day.

The Rat Terrier should do well on a high-quality dog food, whether commercially manufactured or home-prepared with your veterinarian’s supervision and approval. Any diet should be appropriate to the dog’s age (puppy, adult, or senior). Some dogs are prone to getting overweight, so watch your dog’s calorie consumption and weight level. Treats can be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Learn about which human foods are safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.

The Rat Terrier’s short, dense coat requires very little care to remain in good condition. A weekly once-over with a soft brush or hound glove will keep his coat healthy and glossy. A bath every month or so will likely be enough, depending on the dog’s lifestyle. Rat Terriers shed seasonally, during which time a shedding tool or rubber curry brush will help remove loose hair. The nails should be trimmed at least monthly, keeping them short and neat, as overly long nails can be painful to the dog. Check his ears weekly, and remove any excess wax and debris, which can cause ear infections. Teeth should be brushed daily if possible, using a toothpaste formulated for dogs.

Crate train your Rat Terrier if you wish to leave the puppy out when he reaches adulthood. Regardless of breed, puppies explore, get into things they shouldn't, and chew things that can harm them. It can be expensive both in fixing or replacing destroyed items and the veterinary bills that could arise. Never stick your Rat Terrier in a crate all day long, however. It's not a jail, and he shouldn't spend more than a few hours at a time in it except when he's sleeping at night. Rat Terriers are people dogs, and they aren't meant to spend their lives locked up in a crate or kennel.

Rat Terriers are generally very healthy dogs, and responsible breeders screen their stock for health conditions such as hip dysplasia, patellar luxation (loose kneecaps), Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, and cardiac and eye disorders. A conscientious breeder does genetic testing of all breeding stock with the aim of reducing the incidence of and ultimately eliminating health problems.

Recommended Health Test from the National Breed Club:

The Rat Terrier is an American breed that is the result of working with the Fox Terrier, Bull Terrier, Manchester Terrier, and Old English White Terrier, to name a few. Being a farm dog and hunter, the need for the Rat Terrier to catch prey and pests drove breeders to start adding new strains to the breed in the 1910s and 1920s. A Rat Terrier appeared alongside Shirley Temple in the 1930s movie, "The Little Colonel." In the Midwest, the Rat Terrier was bred to Whippets and Italian Greyhounds to produce a more versatile and quick-footed dog who could help control the jackrabbit problem. The new and improved Rat Terrier was able to keep up with the fast-moving rodent and continued to prove his value. In the Southern and Central American regions, the Rat Terrier was bred to the Beagle to create a more pack-oriented dog. This is where the Rat Terrier earned his strong sense of smell; his speed came from the Whippet. In the 1920s, Toy Fox Terriers that were too big for their own breeding program were introduced into the Rat Terrier's breeding program. With this newest strain, Rat Terriers began producing their own toy-sized offspring. President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have named the breed but not everyone agrees. He called his own dog, who had solved the White House rat problem, a Rat Terrier. There is debate on whether the dog that President Roosevelt owned was in fact the same Rat Terrier as appears today. The short-legged dog that Roosevelt had has become the accepted breed standard for the Terrier named after him, and the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is also known as the short-legged Rat Terrier. The Rat Terrier was a common sight on farms between the 1910s and 1940s but eventually started to decline after farmers began using poison to control rodent populations. By the 1950s, the breed was no longer widespread. A handful of breeders sustained the breed until a re-emergence in the late 1970s. The Decker Rat Terrier is a strain of the breed that is gaining popularity. It first began with a dog owned by avid hunter Milton Decker, who felt his own dog, Henry, possessed terrific qualities that he wanted to preserve in his breeding program. He succeeded in producing a large Rat Terrier with a fixed ear set — a hunting dog who would even retrieve from water. The Deckers were used for hunting wild pig, deer, cougar and bear as well as in the more traditional Rat Terrier roles. Even though the Decker Rat Terrier is considered feisty and tough, he maintains all the traits of a wonderful companion. In 1972, the first hairless Rat Terrier was born and from that little hairless female a new strain of Rat Terrier was developed. The hairless Rat Terrier is now known as the American Hairless Terrier. The American Hairless Terrier comes in two sizes, miniature and standard.