[escapedtothecountry]

Any thoughts? We are seriously considering getting a puppy at some point? I wondered if anyone had experience of them?

[tazbabe]

i have one, she is a delight!

she is very cheeky, and strong willed, i knew this of the breed before i got her, and was prepared for it. she needed consistant training as a pup, would look like she had the gist of what i was after, then go do her own thing anyway. she is 18 months now, and great.

just remember that terriers are natural hunters. twice she has had one of my hens, not injured, but carried.
for a lot of her puppy period i dint let her outside unsupervised until i was sure i had impressed upon her that my hens were not her toys! now she goes out with the other dogs and behaves herself fine.

[lachlanandmarcus]

They are proper terriers, never give up and never give in!
Ours is an excellent ratter but is selectively deaf - good recall within sight but will wander - slowly, not running away, just wander and has got lost as a result.
NB dont believe those who say that small dogs cant have hip dysplasia - ours did and badly! Thankfully with hydrotherapy and MSM/gluc she recovered and has been sound ever since initial diagnosis at 6 months (it was that bad it came up that early) and she is 9 now,
She is very good natured and tolerates our Doberman but not the vacuum :-DDDD
She has once or twice nipped, but only when wound up to a state of utter overload of excitement.
Basically I would say they are an ideal family dog for older children and adults but they are very greedy so I wouldnt automatically trust them with tinies who might be trailing cake or sandwiches in their fingers (Taggie has been known to go through rucksacks on football touchlines - very embarrassing).
I love them because they are small but 'proper' dogs (and the ratting obsession can be useful!)

[Rosemary]

Out vet has one - he says lots of vets have them because they never see them in the surgery.

[Nickie]

I've got one - he is great.


I've never liked little dogs, but somehow he doesn't feel like one - must be all that personality! Caught his first rat at under 12 months, but he is just as happy catching a shrew or butterfly!


He needs lots of exercise & would consume his own weight in food if allowed!


Got him at 8 weeks, he's about 18 months now. Get's one very well with all other dogs, but is definitely the boss over the lab. Never had a problem with our chickens, ducks, sheep etc, but I spent a lot of time with him from day 1, loose with all the animals showing him what was expected.


Loves to hunt so you need to get a good recall instilled. Tecwyn will come running at my whistle even from 2 fields away & I can call him off mid chase, but it has taken time & effort to get there. I haven't taught him anything else apart from leave it, but he is very trainable.


After talking to the breeder at length we purposely picked a more submissive pup as this is my first terrier. It has worked for us, so far.


He is the most loyal little chap & wants to stick by my side, even more so that the lab. Highly recommend, for the right home.

[kja]

i have 2 mother & son being terriers they need training from the onset i can tell them to stay leave a door open and they will be waiting just as i left them on my return, they have a good recall but do love me time wondering off doing their own thing until we call them back. as for livestock they have to be trained whats what we put both in with a vicious cock bird as pups he soon saw them off and thats what they now preffer a void between them and the chickens. they come everywhere with us inc all the shows we do throughout the year they dont like the crowds so they stay at camp during the day and have athe empty showground to walk around at night.

the most loyal dogs we have ever had

they are ok with some other dogs but not all after a border collie had a go at them flipping the bitch in the air so we do have to watch out for the signs they are not happy with oncoming dogs.

the best baby sitters too

[kumquat]

I've had terriers all my life (JRT, patterdales, borders, lakelands....) and have had 5 borders, currently i've got two. i agree with everything thats been said by others, they are a very tenacious breed, great little hunters.
They do have a tendency to go "deaf" especially when on a scent so recall can be an issue. its taken an awful lot of training to overcome this one. Training is key with a border
Weight can be an issue, seen far too many fat borders in my life, they do need a lot of exercise.


One major word of caution - borders seem to be overly popular at the moment so there are an awful lot of unscrupulous breeder cashing in    its leading to issues such as hip dysplasia (I share your pain laclanandmarcus)and there are an increasing number in rescue homes. find the right breeder if you do want a puppy 
i'm definitely a terrier man and I wouldn't be without one.
Jon

[rispainfarm]

I have one and I love her to bits, she is as the above posts say and more. Her name is ruby, the only problem she has is she buggers off on walks and I don't see her for ages, off chasing rabbits, all you can hear is her yapping.

[jaykay]

Great little characters 
Get two though, you'll have far more than twice the fun with them 

[kumquat]

Get two though, you'll have far more than twice the fun with them 

Two is definitely double trouble    - but don't have siblings...great advice from Mr Border Terrier himself.

Most reputable breeders wouldn't sell to you two puppies because of the problems of 2 the same age, most knowing you intended getting another so close in age would advise against it or not sell you any. a month apart in puppies is a huge difference but as they grow it becomes almost like siblings and brings all the same problems. One will dominate and if the other does not bow to it then they will begin fighting, once they do one will have to be rehomed. The fights can be very violent .Training two is also very hard .they bond to each other and ignore the owner because all they do is play and rough house together all the time.

[plumseverywhere]

Years ago I used to work in boarding kennels (prior to my life as a nurse and smallholder and mum!!)
I fell totally in love with Border Terriers there. I don't 'do' small dogs but those little characters found their way into my heart big time - if we didn't have huge great fox dens/badger setts here, I'd be opting for a border terrier in the years to come!!

[Mammyshaz]

Lovely dogs, can be hard work so not for the beginner dog keeper. Hmmm. Watch your garden, they are little hunters and will be into everything ( all those lovely flower beds  ). Generally nice natured with people and get very few inherited health problems.

Not advisable to get two pups together. They need individual human attention to learn important people socialising skills . Very difficult to achieve when they have each others attention.

[jaykay]

Ok, seems it's different with terriers, perhaps because of their stubbornness?

I got two rescue pups together, at 8 weeks, Labrador crosses, and never had a minute's bother either training them, socialising with them or them with each other. They were responsive to me and everything. But they enjoyed each other's company so much and were so funny playing together, I vowed I'd never have one dog on its own again.

[escapedtothecountry]

I can cope with one digging away all my flower beds if they also have fun getting the rabbits who do more damage. I loved the - would eat their own body weight in food if allowed.... as  it sounds rather like me.


Now to find a puppy in the Lincolnshire area.....

[kja]

i can give you details of a breeder in cambridgeshire if thats not too far away