- The terriers are also hunting dogs, but their game is generally vermin, not birds and animals for the dinner table. With few exceptions, terriers developed in the British Isles to control rats, mice, foxes, and other predatory animals that raided farmer's grains and chickens, shopkeepers storage bins, and housewives' kitchen larders. The terriers come in wire, smooth, and soft coats and in short- and long-legged body types.
- Terrier temperament is fiery. The smallest terriers are scrappy, ready to take on even giant sized adversaries. This attitude stood them well in vermin-hunting and gives them an earnest and often boisterous attitude toward life as a pet. On the down side, some terriers are happy and can be nippy with overactive children. They can also be quite independent and difficult to train for the weak-of-will.
- The wire-haired terriers have special grooming needs. Dead hairs must be pulled out of their coats to maintain good coat color and texture. The hard-coated terriers are Airedale, Australian, Border, Cairn, Irish, Lake land, Miniature Schnauzer, Norfolk, Norwich, Scottish, Sealyham, Skye, Welsh, West Highland White, and Wire haired Fox.
- Terriers are not generally good for rowdy children, for they will give back as good (or better) than is dished out. Three terriers, the Border, Irish, and the Soft-coated Wheaten, are considered to be generally good with children. The others are recommended only for families with older, well-behaved youngsters.
- Hard-coated terriers are often preferred by families with allergies because they do not drop their dead hairs throughout the house. Instead, the dead hairs must be pulled out in order to keep the skin healthy and maintain the coats' rich colors and bright whites. Many terrier owners prefer to have a groomer do the job.
- Most terriers are tough to train, for they have their own idea of how the world works and that idea frequently differs from the owners'. Few will back down from a confrontation with another dog.
Quite independent and difficult to train, some breed need special grooming, not good for rowdy children
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