What a Patterdale Terrier might look like! We've become the bad boys of the Patterdale Terrier world because we don't hide these truths. This is a Big subject so be sure to scroll all the way down the page. It's amazing! Always remember, a particular color or "look" is-not what makes a Patterdale Terrier. The show-dog crowd only likes black or
chocolate colored dogs even though they know it's the breeding [pedigree] and the performance that prove what they are. If "Game-Getter" performance had a color-code...
whatever that color was would be our favorite and we'd breed for it! When dogs are bred for performance (instead of looks) you'll eventually see all the colors and patterns in their genes. While black and chocolate are the best known colors associated with Patterdale Terriers there are other colors and patterns seen with some regularity, (see the photos below.) This (above) is the 3rd litter of the same parents, Pebbles & BamBam, (both black dogs.) Pixie (a black-brindle) ... was kept in G.L.& C. Co.'s kennel operation. Her page is here somewhere. "Millie" (black w/white marks) ... is view-able on the Other Photos page. Chocolate-Red male, called Redman, ... went to a fox hunting club. White-face male is "Whitey" and his sale was brokered for us by Todd Fulford. (Many thanks Todd!) White-face female is "Soozy" who is enjoying a life of privilege and comfort as a white-collar companion/pet. Fully-Grown Patterdale Terriers vary greatly in size which might be anything between 10-lbs to 30-lbs. Here is another look at that white-faced male "Whitey" shortly before sending him to Todd for delivery to his new owner. Whitey grew to be bigger than every other pup in the litter by the time he left here. We see the monsters, "dainty little Things" and all sizes in between come from the same litters.
There is no way to predict how big a small young puppy will be when it's a year+ old.
In America the smaller size seems to be favored and the show crowd has developed some that can only be described as "dainty little things."
This photo (below) shows the 1st litter from Whitey's parents. These and the 2nd litter were all of more standard appearances. We're also beginning to see the fairly-rare brindle pattern. (photo below) Brindle is different from "grizzled" which is almost common in this breed. The 1st litter sired by Pinga (above)...the pup in the center is Black-Brindle. (A few phone calls and they were all spoken for.) Here is another look (left) at that Black-Brindle pup (now known as Bosco) from Pinga's 1st litter.and (right) is the 2nd litter sired by Pinga when he was bred to Pinky, (her 1st litter.)The color / pattern of these dogs has nothing to do with the traits that are being bred for. An unusual color pattern only makes the dog stand out from the crowd by his appearance alone. Colors and patterns are not deciding factors for breeding or suitability for work. Patterdale Terriers just happen to be black or chocolate most of the time...but they're all Patterdale Terriers that are bred to do what Patterdales do, (no matter what color or pattern they happen to be.)
All breeders of Patterdale Terriers know about the many colors, markings and sizes.
In each case there was only one pup in the litter that had upright ears. This indicates it's a fairly recessive trait unlike the brindle coloring, (which has a very strong gene.)
And now, (since we don't breed for appearances,) we're getting different "looks." Even so, black and chocolate are what we see most of the time. Here (below) are two litter-mates from a high-powered breeding of Maxine to Bambam, (Maxi-Bam) born Jan. 2015.Never mind the colors, look at the forearms on these little guys! Here's a photo showing the 2 above and the other males all of this same 2015 litter. The brindle in these dogs came from way-back in the pedigrees. A lot of breeders like to keep this quiet for reasons that we don't quite understand. Their color doesn't effect their performance one bit. There's plenty of brindle (and other color schemes) in Europe. It's not "uncommon" here or there. Here [below] is a view of "Jewel" a dog that didn't "start" until almost 5yrs old (a house pet.) Her 1st kill was the family Parakeet (?) After that...all business! On appearance she could be related to our "Pinky" dog but they're only barely related from waaay-back in their pedigrees.
Now and then we even see this color scheme. This is Brandon's Woodrow, a cool little dog from verified parents and proven bloodlines. Woodrow is only 5-months at the writing of this note: He recently dug a bit to get into it with a groundhog. He went the distance with the 'hog and his face looks like it too! Seems like he's the real deal! Kudos to Brandon!
As stark examples of the "broken coat" appearance, these guys are awesome workers. These two dogs, (above) are from super hi-caliber Patterdale Terrier stock in Oklahoma, USA.
The show-dog crowd makes a real effort to keep quiet about just how much appearance varies in these dogs. They hate to let the public know the truth, as shown in this photo. It's presumptuous to say that a dog is or is-not a Patterdale Terrier based on just it's looks. They're bred for what they're expected to do. They're not bred for what they look like. It wouldn't matter if the dog was purple with green polka-dots as long as his parentage was known and he demonstrates his mettle in the classic way to the satisfaction of his breeder or owner. It's breeding and performance that make them Patterdale Terriers!
|