The Lakeland Terrier is a small to mid-sized terrier which takes its name from its place of origin the Lake District, England, where it was bred to hunt and kill foxes that plagued farmers.
Lakeland Terriers are fast-moving and compact dogs, with rectangular heads, small dark mischievous eyes, folded v-shaped ears and a thick wiry outer coat and soft undercoat. They come in a variety of colours, including black and tan, red and wheaten. These little dogs are spritely, friendly and confident and are quick to learn and easy to train. As with most terriers, they relish getting outdoors and love nothing more than exploring. Their hunting instinct remains strong, so training and recall practice is a must when they are young. Lakeland Terriers are very people orientated and they thrive on human contact. Being cheerful and confident, they generally get along well with children and other dogs, but being terriers, they are prone to chase small animals and should be well socialised with smaller household pets at a young age. Given the right socialisation, these bright and charming little dogs can make great family pets.
History
The Lakeland Terrier originated in the Lake District, England, where it was bred to hunt and kill foxes that plagued sheep farmers. With rugged and harsh terrain, an agile, tough little dog was required to chase the fox and go to ground which is where it would follow the fox into its burrow and kill it. As such, a courageous dog was required with speed and stamina, which was also small enough to go underground but with long enough legs, that it could leap over rocky and difficult ground. The Lakeland Terrier is descended from the Black and Tan Terrier with likely mixes with the Welsh Terrier, Border Terrier and Fox Terrier.
