Dandie Dinmont Terrier Information

The Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a dog that certainly does not stand by its name. They can be rather feisty creatures and enjoy hunting and chasing. Certainly, they do make great household family pets, but they are not well known for being kind toward strangers that enter their homes. Affectionate and playful and they can even be very sweet to other dogs in their home. Most of them thoroughly enjoy digging and staying active is a very big part of their spunk for life. Smart hounds with a sense of independence and loyalty toward their owners. Strange dogs can pose a challenge to their personalities and they can even become aggressive at times. They make fantastic watchdogs, but they lack in the actual protection department. 

To keep a playful and happy Dandie Dinmont Terrier, you must be able to commit to their high energy levels. They will need a walk each day and may even crave some time in an open space to hunt to roam around. They can adjust to cold and warm temperatures with ease, but prefer to reside in a home that provides them with ample time inside as well as outside. They have a fur coat that is both thick and soft in certain places, and it will require maintenance by grooming it around two times each week. Shaping is sometimes a necessity depending on the dog, but most owners do this anyway to give the Dandie Dinmont that fur coat shape they adore. Clipping is generally performed on a quarterly basis for these hounds and they can look very unique when it is performed perfectly giving them an edge over the competition in any dog shows.     

For a small dog, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier does not bode the high amount of health scares that most of the other smaller breeds can develop. Some issues that have been noted with this type of breed are eyesight issues such as glaucoma and intervertebral disk disease. On rare occasions they have been seen for cheyletiella mites. Generally, the vet will advise some screening tests to ensure overall good health as they age through their eyesight testing procedures, but that is it. They are typically between eight and eleven inches tall and can weigh anywhere from eighteen to twenty-four pounds as full grown dogs. The average lifespan for a Dandie Dinmont is from eleven to thirteen years long.     

While they may not look similar to the rest of the Terrier hounds, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier does bode the same characteristics as the rest of its clan. Known for their keen abilities to hunt anything from otters to badgers to foxes, they were a popular favorite for gypsies as well as any farm handlers. They were spoke about in great detail in the 1814 publication called “ Guy Mannering” by Sir Walter Scott. Receiving their recognition separately from the other Terriers in the 18th century by the AKC, they have gone on to become a family pet and still are not the most well known breed of Terriers to this day.   

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Middle Aged