Australian Terrier

Quick to bark and keen to dig, yet steady at home.
An Australian Terrier
Photo: Ketterechts
Adult weight
6.8–9.1 kg
15–20 lb
Lifespan
11–15 yrs
Class · Companion
also Family

What it's like

In temperament it is spirited, alert and self-assured, quick to bark and keen to dig, yet generally affectionate and steady with its own household. Its terrier instinct to chase small animals remains strong. It was recognised by the American Kennel Club in the nineteen-sixties.

Day to day
Activity
A good daily walk and play
Intelligence
Learns readily, likes games
Handler demand
Needs steady training
With people
Affection
Affectionate on its own terms
Loyalty
Bonded to its family
Independence
Decides for itself
Around the home
Sensitivity
Hardy, takes a busy home in its stride
Voice
Barks to alert, then settles
Prey drive
Likely to chase small pets
Breed explains only about 9% of how individual dogs differ in behaviour1. Meet the dog. A good breeder breeds for temperament as well as health, and matches each puppy's personality to the right home2,3.
Is an Australian Terrier right for you?
Take the breed matcher

Living with one

It has a wire or harsh coat. Loose hair stays caught in the coat until it is brushed, stripped or clipped out. Plan on a brush once a week, plus hand-stripping two or three times a year. It needs a moderate amount of exercise compared with other breeds.

Size and growth

An Australian Terrier is a small dog, heavier than a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and lighter than a Pug.

It is a sturdy, low-set dog, longer than it is tall, with small pricked ears, dark eyes and a harsh, straight outer coat over a short soft undercoat. A ruff frames the neck, and a softer, paler topknot covers the crown. Coats are blue and tan, sandy or red.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Australian Terrier puppy is already as heavy as a grown Yorkshire Terrier. They grow fastest between 3 and 4 months old.
Fully grown
10 mo
Both sexes, at 99% of adult weight7
Male
Female
Shaded: expected range
02.557.5102m4m6m9m12m18m
02.557.5102m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
2.0–2.7 kg 4.4–6.0 lb
2.2–2.9 kg 4.9–6.4 lb
3 months
2.7–3.6 kg 6.0–7.9 lb
2.8–3.8 kg 6.2–8.4 lb
4 months
3.7–5.0 kg 8.2–11.0 lb
3.7–5.0 kg 8.2–11.0 lb
5 months
4.5–6.0 kg 9.9–13.2 lb
4.4–5.9 kg 9.7–13.0 lb
6 months
5.1–6.8 kg 11.2–15.0 lb
5.0–6.6 kg 11.0–14.6 lb
7 months
5.5–7.3 kg 12.1–16.1 lb
5.4–7.2 kg 11.9–15.9 lb
8 months
5.8–7.7 kg 12.8–17.0 lb
5.7–7.6 kg 12.6–16.8 lb
9 months
6.0–8.0 kg 13.2–17.6 lb
5.9–7.9 kg 13.0–17.4 lb
10 months
6.2–8.3 kg 13.7–18.3 lb
6.1–8.1 kg 13.4–17.9 lb
11 months
6.3–8.5 kg 13.9–18.7 lb
6.2–8.3 kg 13.7–18.3 lb
12 months
6.4–8.6 kg 14.1–19.0 lb
6.3–8.4 kg 13.9–18.5 lb
15 months
6.6–8.9 kg 14.6–19.6 lb
6.6–8.8 kg 14.6–19.4 lb

Lifespan

No vet study has measured how long Australian Terriers live yet. The 11–15 years shown is a general figure without a published source.

Where it comes from

The Australian Terrier was developed from British terriers brought to Australia and can claim to be the first breed made there. It probably shares its roots with the Australian Silky Terrier in the broken-coated terriers of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales; blue-and-tan watchdogs of this kind were reportedly bred near Campbelltown and Ross, Tasmania, in the early 1800s, and settlers used them against rats and other vermin4,8.

The Australian Terrier took its modern shape in the second half of the nineteenth century, when breeders crossed the local rough-coated dogs with several imported terriers; the Cairn, Dandie Dinmont, Skye, Yorkshire and Scottish terriers are commonly named among them. Dogs of this type were shown in Melbourne as broken-coated terriers from the late eighteen-sixties, and the breed reached Britain in the following century, gaining Kennel Club recognition in the nineteen-thirties. The breed was kept as a working companion on farms, goldfields and stations, killing rats and rabbits, reputedly tackling snakes, and raising the alarm at strangers.

Breed standard

The Australian Terrier is judged against standard no. 8, in group 3, Terriers4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Australian Terrier figure: most females have a first season somewhere between six and fifteen months, and cycles then settle to roughly every 180 days. Smaller breeds tend to start earlier and larger ones later, so a small breed is most likely at the early end.

Compare with related

Yorkshire Terrier
Terriers · Small
Cairn Terrier
Terriers · Small
Rat Terrier
Terrier · Small
Cesky Terrier
Terriers · Small
Or compare the Australian Terrier with any breed you choose
Track your own Australian Terrier
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Uncited on this page: Lifespan — no reviewed source yet, so it is a general reference figure rather than a published one.
Something wrong on this page?
Parts of this page were written by AI ·