Norfolk Terrier

Inquisitive and sociable, with an urge to dig and chase.
A Norfolk Terrier
Photo: tanakawho
Adult weight
5–5.4 kg
11–12 lb
Lifespan
13.5 yrs
Class · Family
also Companion

What it's like

The hard, wiry, straight coat lies close to the body and grows longer and rougher on the neck and shoulders. Colours include red, wheaten, black and tan, and grizzle. In temperament it is bold, alert and inquisitive but not quarrelsome, and generally sociable. It keeps a strong terrier urge to dig and to chase small animals.

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
Cooperative, with its own ideas
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 a Norfolk Terrier right for you?
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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

A Norfolk Terrier is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Yorkshire Terrier. It is one of the lightest small breeds.

It is a short-legged, sturdy dog with a moderately deep chest, a level back and a strong jaw for its size. The medium-sized V-shaped ears drop forward close to the cheeks, which distinguishes it from the prick-eared Norwich.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 3 months, a male Norfolk Terrier puppy is already as heavy as a grown Chihuahua. 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
02462m4m6m9m12m18m
02462m3m4m6m9m12m18m
Age
Male
Female
2 months
1.6–1.7 kg 3.5–3.7 lb
1.8–1.9 kg 4.0–4.2 lb
3 months
2.0–2.2 kg 4.4–4.9 lb
2.2–2.3 kg 4.9–5.1 lb
4 months
2.7–2.9 kg 6.0–6.4 lb
2.8–3.0 kg 6.2–6.6 lb
5 months
3.1–3.4 kg 6.8–7.5 lb
3.2–3.4 kg 7.1–7.5 lb
6 months
3.5–3.8 kg 7.7–8.4 lb
3.5–3.8 kg 7.7–8.4 lb
7 months
3.8–4.1 kg 8.4–9.0 lb
3.8–4.1 kg 8.4–9.0 lb
8 months
4.1–4.4 kg 9.0–9.7 lb
4.0–4.3 kg 8.8–9.5 lb
9 months
4.2–4.6 kg 9.3–10.1 lb
4.1–4.4 kg 9.0–9.7 lb
10 months
4.4–4.7 kg 9.7–10.4 lb
4.3–4.6 kg 9.5–10.1 lb
11 months
4.5–4.8 kg 9.9–10.6 lb
4.4–4.7 kg 9.7–10.4 lb
12 months
4.5–4.9 kg 9.9–10.8 lb
4.5–4.8 kg 9.9–10.6 lb
15 months
4.8–5.1 kg 10.6–11.2 lb
4.7–5.1 kg 10.4–11.2 lb
18 months
4.9–5.3 kg 10.8–11.7 lb
4.9–5.3 kg 10.8–11.7 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK lab records, the conditions below turn up more often in Norfolk Terriers than in crossbreeds. Melanoma of the eye or eyelid stands out as much more likely. The most serious, mouth melanoma, can shorten a life and is more likely. These are figures for the breed as a whole, not a prediction for your dog.
Listed by likelihood level, highest first, then by how serious it is, then by name.
  • Melanoma of the eye or eyelid
    Lab-confirmed cases
    Much more likely
    Impact: serious
  • Mouth melanoma
    Lab-confirmed cases
    More likely
    Impact: life-limiting
Lab-confirmed: compares dogs whose tumour samples went to a lab with dogs seen in general practice, so the figures run higher than vet-record ones.

Lifespan

In UK vet records, the typical Norfolk Terrier lived to about 13 and a half years, about average for a small breed.

Where it comes from

The Norfolk Terrier is the drop-eared branch of the East Anglian terriers that the Kennel Club registered as Norwich Terriers from 1932; it took the Norfolk name as a breed of its own in 1964, and the American Kennel Club did not separate the two until 1979. It was worked on fox and badger as well as rats, and its standard accepts "honourable scars from fair wear and tear".4,10

The Norfolk Terrier shares its early history with the Norwich. Both grew out of small ratting terriers kept in East Anglia in the late nineteenth century by farmers, horsemen and, it is often said, Cambridge undergraduates. In the early twentieth century the horse dealer Frank Jones bred and sold such dogs, and some went to America, where the type was known as the Jones terrier. Breeders argued for decades over ear carriage, and that dispute eventually produced two separate breeds. The breed was kept as a working terrier, so it needed to be hardy, compact and game enough to go to ground after quarry for hunts and farmers.

Breed standard

The Norfolk Terrier is judged against standard no. 272, in group 3, Terriers4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Norfolk 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

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

Sources

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Parts of this page were written by AI ·