Welsh Terrier

Friendly and keen to dig, often steadier than many terriers.
A Welsh Terrier
Photo: Shleiderbmx
Adult weight
9–9.5 kg
20–21 lb
Lifespan
13.8 yrs
Class · Companion
also Family

What it's like

In temperament the Welsh Terrier is lively, friendly and quick to learn, with a terrier's independence and keenness to dig and chase. It is often described as steadier than many terriers. The Kennedy family kept a Welsh Terrier named Charlie at the White House in the early 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
Likes its own space
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 a Welsh 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

A Welsh Terrier is a small dog, about the weight of a grown Pug.

It is square and compact, like a smaller Airedale, with a flat, rectangular head, small folded ears and an upright tail. The wiry coat forms a black or grizzle jacket over the back, with tan on the head, legs and underside. Puppies are born almost entirely black, and the tan appears as they grow.

Puppy growth

Reference curve · community data appears as owners log
By about 5 months, a male Welsh Terrier puppy is already as heavy as a grown Jack Russell. 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
2.3–2.4 kg 5.1–5.3 lb
2.5–2.7 kg 5.5–6.0 lb
3 months
3.1–3.3 kg 6.8–7.3 lb
3.3–3.4 kg 7.3–7.5 lb
4 months
4.4–4.6 kg 9.7–10.1 lb
4.4–4.7 kg 9.7–10.4 lb
5 months
5.4–5.7 kg 11.9–12.6 lb
5.3–5.6 kg 11.7–12.3 lb
6 months
6.3–6.6 kg 13.9–14.6 lb
6.1–6.4 kg 13.4–14.1 lb
7 months
6.9–7.3 kg 15.2–16.1 lb
6.6–7.0 kg 14.6–15.4 lb
8 months
7.4–7.8 kg 16.3–17.2 lb
7.1–7.5 kg 15.7–16.5 lb
9 months
7.7–8.2 kg 17.0–18.1 lb
7.4–7.8 kg 16.3–17.2 lb
10 months
8.0–8.4 kg 17.6–18.5 lb
7.7–8.1 kg 17.0–17.9 lb
11 months
8.2–8.7 kg 18.1–19.2 lb
7.9–8.4 kg 17.4–18.5 lb
12 months
8.4–8.8 kg 18.5–19.4 lb
8.1–8.6 kg 17.9–19.0 lb
15 months
8.7–9.2 kg 19.2–20.3 lb
8.6–9.1 kg 19.0–20.1 lb
18 months
9–9.5 kg 20–21 lb
8.9–9.4 kg 19.6–20.7 lb

Health and lifespan

In UK lab records, the conditions below turn up more often in Welsh Terriers than in crossbreeds. 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.
  • Mouth melanoma
    Lab-confirmed cases
    More likely
    Impact: life-limiting
  • Skin melanoma
    Lab-confirmed cases
    More likely
    Impact: moderate
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 Welsh Terrier lived to about 14 years, about average for a small breed.

Where it comes from

The Welsh Terrier was worked against fox and badger, and sometimes otter. It looks much like the Lakeland Terrier, and the FCI standard allows that both may descend from the dogs of Celtic Britons who fell back into the Welsh hills and the Lake District ahead of the Roman invasion. Its coat is hard and close, and usually black and tan4.

The Welsh Terrier became a recognised breed in the late nineteenth century, when the working terriers of Welsh farms and hunts were first given their own classes at shows. For a time they were shown alongside a similar type called the Old English Black and Tan Wire-haired Terrier, and the two were hard to separate until breeders settled on the Welsh name. The Kennel Club recognised it in the eighteen-eighties. It was bred to run with hounds and go to ground after quarry, sometimes alongside foxhounds and otterhounds, though today it is mainly kept as a companion and show dog.

Breed standard

The Welsh Terrier is judged against standard no. 78, in group 3, Terriers4.

Questions people ask

General guidance for dogs rather than a measured Welsh 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

Lakeland Terrier
Terriers · Small
Fox Terrier (Wire)
Terrier · Small
Airedale Terrier
Terriers · Large
Irish Terrier
Terriers · Small
Or compare the Welsh Terrier with any breed you choose
Track your own Welsh Terrier
Log a minute a day and watch them sit on these curves. Free.

Sources

Something wrong on this page?
Parts of this page were written by AI ·