Lakeland Terrier

		Lakeland Terrier
		FCI Standard No. 70


Origin			Great Britain
Group			Group 3 Terriers
Section			Section 1 Large and medium-sized Terriers
Working			Without working trial
Date of acceptance on a definitive basis by the FCI			Thursday 14 October 1954
Date of publication of the official valid standard			Tuesday 08 September 2026
Date of the last update			Tuesday 06 October 2026
En français, cette race se dit			Lakeland Terrier
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar			Lakeland Terrier
En español, esta raza se dice			Lakeland Terrier
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd			Lakeland Terrier

Usage

Terrier.

General appearance

Smart, workmanlike, well balanced and compact.

Behaviour / temperament

Gay, fearless demeanour, keen of expression, quick of movement, on the tip-toe of expectation. Bold, friendly and self-confident.

Head
Cranial region
Head		Well balanced. Length of head from stop to tip of nose not exceeding that from occiput to stop.
Skull		Flat and refined.

Facial region
Nose		Black, except in liver-coated dogs when the nose will be liver.
Muzzle		Broad, but not too long.
Jaws and teeth		Jaws powerful. Teeth even with perfect, regular scissor bite, i. e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Eyes		Dark or hazel. Slanting eyes undesirable.
Ears		Moderately small, V-shaped and carried alertly. Set neither too high nor too low on head.

Neck

Reachy, slightly arched, free from throatiness.

Body
Back		Strong, moderately short.
Loin		Well coupled.
Chest		Reasonably narrow.

Tail

Previously customarily docked.
Docked : Well set on, carried gaily but not over back or curled.
Undocked : Well set on, carried gaily but not over back or curled. In overall balance with the rest of dog.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Forelegs straight, well boned.
Shoulders		Well laid back.

Hindquarters
Generality		Strong and muscular.
Upper thigh		Long and powerful.
Stifle		Well turned.
Metatarsus		Straight.
Hock		Low to ground.

Feet

Small, compact, round and well padded.

Gait and movement

Fore-and hindlegs carried straight forward and parallel. Elbows move perpendicular to body, working free of sides, stifles turning neither in nor out. Good drive coming from well flexing hindquarters.

Coat
Hair		Dense, harsh and weather resisting with good undercoat.
Colour		Black and tan, blue and tan, red, wheaten, red grizzle, liver, blue or black. Small tips of white on feet and chest undesirable but permissible. Mahogany or deep tan not typical. Any other colour or combination of colours unacceptable.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Not exceeding 37 cm ( 14 ½ ins) at shoulder.
Weight		Dogs 17 lbs (7,7 kg) ; bitches 15 lbs (6,8 kg).

Faults

• Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog and its ability to perform its traditional work.
• Faults listed should be in degree of seriousness.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

NB :

• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
• The above mentioned faults when occurring to a highly marked degree or frequently are disqualifying.
• Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
• Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

Detailed history

Why is this very pretty little Terrier, with a quick and easygoing temperament, no better known in France? This brave fox hunter, who came from north-west England, reconverting himself to a much more peaceful role, has had considerable success in the most demanding dogmaking circles across the Channel and across the Atlantic. It must be deplored that, in France, there are practically no professional "handlers", or at least not enough knowledgeable amateurs, capable of appreciating such a dog, whose proud character superbly worth all the efforts made to cure his toilet?

The Lakeland Terrier, as its name clearly indicates, is native to the Lake District, located near the Scottish border in the former counties of Cumberland and Westmorland.

In this wild region, strewn not only with lakes, but also with numerous rocky scree, gray foxes were especially present; they attacked the game, and, above all, the farmers reproached them for scaring the flocks of sheep, or even slaughtering lambs; they were also very actively hunted, as were the other "pests" that swarmed in these border areas (the Border). This was the preferred area of various types of Terriers which, after selection, would become Bedlington Terriers, Border Terriers, Dandie Dinmont Terriers and Lakeland Terriers.

In these rugged terrain, there was no question of hunting down the fox on horseback, and the Burrow had a particularly painful job: while being small enough to penetrate the narrowest crevices of rocks and deepest terriers, it was no less necessary for him to follow the train imposed by the hounds, the current dogs, to be able to climb with agility and to jump from rock to rock. He must therefore have the smallest possible size, while being very strong constitution. Moreover, it happened quite often that one loses a dog, and its great robustness then allowed the Burrow to survive, the time that one notes its disappearance, that one organizes its search and that one finds his trace.

With that, the Terrier was required a tremendous courage, and he had to be provided with very strong jaws. If, in the south of England, where the species had become much rarer, the hunters were especially concerned not to kill the fox so as to have a new opportunity to pursue it, in the northern counties, on the contrary, the objective was indeed the destruction of this "harmful". The existence of the Lakeland Terrier is a direct result of these rigorous conditions, these pitiless demands.

From another point of view, that of genealogy, the Lakeland Terrier appears as a worthy descendant of the Old English Black and Tan Terrier. We know that until the early nineteenth century, the British really distinguished only two major types of local Terriers: the Scottish terriers, bassets, shaggy, very varied colors, and English Terriers, with a distinctly square structure, higher on legs, and commonly black and fire, which could show a hard or smooth hair.

Then appeared the concern for a more careful selection of these dogs, according to their use and the desired morphology, and, with the emergence of the dog breed, these two basic types evolved, from local varieties, into more and more breeds. more distinct. Among the varieties proper to the north of England, many had an extremely close appearance; all these dogs, the Westmorland Terrier, the Cumberland Terrier, the Patterdale Terrier, the Fell Terrier, could have been named "Peel Terriers", as they looked like the favorite dogs of a famous Desfells hunter (the local name of hills), having left a great memory: John Peel.

These ancestors of Lakeland were certainly somewhat crossed with the ancestors of Border Terriers and Bedlington Terriers. Of course, it seems unthinkable today to marry the square and clean silhouette of Lakeland and the curves of Bedlington, or the rustic appearance, nature of the Border and the sophistication of Lakeland. But we must not forget that, originally, these dogs were close both geographically and by the work they were asked to do, and that it was the British breeders who, through clever selections, attached themselves to the differentiate as much as possible. In support of the hypothesis of these crosses, we can cite, for example, the observation, in some litters of Lakeland, puppies with a head of hair on the skull, characteristic of Bedlington.

The contribution of Dandie Dinmont, sometimes mentioned with a question mark, appears to be much more uncertain, because this race is related to the Basset Terriers, but it is more likely, if not certain, that we can assume the use of the Fox Terrier haired hard race established a few decades before the Terriers of the north of England, and which could contribute to give homogeneity to Lakeland.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the dogs that would become the Lakeland Terrier were presented. in local comitia, at the same time as farm animals, while, at the same time, shepherd dog competitions took place, but it can not be said that their entry into the dog world was shattering from that time. In 1912, however, a few amateurs got together to form a race club. Unfortunately, the Great War postponed their plans.

In 1921, a durable association, the Lakeland Terrier Association, was finally formed. One of his first concerns was, of course, to assign a unique official name to a race with various names. That of "Lakeland Terrier" finally rallied, because it had the advantage of being sufficiently precise while not displeasing any of the supporters of a more localized denomination. It was only in the years 1928-1930 that the Lakeland began to descend to the south of England and to show up in the exhibitions. Very clever, at that moment, who could have predicted this modest dog a brilliant career.

As early as 1931, however, with the number of competitive entries becoming sufficiently numerous, the Kennel Club granted the breed the opportunity to apply (and two subjects actually obtained) Certificates Challenges (CC), these certificates of competency required for the attribution of champions titles.

The interwar period was a prosperous time for all Terriers in Britain. Their grooming had arrived at that moment to a high degree of perfection, and the British were fond of these dogs which appeared as "carved". Little by little, the Lakeland made a place for himself among these dogs, some of which, moreover, have a great similarity with him: the Fox Terrier, of course, which enjoyed immense popularity, the Irish Terrier, as hot as the indicates its flamboyant dress, the Welsh Terrier, which resembles him as long as they were confused.

The "youngest", who is also the smallest in size, became, after the Second World War, the darling of professional "handlers", these real "coaches" whose work finds its ultimate culmination when their "colt" gets the Best in Show, Best of Show. To do this, the dog must be the first by its conformation and appearance, but above all, among its competitors of other races, it must be distinguished by its temperament, its art of self-esteem. But in this game, the Lakeland Terrier was often a winner.

And now a representative of the breed was suddenly reproduced in all the dailies, a certain Monday of February 1967; the television broadcast for millions of viewers the ceremony where we saw, next to a gigantic cup with shapely forms, a small Terrier, very proud, a kind of miniature of Airedale, or a kind of Fox, a little smaller and as unusual as it was sexy: a Lakeland Terrier won the coveted Best in Show title at the Cruft Show. It was Stingray of Derryabah, who was certainly not a neophyte, since he had acquired his title of champion three years ago. But Champion Stingray had not finished stupefying the specialists. The year after his success at Cruft, he won the Best in Show of the most prestigious American exhibition, that of Westminster (New York). This was a historic double: no dog before him had managed to win the two most important exhibitions in the world. After such a difficult start and a slow progression, what a consecration for Lakeland.

The Lakeland, with such prestigious credentials, is not a dog to enter your home through the little door, to play the extras in your life. He is a star, naturally at ease everywhere and who can not be impressed by anything or anyone. This bouncy Terrier, like any Terrier worthy of the name, is equally popular in the city (if it can enjoy a little freedom and activity, for lack of a garden) in the countryside.

He has indisputably a lot of presence but never clutter, with his maximum 37 centimeters at the withers and his. 7 kilos. However, it should not be taken for a hypernervous, a go-getter who, despite remonstrances, would judge in his heart that the whole world is truly populated only by potential competitors, attackers of all sizes and all kinds of people. , or game to pursue and track down all ceasing occupations. Attendance at exhibitions has made Lakeland quite accommodating. He has become a weighted terrier, as surprising as it may seem. If one is capable of a minimum of firmness, he shows himself an excellent family dog, with a balanced character and never causing problems. Another quality, he instinctively knows how to be the protector of property; no event, no passage can escape his vigilance. Like many Burrows, under his skull-like airs, he is very attached to his masters and reluctant to move away from them or to find himself unexpectedly separated from them.

This dog is the perfect companion for those who can relate to their lives, either because they stay at home or because they have the opportunity to take it everywhere. This small, elegant dog is also a companion for those who like to wander in nature, because it is at the same time of a rare physical vigor, and the longest walks in the forest will not be able to overcome its endurance. His working abilities are little used today. Yet all scholars agree that the Lakeland Terrier could look good in its original roles, where its robust constitution would be put to good use. In his main job as a fox hunter, we must not forget that he added skills against the badger, a much harder opponent; in addition, he was sometimes used in the pursuit of the otter and he made a very appreciated rabbit tree.

As we can see, Lakeland's star career has not spoiled his rustic dog nature; in the true sense of the word, made to live in the countryside. Although we must not hide that his grooming is the business of a specialist, who will keep this dog his compact appearance but dressed in a chic and well cut, the Lakeland fits perfectly to our mode of current life. Its potential owners should not be recruited only among the knowledgeable connoisseurs.

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Lakeland Terrier