Valencian Terrier

		Valencian Terrier
		FCI standard Nº 370

Origin		Comunidad Valenciana (Spain)
Translation		Mrs. Anna Morgan Real Sociedad Canina de España Official language : ES
Group		Group 3 Terriers
Section		Section 1 Large and medium sized Terriers
Working		Without working trial
Acceptance on a provisional basis by the FCI		Tuesday 21 June 2022
Publication of the official valid standard		Tuesday 21 June 2022
Last update		Wednesday 14 September 2022
En français, cette race se dit		Ratier Valentien
Diese Norm ist in deutscher Sprache sichtbar		Valencianischer Terrier
En español, esta raza se dice		Ratonero Valenciano
In het Nederlands, wordt dit ras gezegd		Ratonero Valenciano
In his country of origin, his name is		Ratonero Valenciano

Usage

Ancestrally dedicated to the traditional hunting of the water rat, rabbits, and moles. Besides, he is a guard dog for his capacity to warn by means of the bark. Currently, he is also companion dog.

Brief historical summary

Its origin is related to the examples of dog from the Valencian Community with similar size and characteristics that go back to the early terrier imports from Great Britain and others that looked similar. Their existence has been documented in the Valencian Community since the last third of the XIX Century and were selected and highly valued by the people in the countryside farms and fields for their instincts to warn of and hunt vermin, as well as for their loyal friendship. Their beginnings coincide with the cultivation of oranges in the community. The social culture of the zone helped to fixate certain characteristics of the breed. Other names associated with the breed are : Rateret and Fusterrier.

General appearance

Small size, light and not extremely short, variable coat dominating tricolour.

Important proportions

• Width of the skull/length of the skull: 1/1.
• Length of the muzzle/length of the skull: 4/5.
• Height at the wither/length of body: 3/4.

Behaviour / temperament

Lively, happy and active. Affectionate and faithful, reserved with strangers. Brave, not only in hunting but also in the defence of his owners’ properties. Learns fast.

Head
Well-proportioned with respect to the body.
Cranial region
Skull		Cranio-facial axes parallel.
Stop		Marked.

Facial region
Nose		Small and dark, according to coat color.
Muzzle		Narrow.
Lips		Thin, with no marked corner of the mouth.
Jaws and teeth		White, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite.
Eyes		Medium, oval and not very prominent. Iris color brown. Eyelids thin and well attached to the eye.
Ears		Upright, medium size, triangular, high set.

Neck

Cylindrical, strong, with developed muscles. Without dewlap.

Body
Body		Square appearance. Firm and well-marked muscles.
Topline		Straight.
Withers		Little pronounced, at the same height as the croup.
Croup		Short and slightly sloping.
Chest		Wide, strong and muscled. Arched ribcage.
Underline and belly		Slightly tucked up.

Tail

Previously customarily docked, not now.
• There are tailless dogs.
• Medium insertion. Thicker at base and finer at point of tail. It is of medium length with short tight fitted coat like rest of body. It is not curled or twisted and is carried elevated during movement.

Limbs

Forequarters
Generality		Very muscled and perfectly vertical. Straight and parallel.
Shoulders		Inclined, solid, and adequately muscular.
Upper arm		Strong and sturdy.
Elbows		Neither separated from nor too tight to the chest.
Forearm		Long and thin, but with solid bones.
Forefeet		Hare feet. Resistant nails and pads.

Hindquarters
Generality		Very muscled and perfectly vertical. Powerful, with good angulations and musculature, which contribute to his great capacity for long jumps.
Hock		Pronounced, with well-defined tendons.
Hind feet		The same as the forefeet.

Gait and movement

Fast and graceful. Quick, agile, elastic like float action with great jumping ability. Sufficient ground cover with adequate driving rear action. Efficient and without pacing. Front and rear should move parallel. Movement should give the impression of easy and effortless motion. Light on feet, floating appearance as if feet do not touch the ground.

Skin

Very thin and close to the body.

Coat
Hair		Thin and short, no longer than 2 cm.
Colour		Spotted coats dominate over the uniform ones. Among the spotted coats the most abundant is the tricolour (black-tan with white spots), followed by black-tan. It can also be seen the black-white, cinnamon-white, chocolate-tan, and chocolate-white coats. Within the solid coats colour, it can be seen in cinnamon and black. The colour of nose, lips, and eyes rimes, black or blending with coat colour.

Size and weight
Height at withers		Males : 30 to 40 cm, the ideal is 36 cm. Females : 29 to 38 cm, the ideal is 33 cm. In both sexes it is tolerated one cm if the subject is balanced.
Weight		4 to 8 kg, males and females.

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.

General faults

Flesh colour (depigmented) nose or with depigmented spots, lack of pigmentation on lips and eye rims.

Different proportions than described.

Level bite.

Serious faults

Overshot or undershort bite.

Missing more than 2 PM.

Not completely upright ears.

Long and/or curly hair.

Disqualifying faults

Aggressive or overly shy dogs.

Any coat colour different from the standard.

Albinism.

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.

Bibliography

https://www.fci.be/

Details: Also available:; Last Updated: 21 September 2025; Hits: 1909

Valencian Terrier