Dandie Dinmont Terrier Information & Dog Breed Facts

The Dandie Dinmont Terrier’s origins can be traced back to the early 18th century, to the Cheviot Hills between England and Scotland. However, stories about how the breed was developed are very conflicting. Yet the certain thing is that the breed was believed to be especially good at dispatching four-legged prey, including poachers, badger, rabbit, weasel, otters, and other vermin.

According to some scientists, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier is the result of cross-breeding the Otterhound with some local terrier breeds, from the Border Country between Scotland and England. Other sources state that the Dandie Dinmont Terrie evolved from the rough-coated terriers commonly found on farms. The third story about the breed’s initial development believes that the breed emerged after crossing the Dachshund with some local terrier breeds.

Whichever theory is true, it has proven to be true that the Dandie Dinmont Terrier is the oldest distinct terrier breed, which now exists. Contrary to many other terrier breeds, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier did not change much since it was first developed during the early 1700s. The breed we know today resembles a high extent, to the one which was depicted in Gainsborough's 1770 portrait of Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch, even though a number of other breeds have claimed that the dog presented with the Duke it actually their ancestor.

Despite the fact that the Dandie Dinmont Terrier was already long-established, the breed did not have a name, until Sir Walter Scott mentioned the breed in one of his books, Guy Mannering, which was published in 1814. Before then, all the terrier breeds were commonly called “Terrier”, they did not have any distinguishing or unique name. Sir Walter Scott, being a Dandie Dinmont Terrier owner, basically gave the breed their name. He told a story in his book about a farmer named Dandie Dinmont, who possessed multiple dogs of this breed, thus Sir Walter Scott named the breed, after this farmer. Interestingly, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier was the first terrier ever, to be given a distinctive, unique name.

The Dandie Dinmont Terrier caught the attention of 19th-century royals, like French King, Louis Philippe, who kept a couple of Dandies as part of his royal entourage. Later, in 1875, England’s first Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club was formed, and it is still in operation today, which makes this organization one of the oldest ones in the whole world. As a role of the organization, they wrote up a breed standard, which later helped the breed to get an AKC (American Kennel Club) recognition.

The AKC registered the Dandie Dinmont Terrier in 1886, at the AKC’s very first meeting, making the reed the third oldest member breed of the club. After that, during the late 19th century, the breed became especially well-known and loved in England, even Queen Victoria, being an avid dog lover, owned a couple of Dandies. Later, during the years before the Second World War, there were many famous kennels that bred the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. However, unfortunately, during the war, most of these kennels have disappeared. In some sad cases, the breeders had to put the dogs out, due to the lack of nutrition for them.

After the Second World War, some dedicated fanciers and breeders started working really hard in order to re-establish the Dandie Dinmont Terrier. One of the most famous kennels was Bellmead Kennel, they contributed to the breeding until the 1990s, and produced a specimen named Bellmead Delegate, who was a significant sire that won many shows. Nowadays, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier is one of the rarest and most endangered of all the purebred dog breeds. The Kennel Club in England put the breed on their list of endangered indigenous breeds, for the sad reason that there is the real possibility for the Dandie Dinmont Terrier to become extinct.