Traits and Characteristics
type
weight
height
family
The Smooth Fox Terrier is energetic and playful, and needs a safe environment where they can run and exercise. This breed does best living in the house, with plenty of time to play in the yard.
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Energy Level
Exercise Requirements
Playfulness
Affection Level
Friendliness to Dogs
Friendliness to Other Pets
Friendliness to Strangers
Watchfulness
Ease of Training
Grooming Requirements
Heat Sensitivity
Vocality
Disclaimer: While the characteristics mentioned here may frequently represent this breed, dogs are individuals whose personalities and appearances will vary. Please consult the adoption organization for details on a specific pet.
Temperament
Energetic, inquisitive, bold, feisty, playful, mischievous, independent, and adventurous describe the Fox Terrier. This breed lives to run, chase, and explore. He is usually fairly reserved with strangers. He tends to bark and dig.
Upkeep
The Smooth Fox Terrier is energetic and cannot be ignored. As an active dog, he will do much to exercise himself given the room. He enjoys a vigorous game or walk, as well as an off-lead outing in a safe area. Smooth coat care consists of weekly brushing to remove shedding hair. In fact, the Smooths shed more than the Wires.
Health
- Major concerns: none
- Minor concerns: lens luxation, distichiasis, cataract, Legg–Perthes
- Occasionally seen: deafness, patellar luxation
- Suggested tests: (eye), knee, cardiac
- Life span: 10–13 years
History
The Smooth Fox Terrier’s ancestors are not documented, but the breed was certainly known by 1800. Predominantly white dogs were preferred because they could be more easily distinguished from the quarry in dim lighting. Some speculation exists that the Smooth and Wire Fox Terriers arose from distinct backgrounds, with the Smooth descending from the smoothcoated Black and Tan, the Bull Terrier, and even the Greyhound and Beagle.
The Smooth Fox Terriers were among the first breeds to enter the show ring, classified initially with the Sporting breeds. The two varieties were interbred extensively at one time, but the practice gradually declined. Because the two breeds had long since ceased to be crossed by the latter part of the 1900s, the AKC divided them into separate breeds in 1985.
