Hi

We have long admired  the smart showy looks of the WFT and are collecting our female puppy on Friday aged 9 weeks!  Having had several JRTs we are familiar with firy terrier ways  but having read (belatedly!!!) one or two books on the wires I realise we will have to roll up our sleeves and show her who is boss from the word go!  Would love to hear from anyone familiar with the breed eg are they really such hooligans and are they reasonably  trainable ie for obedience?

We are all very excited  at the prospect of a new little girl in our house, no doubt she will shake up our three existing couch potatoes!

Snowflake

The ones I have met as pets have been very gentlemanly, a bit above the hoi poloie, preferring not to get into it with the riff raff.

Note... what follows is a highly biased description of a sample of one WFT, so hopelessly unrepresentative!....

I have a 9 year old spayed bitch WFT. She was my first dog and a real baptism of fire! As we drove away from the breeders, with me clutching this hopelessly cute fluffy bundle, the breeder said, with a big smile.... "they're little b***ers you know!" She was right!

She is a very independent, strong-willed dog, unlikely to do anything unless she can see what's in it for her. Having said that, she did get her Bronze Good Citizen award, and I think could have gone further, as she is certainly bright.  It took years for her to be trusted off lead, as we live surrounded by fields, and she is a very determined hunter. As a young dog she wanted to see the back side of every hill, and didn't much care if you managed to follow.  Digging was a popular pastime - mostly trying to dig out of the garden, but I had the foresight to put in rabbit proof fencing, so she was foiled in her escape bids! I found her very hard work to house train, but suspect I was partly to blame for this. Other dogs have become better tolerated as she has got older - she was pretty intolerant of most other dogs as a youngster.

She lost her wire coat after spaying, and is now soft and curly. My groomer was eventually unable to hand strip her as the coat changed texture, so now she is clipped, which means all those lovely black and tan marking are muted and mostly lost.  I have been told that sometimes the coat is OK after spaying, and sometimes is lost. Some people said that I should not have spayed her until she was several years old. Unfortunately, she is allergic to grass pollen, which has meant that she spends half of each year on steroids.

She came to work with me from 10 weeks old, coping with an hour each way in the car, and happily greeting students in my office (I was a university lecturer). She would sleep quietly in her crate while I gave lectures, and never barked or made a nuisance of herself. She didn't chew any furniture at work or at home (though I had lots of chew toys, and fresh marrowbones when she was old enough).

Now she is a lovely mature dog, affectionate and undemanding. Playful and very easy going, but capable of letting you know if you fail to meet her expectations. A bit noisy at times, as she loves the sound of her own voice. She is still a feisty little thing, but this is part of why I love her. In fact she made me so keen on terriers that I now have a lovely male (entire - not losing this wire coat) Irish Terrier. He is just a year old now (had him from eight weeks). My WFT tolerates him, and mostly they get on, but they do have spats as he is very, very jealous of her. (He's a velcro dog and doesn't want to share his people.)

People ask me why I didn't get a WFT as my second dog, but I wanted to 'try' a different terrier, and wanted a bigger dog. (But, saying it ever so quietly... I think I prefer the character of my Irish)!

If you haven't done it already, join the Wire Fox Terrier Association. I have found them really helpful over the years.

Wireyfox

>As a young dog she wanted to see the back side of every hill, and didn't much care if you managed to follow.

Now that did make me smile. Great post :)

Hi Wireyfox

Thank you for your post although it was hardly reassuring (!!)and  more as I was anticipating - still, forewarned is forearmed.  I am hoping though that she will get on with my other dogs,  ancient Jack Russell. sweet natured sheltie and can- be- grumpy rescue from Crete!!  I think I might be reaching for the vallium and getting into training for all those hills!!  So watch this space .....

Snowflake

Happy new arrival............sure you will enjoy her totally.  have only ever meet two one my Uncles was a total "b*gger" the dog not my uncle although the jury is out on that to everyone other than his nieces and nephews. He was a single man who dressed and acted like a cross between a young Michael Caine "Alfie" and then Arthur Daley.  His dog was called "Peter" he chased cats, squared up to every dog he meet adored people and especially children and anyone with a treat. Loved horses which was goody because my Uncle went to horse racing every week and Peter went with him. Travelled on the front seat of his van and accompanied him to work every day. A fantastic dog from my memory and just asked my Dad and he said he was a good ratter and no trouble so there you go. Enjoy. Oh his previous dog was an Irish terrier "Blue"  who was apparently who was equally as full of brimstone.

You kept that very dark!!! Can't wait to meet her. Val used to do rally with her Smooth, so they are trainable if stubborn at times, I expect the Wires are similar - but you're used to terriers! My trainer at the Newmarket club has a Wire which she shows and does pet obedience with. Looking for a groomer for her? :-D