Red Patterdale Terrier

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The Patterdale Terrier is a bold, tenacious dog with a stout and stocky body. They are able to work easily across hilly terrain and in heavy vegetation. The red Patterdale terrier has a distinctive red-looking coat and is rarer than black and brown pups.

Red Patterdale Terrier – Breeding and Origins

The Patterdale Terrier was bred in the late 1950’s from black fell terriers in the Patterdale area of Northern England. Bred to be working terriers, they were used to flush out animals such as foxes which are seen as predatory animals for farm livestock like sheep and poultry. Due to the nature of their work, they needed to have a build that would allow them to enter tight burrows or work in dense undergrowth.

Red Patterdale Coats

You can get red Patterdale terriers in all types of coat: Smooth, Broken or Rough. Smooth coats are generally short and stiff. The hairs will lie neatly and quickly back in place after being lifted. Smooth coated Patterdales do not have longer facial hairs, nor does their coat show any waves.

Broken coated Patterdales have longer guard hairs and the overall coat is coarse and dense. There may be some longer hairs around the chin, eyes and ears and the hairs can be straight or wavy. Rough coats are longer and wiry, rather than smooth like other coats. Patterdales with rough coats will also have longer hair around their face.

Patterdale Terrier Coat Colours

Since the Patterdale Terrier breed originated from the black fell terrier, approximately 95% of Patterdales are black or black with some white markings. However, there are other coat colour possibilities. Chocolate, black and tan and red are also seen in Patterdale pups. Of these, red or shades of red, seem to be the least common.

Most litters are entirely black, or mostly black with the odd chocolate or black and tan pups being born. Red coated pups occur fair less often as the gene for this coat colour is recessive. That means both parents must carry that gene for a puppy to have a chance of being born with a red coat.

The rarity of this colour coat means breeders are likely to charge more for red coated puppies. It is possible that red is so uncommon because the breed standard for Patterdales prefers the black coat. Many breeders will try to breed away from other coat colours, so breeding dogs that carry the gene for red coats are not used as often.

Final Thoughts on the Red Patterdale Terrier

Although the breed standard has encouraged black or black with white markings, coat colour has no effect on a dog’s personality, character or ability to do the job they are trained for. It is purely breeder preference, but it seems some breeders are now trying to breed more red coated Patterdales, so they may not be as rare as they seem.

If you enjoyed this blog about the Red Patterdale terrier you might also like to read more about Patterdale Terrier Coats.