HOME | DD

Description
“The breed originates from the dogs being used in the border country of Scotland and England. During the 1600s, they were used for hunting badgers and otters. Whilst their ultimate origin remains unknown, dogs owned by the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland in the early 1700s are thought to have been involved in their early origins.
These dogs may have been a type of Border Terrier, although other theories exist including the idea that they are a cross between Scottish Terriers and Skye Terriers. The head of this family was Willie "Piper" Allan, who was born in nearby Bellingham. He kept dogs for the hunting of otters. Lord Ravensworth once hired Allan to remove the otters from the pond in Eslington Park. Lord Ravensworth attempted to purchase one of Allan's dogs after he successfully removed the otters, which Allan refused.

Allan died on 18 February 1779, and his dogs passed into the care of his son James. James's son eventually inherited the dogs and sold a dog named Old Pepper to Mr Francis Sommer who came from Town Yetholm on the Scottish side of the border. Old Pepper was descended from one of Willie Allan's dogs who had worked Lord Ravensworth's manor.

The breed remained relatively unknown outside of the Borders until 1815 when Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering was published. Scott had spent time in the area whilst the Sheriff of Selkirkshire and had learned of the prowess of these types of specialist terriers for working both fox and otter. When he wrote Guy Mannering, he included a character by the name of Dandie Dinmont who owned a number of terriers named Pepper and Mustard after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was partly based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, James Davidson, who too used the generic terms of Pepper and Mustard for his dogs depending on their coats. Davidson's dogs came from a variety of sources including the dogs of the Allan, Anderson and Faas families. Davidson documented his breeding, and he has been accepted as the originator of the modern breed.

In 2006, the Kennel Club recognised the Dandie Dinmont Terrier as one of the rarest dog breeds native to the British Isles, putting it on a new list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. The breeds chosen for this list were those who originated in the UK and Ireland, but had less than 300 puppy registrations per year. One particularly low period was between July and September 2003, when only 21 puppies were registered, of which 18 were male. Overall that year, only 90 puppies were registered in the UK, compared to 9,823 for the West Highland White Terrier. Additionally numbers had dropped to low levels in America as well, with the AKC registering only 75 puppies in the same time period. Following work since 2006, the Dandie Dinmont registration numbers have improved slightly, with 151 puppies registered with the Kennel Club in 2010, the highest number for any year in the last ten years. Of other breeds of native terrier, only the Skye, Sealyham, Manchester and Glen of Imaal Terriers have lower registration figures.”

It’s on Redbubble!
You can support me on Patreon! Half the funds will go to a local no-kill shelter!

Description
“The breed originates from the dogs being used in the border country of Scotland and England. During the 1600s, they were used for hunting badgers and otters. Whilst their ultimate origin remains unknown, dogs owned by the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland in the early 1700s are thought to have been involved in their early origins.
These dogs may have been a type of Border Terrier, although other theories exist including the idea that they are a cross between Scottish Terriers and Skye Terriers. The head of this family was Willie "Piper" Allan, who was born in nearby Bellingham. He kept dogs for the hunting of otters. Lord Ravensworth once hired Allan to remove the otters from the pond in Eslington Park. Lord Ravensworth attempted to purchase one of Allan's dogs after he successfully removed the otters, which Allan refused.

Allan died on 18 February 1779, and his dogs passed into the care of his son James. James's son eventually inherited the dogs and sold a dog named Old Pepper to Mr Francis Sommer who came from Town Yetholm on the Scottish side of the border. Old Pepper was descended from one of Willie Allan's dogs who had worked Lord Ravensworth's manor.

The breed remained relatively unknown outside of the Borders until 1815 when Sir Walter Scott's novel Guy Mannering was published. Scott had spent time in the area whilst the Sheriff of Selkirkshire and had learned of the prowess of these types of specialist terriers for working both fox and otter. When he wrote Guy Mannering, he included a character by the name of Dandie Dinmont who owned a number of terriers named Pepper and Mustard after the colours of their coats. The Dinmont character was partly based on the real life farmer and terrier owner, James Davidson, who too used the generic terms of Pepper and Mustard for his dogs depending on their coats. Davidson's dogs came from a variety of sources including the dogs of the Allan, Anderson and Faas families. Davidson documented his breeding, and he has been accepted as the originator of the modern breed.

In 2006, the Kennel Club recognised the Dandie Dinmont Terrier as one of the rarest dog breeds native to the British Isles, putting it on a new list of Vulnerable Native Breeds. The breeds chosen for this list were those who originated in the UK and Ireland, but had less than 300 puppy registrations per year. One particularly low period was between July and September 2003, when only 21 puppies were registered, of which 18 were male. Overall that year, only 90 puppies were registered in the UK, compared to 9,823 for the West Highland White Terrier. Additionally numbers had dropped to low levels in America as well, with the AKC registering only 75 puppies in the same time period. Following work since 2006, the Dandie Dinmont registration numbers have improved slightly, with 151 puppies registered with the Kennel Club in 2010, the highest number for any year in the last ten years. Of other breeds of native terrier, only the Skye, Sealyham, Manchester and Glen of Imaal Terriers have lower registration figures.”

It’s on Redbubble!
You can support me on Patreon! Half the funds will go to a local no-kill shelter!