Terrier Group - Terrier Dogs

Terrier Dogs

Terriers were originally kept to hunt vermin, especially mice, rats, rabbits, otters, stoats and weasels. Some Terriers were designed to go down the holes of the European fox and other agricultural pest animals in order to chase them out for the hunter, and the name terrier is from the Latin terra, meaning earth, in reference to the dogs going underground. Today, the majority of modern breeds developed from the old terrier types are pets and companions. A few are still used as working terriers, and some terriers are large enough to be kept as guard dogs.