Dog breed · Scotland
A Dandie Dinmont Terrier is a small Scottish dog breed in the terrier family. The breed has a very long body, short legs, and a distinctive topknot of hair on the head. They are friendly but tough, and are suitable for interaction with older children. There are breed-specific health concerns: they can be affected by spinal problems due to their elongated body, and the breed is affected by canine cancer at a higher than average rate.
The breed is named after a fictional character in Sir Walter Scott's novel, Guy Mannering. This character, Dandie Dinmont, is thought to be partly based on James Davidson, who is credited as the originator of the modern breed. Davidson's dogs descended from earlier terrier-owning families, including the Allans of Holystone, Northumberland.
There are three breed clubs in the UK supporting the breed, although it is registered as a Vulnerable Native Breed by the Kennel Club due to its low number of puppy registrations per year.
Temperament: The breed is tough but usually friendly and is suitable for older children. It makes both a good companion and a guard dog but is among the most docile of the terrier breeds; they are usually quite undemanding of their owners. However they are known for their ability to dig large holes in a short space of time. They can be trained to be good with cats but should not be trusted around smaller animals such as hamsters or rats. They are described as being "very game", in that they are prone to challenging other animals, including foxes, and in some cases other dogs.
Description: The breed has short legs, with an elongated body. Unusually among Scottish terrier breeds, it has pendulous ears. The neck is muscular, having developed from the breed's use against larger game. The typical height at the withers is 8–11 inches (20–28 cm), and they can weigh anywhere between 18–24 pounds (8.2–[dose — ask your vet]).
While the Dandie generally is a hardy breed, it may have issue climbing stairs. They have a silky coat which forms a topknot on top of the dog's head. The Dandie Dinmont Terrier has a similar body shape to the Skye Terrier, but the Skye's coat is thicker and longer.
The coat comes in two colour ranges, pepper and mustard. Pepper ranges from dark blueish black to very light silvery gray; mustard can vary from reddish brown to fawn, with the head appearing to be almost white. Typically, the legs and feet are of a darker colour with the lighter colour on the body slowly blending into that on the legs. The depth of the coat can reach up to 2 inches (5.1 cm). The colour of the coat is usually set by the time the dog reaches eight months of age, but the Dandie Dinmont Terrier will continue to mature physically until around two years old.
Health: A 2024 UK study found a life expectancy of 12.8 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.
Due to the breed's elongated body, there can be back problems within the breed, specifically with intervertebral discs in the dog's back. These discs can sometimes slip out of place, resulting in spinal disc herniation. Symptoms depend on what part of the dog's back is affected; they can include weakness, paralysis, and/or loss of bladder control.
An American study found a higher risk for extra-hepatic congenital portosystemic shunts, with 1.6% of Dandie Dinmont Terriers having the condition compared to 0.18% overall and 0.05% for mixed-breed dogs.
The Dandie Dinmont Terrier is also at a slightly higher risk of cancer than average.
History: The breed originates from the dogs being used in the Anglo-Scottish border country. 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.
