Our Positive Future ~ Part Four

In summary of the 3 previous pages

The terrier as a type of dog is indigenous to the British Isles. It evolved in all its forms to meet the requirements of the different work in different terrain in these islands.

The Manchester Terrier, or Black & Tan Terrier as it was originally known, was no exception.

Terriers were the companion and workman of both the rural and urban man and the Black & Tan was essentially the urban dog, who hunted and killed vermin in the towns.

The Manchester Terrier was essentially a street dog, getting its food where it could, working in the Rat Pits and with the town rat catcher. All this stopped with the abolition of the Rat Pit and the coming of poisons.

The Kennel Club had a huge influence on its history. The ears were cropped in common with other breeds and when this was banned the numbers registered with the Kennel Club declined. The Kennel Club changed the breed’s name to Manchester Terrier about this time too.

Then came the two World Wars and after the second the breed almost disappeared. With the help of a few admirers it has crept back up in numbers and is now bred at about 100 registrations per annum. This makes it one of the Kennel Club’s Endangered British Breeds, with many other terrier breeds and some gundogs. It has been taken under the Kennel Club’s wing and we hope to their hearts and efforts are being made by them to bring it more to the notice of the dog owning public.

With the advent of the science of DNA the origins of the breed may be traceable. It has already proved that the breed in the UK is supremely healthy and free from hereditary disease.

The future of the breed looks rosier than it has done for many years and it is up to all owners of this most charming, elegant old breed to look after its future welfare.

We have made some fantastic events happen in recent years