Rat Terrier

Rat Terrier

Tricolor Rat Terrier; note pale black ticking on white coat
Other names	American Rat Terrier Ratting Terrier Decker Giant
Common nicknames	RT, Rat, Rattie
Origin	United States of America (USA)
Traits Weight 10–25 pounds (4.5–11.3 kg) Height 10–18 inches (25–46 cm) Coat Single, smooth Color Black, tan, chocolate, blue, grey Isabella (pearl), lemon and apricot. May be tri-color or bi-color, with at least one color being white.
Classification / standards AKC Terrier standard UKC Terriers standard
Domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris)

The Rat Terrier is an American dog breed with a background as a farm dog and hunting companion. Traditionally more of a type than a breed, they share much ancestry with the small hunting dogs known as feists. Common throughout family farms in the 1920s and 1930s, they are now considered a rare breed. Today's Rat Terrier is an intelligent, active little dog that is kept both for pest control and as a family pet.

The Rat Terrier ranges from about 10 to 25 pounds and stands 10 to 18 inches at the shoulder. The miniature size (13 inches and under as defined by the UKC) is becoming increasingly popular as a house pet and companion dog, but the miniature is still a hunting dog. The standard says "small to medium" and the miniature is small enough to go in and under those places where vermin like to hide. A larger strain, often in excess of 25 pounds, has been developed. Called the Decker or Decker Giant, it was named after breeder Milton Decker, who created a larger hunting companion and are recognized by the National Rat Terrier Association (NRTA, see "Breed recognition" below). UKC and AKC do not recognize the Decker strain as another breed, they are merely considered a standard variety. The NRTA recognizes a Toy variety weighing 10 pounds or less. The NRTA continues to classify the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier as the Type B Rat Terrier. In the 1970s, a hairless mutation appeared in a single Rat Terrier and was propagated into a strain of the Rat Terrier. After a period of development this line resulted in the American Hairless Terrier, recognized as a separate breed by several registries.

The Rat Terrier comes in a variety of coat colors. The classic coloring is black tanpoint with piebald spotting (known as black tricolor), but chocolate, tan (varying in shade from pale gold to dark mahogany), blue, isabella (pearl), lemon and apricot are all fairly common. They may be tricolor or bicolor, always with some amount of white present. Sable may overlay any of these colors. Creeping tan (often "Calico"), is also acceptable. Ticking is usually visible in the white parts of the coat, or in the underlying skin. Brindle, currently disallowed by the main breed standards, is considered by some to be a traditional Rat Terrier pattern, and there is a growing movement to have this pattern accepted into the breed. However, merle is widely considered to be the result of recent outcrosses and, because of associated health problems, is rejected by most Rat Terrier breeders.