Breeds / Small
Smooth Fox Terrier puppies
Bold, lively and endlessly curious, the Smooth Fox Terrier is an English earth dog with a loud voice, a strong prey drive and a talent for finding trouble.
The facts
- Size class Small
- Country of origin Great Britain
- Adult weight 6.8 to 8.2 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 15 to 18 lb
- Adult height 38 cm
- Energy level High
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Short smooth
- Typical lifespan 12 to 15 years
- Good with children Fine with supervision
- Good with other dogs Fine with supervision
Where these come from:
About the Smooth Fox Terrier
The Smooth Fox Terrier was bred in England to run with foxhound packs and go to ground after a fox that had bolted for cover. It is a compact, square little dog of about 38 cm and 6.8 to 8.2 kg, with a flat, hard white coat marked in black or tan, a long wedge of a head and a permanently switched on expression. The character is classic terrier: bold, funny, noisy, quick to dig and quicker to chase anything small that moves.
This is a busy dog that needs real daily exercise plus something to occupy the mind, or it will find its own entertainment in your garden. Grooming is easy, a weekly going over with a hound glove. Barking is a genuine consideration, since the breed is vocal by design and neighbours notice. Off lead freedom near roads or small animals is unwise given the prey drive. With children it does best supervised and well socialised. Owners routinely underestimate the digging, the noise and the recall problem.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Smooth Fox Terrier puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A small breed puppy at eight weeks is light enough to carry everywhere, which is exactly how you get it socialised before the vaccination course finishes. It will still need four meals a day. This is a high energy breed. At eight weeks that shows up as intensity rather than stamina, and it will need a job to do long before it needs long walks. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Patellar luxation, graded by a veterinary orthopaedic exam
- Cardiac disease, detected by auscultation and echocardiogram
- Congenital deafness, detectable by BAER testing
- Primary lens luxation, detectable by DNA test on both parents
- Legg Calve Perthes disease, a malformation of the hip joint in young dogs, found on x-ray
From Smooth Fox Terrier breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/smooth-fox-terrier/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Smooth Fox Terrier puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Small for a Smooth Fox Terrier.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 6.8 to 8.2 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other small breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.