Lakeland Terrier

By Patricia Peters

This Comprehensive Owner's Guide to the Lakeland Terrier serves as a complete introduction to this unique British terrier breed known for its prowess at seeking both quarry and comedy. The Lakey, as the breed is affectionately known, is a free-thinking little devil, smaller than most of the other long-legged terriers and more easygoing. The Lakelan

• Language: English
• Publisher: CompanionHouse Books
• Release date: Jul 17, 2012
• ISBN: 9781621870302

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THE LAKE DISTRICT

The Lakeland Terrier emerged from the need to control vermin, primarily fox, but also otter, badger and marten, in the beautiful yet rugged mountains of northwestern England. The Lake District is a geological marvel of rock and water, with poetic names like Blencathra and Windermere. The slate, shale and granite contribute to the harsh beauty of the land and provide housing and hiding for burrowing creatures as well as challenges for the terriers that hunt them.

An uncertain and often unkind climate in the Lake District discouraged all but the hardiest of homesteaders. People were scarce. Much more numerous were the sheep that could forage on the steep hillsides; indeed, they formed a basis for the local economy. Since their lambs in the spring were easy pickings for marauding foxes, the farmers kept terriers and hounds to deal with the problem. There was an element of sport here, but of a deadly and serious nature. The dogs were meant to be exterminators, and true grit was a prerequisite.

THE LAKELANDS

by Dermot Spence (reprinted from the

Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, 1931)

The Borzoi came from the courts of the Czar,

With eyes of amber and a coat of foam;

The Greyhound coursed in Imperial Rome,

Was petted by Pharaoh and ran by his car.

But I know a breed that is better by far,

And under Helvellyn you’ll find ‘em at home,

Little dogs of Patterdale, of Ennerdale and Matterdale,

The little dogs of Patterdale will tell you what they are.

Just seventeen pounds of muscle and bone,

Just fifteen inch to the ‘shoulder knot,’

That is a proper dog you’ve got.

The eyes wide-set and the tail well-flown,

That is the way they should be grown.

To go to ground on a scent red-hot,

The little dogs of Patterdale, of Borrowdale and Matterdale,

The little dogs of Patterdale will mark you for their own.

Out with John Peel at break o’ day,

Working terriers ready for knocks;

Some of ’em black and some of ’em fox,

Some of ’em brindled, sand or grey,

The rest of ’em patched in the Lakeland way,

The brown o’ the bracken, in the blue o’ the rocks.

The little dogs of Patterdale, of Martindale and Matterdale,

The little dogs of Patterdale will steal your heart away.

The earliest reference to terriers in the Lake District is documented in a picture of Lowther Castle, dated 1693, showing several blue terriers working with the Cottesmore hounds. Stud books and pedigrees dating from 1732 record a conscientiously maintained line of working terriers that represent one of the oldest examples of the terrier breeder’s art in Britain.

EMERGENCE OF THE BREED

During the 19th century, game little terriers were bred in comparative isolation, with little attention paid to appearance. Hunting prowess was the sole criterion, and there is little documentation available from this time concerning the breeding of these earthdogs. In the latter half of the 19th century, agricultural shows spread northward in England and became very popular in the Lake District. There were classes for gundogs, hounds and terriers at these shows. The terrier classes were divided by color: white and any other color. With the increasing popularity of these competitions, the terrier’s appearance, as well as its working ability, factored into breeding decisions.

The terriers of the British Isles have been developed over the past 200 years to suit the needs and imaginations of the people who bred them. One of the earliest ancestors is the now-extinct Old English Black and Tan. These basic ancestral terriers most probably appeared in the modern Lakeland’s family tree, although the early terriers of the Lake District were more often black, tan or sandy, blue, blue and tan, or black and grizzle.

There are numerous theories as to which recognizable breeds played a part in Lakeland history. There is documentation to support infusions of small Irish, Bedlington (hence the inclusion of liver in the breed’s coat colors), Dandie Dinmont, Welsh and Wire Fox Terriers (to straighten legs, improve heads and add style). These early colored terriers of the Lake District were identified by the names of their breeders or the areas in which they were bred. These included Lowther, Ullswater, Patterdale, Fell, Cumberland and John Peel. Hunt clubs that kept Foxhounds, such as Blencathra, Melbreck and Coniston, each had a favorite type of terrier that was identified by the club’s name. It wasn’t until a meeting of enthusiasts at Keswick in 1912 that the name Lakeland Terrier was chosen to define a breed that was still in the early stages of development. In 1921, an early group of Lakeland fanciers met in Cumberland to draw up a written standard that was adopted by England’s Kennel Club. The Lakeland Terrier Association was formed under the presidency of the Earl of Lonsdale in an effort to improve and standardize type.

A Lakeland of modern type at the turn of the 19th century.

An early member of that group was to have a vital impact on the development of the breed; her name was Mrs. Graham-Spence. With imagination and dedication, she went about gathering the finest native Fell Terriers and, by the judicious inclusion of quality Wire Fox and Welsh Terriers, established a recognizable type. Her efforts served to link the tough little indeterminate terriers of the Lake District and the modern Lakeland Terrier. Under the Egton prefix, Lakelands of the emerging modern type were produced that remained as faithful in temperament and hunting prowess as their less attractive ancestors.

The Lakeland Terrier has various terrier breeds in its background.

FIRST CCs

The first dog and bitch of the breed to win Challenge Certificates (CCs) at a show sanctioned by England’s Kennel Club were H. L. Tweedie’s Eng. Ch. Evergreens Double and Mrs. Graham-Spence’s Eng. Ch. Egton Lady of the Lake. This was in 1931, and both dogs went on to finish their championships.

Eng. Ch. Egton Lady of the Lake (LEFT) and Eng. Ch. Evergreens Double, the first female and male, respectively, to earn Kennel Club Challenge Certificates, awards toward a British championship.

BREED RECOGNITION AND ONWARD

England’s Kennel Club recognized Lakeland Terriers in 1928, and the general public was introduced to the breed at Kennel Club-sanctioned shows, thanks to the efforts of early enthusiasts. Two more clubs promoting the virtues of their terriers were formed—first, the Lakeland Terrier Club in 1932, and later the Lakeland Terrier Society. All of these organizations support the breed at shows large and small and serve as a forum for breeders and disseminators of information on all things Lakeland.

T. Meageen was another early breeder, whose Mockerin dogs were very influential in establishing early type. Eng. Ch. Mockerin Mac was one example of a top winner and top sire. The most important sire during this formative period was J. Singleton’s red grizzle dog, Eng. Ch. Guardsman. Bred in Cumberland, he is behind almost every Lakeland Terrier down to the modern era. Two of his most famous descendants, Eng. Ch. Blackwell Ravelsaye Recruit and Eng. Ch. Glenrae Blackwell Masterpiece, were prepotent sires who helped establish modern Lakeland type.

These early efforts were put on hold during World War II, and it took a few years to get back on track. The breed reached the pinnacle of the dog-show world in 1963, when the beautiful bitch Eng. Ch. Rogerholme Recruit, owned by W. Rogers, won Supreme Best in Show Champion at the famous Crufts Dog Show. Four years later, in 1967, another Lakeland, Eng. Am. Ch. Stingray of Derryabah, repeated the win and then emigrated to America to match his Crufts win by going Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1968. He went on to establish a dynasty in America.

Before this dynasty was created in the United States, one of similar magnitude was established in the UK by Eng. Ch. Blackwell Ravelsaye Recruit. His name appears (often multiple times) in virtually every pedigree in the post-war years. His impact was enormous on both sides of the pond.

LAKELAND HISTORY IN THE UNITED STATES

The English Kennel Club recognized the Lakeland Terrier in 1928 and six years later the American Kennel Club (AKC) offered registration for the breed as well. Recognition did not translate into popularity, though, and it was not until three years later, in 1937, that the first American champion, Kildale Ideal, was made up. Early activity was concentrated in New England and focused on imported dogs. Mrs. Leonard Smit, Trucote kennels, who later remarried as Mrs. Joseph Urmston, owned Lakelands during a decades-long interest in several terrier breeds, including both their breeding and exhibition. She owned Whycote Pride of Fashion, the first Lakeland to achieve a Terrier Group win in the US (Bronx County Kennel Club, 1939). The war years reduced activity on both sides of the Atlantic, but there was a resurgence in interest in the 1950s. Mrs. Smit and others continued to import quality dogs. Her Eng. Ch. Ravelsaye Replica of Trucote won the first Best in Show (BIS) for the breed in 1951, again at the Bronx County Kennel Club. Eng. Am. Ch. Tithebarn Replica, a Replica grandson, was successfully campaigned in England, winning 13 Challenge Certificates before being imported to the US. He was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Weil, Kerryall kennels, of California.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY KC

Montgomery County Kennel Club Show, a paradise for terrier fanciers from all over the world and the most famous all-terrier show in America, is held in eastern Pennsylvania every October. The first Lakeland Terrier to win Best in Show there was Todhole’s Monsoon Miss, owned by Mrs. L. M. Loeb, in 1957. Then, beginning in 1970, a succession of Stingray descendants won the top award. The first was his son Eng. Ch. Special Edition, owned by Mr. and Mrs. J. Farrell. In 1975, his son Eng. Ch. Jo-Ni’s Reed Baron of Crofton, owned by V. Dickson, topped the all-terrier entry. Eng. Ch. Terra Copper Chucka, a Baron daughter owned by E. Etter, won in 1977. She was followed by two Baron granddaughters, E. Boyes’s Ch. Jamboree Jubilea in 1982 and P. Peters’s homebred Ch. Kilfel Pointe of Vu in 1987, and great-grandson Ch. Northcote Delzar Serious Riot in 2004.

Ch. Black Watch Town Gossip, bred and owned by Jean L. Heath and William H. Cosby, Jr., was the top Lakey bitch for 2002 and 2003.

The West Coast became the focus of Lakeland activity in the 1950s, and the US Lakeland Terrier Club (USLTC) sponsored its first specialty show in Los Angeles in 1955. Replica won the breed, having completed his title with several group wins and a BIS. The Weils actively supported the breed with multiple imports. Easily the most notable was the import Ch. Tithebarn Limelight, a granddaughter of Tithebarn Replica. She finished with a BIS at Orange Empire Kennel Club in 1957 and was the breed’s first legitimate superstar in this country. Defeated only once in the breed, by her grandsire, she had 58 Bests of Breed, 28 Group Firsts and 6 BIS. The early days of the USLTC were supported primarily by the West Coast fanciers, and the St. Pierres’ Seascale kennels were wonderful ambassadors in those early days. Another tireless worker for the club and the breed was Gladys Brown Edwards.

GENERATIONS OF WINNERS

Tracing back to Ch. Hensington Carefree, the well-known Black Watch kennel in California can mark ten consecutive generations of Best in Show winners, culminating with their Ch. Revelry’s Awesome Blossom, the all-time top-winning Lakeland Terrier in America.

The pre-war breeders in the Northeast were gone, but Mrs. Louis Loeb made Lakeland history with the imported Eng. Ch. Todhole’s Monsoon Miss when she went BIS at the Montgomery County all-terrier show in 1957. In New York when Lea Manning, Fostoria kennels, married professional handler Walter Foster, she was given a Lakeland, the import Flornell Fellside Monarch, as a wedding gift. It was the beginning of her over 40-year love affair with the breed. Her Ch. Fostoria Little Red was the first American-bred group winner. He was sired by her import Ch. Rendale Rattlem, who was a top producer for her and others. His grandson, Ch. Fostoria Playboy, was a multiple group winner. Rattlem’s most notable offspring was a bitch bred by Joyce Hopkins in Pennsylvania out of her import Ch. Cabinhill Compact. Gladys Brown Edwards took Brazen Blonde of Oz to California as a puppy in 1959. When she was three years old she was purchased by the Weils, who campaigned her to a record 107 breed wins, 79 Group Firsts and 31 BIS. She was never bred, having died in an auto accident, but her exquisite breed type and remarkable showmanship brought Lakelands to the forefront in dog show circles. Zsa-Zsa was center stage in America at the same time that the lovely bitch Eng. Ch. Rogerholme Recruit was the first Lakeland to go BIS at Crufts in England in 1963.

The attention that these dogs generated created new interest in the breed, and they began to be seen at shows across the US. Breeders in the East, in the Midwest and on the West Coast continued to import foundation stock from Great Britain in order to develop their own bloodlines. For example, Florence Prawel, and then her daughter Jenny, of Sherwood kennels, began breeding and exhibiting in the 1960s and continue to support the breed by producing quality dogs of influence.

The breed in America came into its own as the result of yet another import when Peter Green imported Eng. Ch. Stingray of Derryabah for Mr. and Mrs. James Farrell, Jr., Foxden kennels, after he won BIS at Crufts in 1967. His show career ended the following February when he became the first dog of any breed to win BIS at both Crufts and Westminster, but that was just the beginning; he was destined to become the patriarch of a dynasty of top winners and producers for American fanciers. Although imports continued to arrive, they no longer dominated the show scene. Most notable of Stingray’s progeny was Ch. Special Edition, bred by Joyce McComiskey out of Ch. Ginger Peach of Sherwood; he retired with 34 BIS and 87 Group Firsts. It was as a producer that he excelled and his son, Ch. Jo-Ni’s Red Baron of Crofton, owned by Virginia Dickson, Valoramor kennels, and shown by Ric Chashoudian, was destined to carry on the winning tradition in the show ring (72 BIS and 132 group wins) and as a sire. Like his grandsire he won BIS at Westminster in 1976, and like his sire he won BIS at Montgomery County. In turn Montgomery County’s top award went to his daughter, Ch. Terra Copper Chucka, in 1977, two of his granddaughters, Ch. Jamboree Jubilea, in 1982, and Ch. Kilfel Pointe of Vu, in 1987, and a great-grandson, Ch. Northcote Delzar Serious Riot, in 2004. American breeders and exhibitors were no longer dependent on England for quality dogs. There are very few Lakeland Terriers in the US or Canada that do not trace back to these three dogs.