Cornish Terrier
editThe Cornish Terrier is a medium-sized to large-sized, short-coated breed of dog. It is of English lineage, in particularly from the Northern Coast of Cornwall. Descended from bull baiting as well as coursing ancestors, it is muscular, fast and loyal breed. Thought to have been breed from the common Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Greyhound, this was thought to have been done to create both a muscular guarding dog with the ability to be effective at sight hunting.
| Cornish Terrier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Origin | England, (Cornwall). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Description
editAppearance
editThe Cornish Terrier is a medium-sized to Large-sized, both slight, and very muscular dog, with a similar appearance to the much smaller Staffordshire Bull Terrier, as well as equal in size to the American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier, the latter two of which are very similar to the Cornish Terrier with longer legs and outweighing the Staffordshire Bull Terrier by approximately 10 kg (22 lbs.) It has a broad wedge shaped head (male considerably more so than female), defined occipital muscles, a relatively long fore-face compared to that of the other aforementioned bull terriers, dark round eyes and a wide mouth with a clean scissor-like bite (the top incisors slightly overlap the bottom incisors). The ears are small and held high on the head. The cheek muscles are pronounced but less so then the other Bull Terrier breeds. The lips show some looseness completely hiding the teeth. The head tapers down to a strong well-muscled neck, which unlike the Staffordshire Bull, American Staffordshire Bull Terrier and Pit Bull Terrier has loose skin steaming from the jowls. With shoulders placed on squarely spaced forelimbs. They are tucked up in their loins and the last 2-3 ribs of the rib-cage are usually visible. Unlike other Bull Terriers the Cornish Terrier supports a very deep chest harking back to it's greyhound lineage. The tail resembles an old fashioned pump handle and is placed high up on the hind quarters. The hind quarters are very muscular, allowing the Cornish Terrier to very rapidly accelerate to on average of 50km/h (31mph) with the record at 56km/h (34.8mph) . Only ever found with Brindle colouring with a dark saddle running the length of the back, though white patching over the body (particulaly the chest and paws) is often found and is acceptable within the breed standards, these are described as pied. The coat is smooth and clings tightly to the body ( apart from around the neck) giving the dog a streamlined appearance.
The dogs stand 56 to 66 cm (22 to 26 in) high at the withers and weigh 25 to 30 kg (29 to 37 lb) for males; females stand 51 to 61cm (20 to 24 in) high at the withers and weigh 22 to 27 kg (48.5 to 59.5 lbs).
A characteristic that is very rare among dogs but is often found in Cornish Terriers is having four dewclaws, one on each paw.
Temperament
editAlthough individual in personality exist within the breed, common traits exist throughout Cornish Terriers. Due mostly to it's lineage, the Cornish Terrier does have certain characteristics such as fearlessness, loyalty and often lethargic tendencies. In the modern Cornish Terrier it lethargic nature coupled with its affection for its friends, its off-duty quietness and trustworthy stability, make it a foremost all-purpose dog.
The breed is large and naturally muscular and may appear intimidating; however, because of their natural fondness for people, most Cornish Terriers are ill-suited for guarding or attack-dog work. Cornish Terriers respond very well to positive reinforcement making them easy to train. The puppies are very easy to house train.
History
editThough the exact history of the Cornish Terrier is not fully known, the origins of the breed are thought to date back to around the late 18th Century/ early 19th Century. The earliest recorded sighting was in 1844 in St Agnes, Cornwall of a dog called Reuben, this is the dog that the breed standard is solaly based off. It is thought that the original use of the Cornish Terrier was to be an all round utility dog and companion for miner. Their roles as an utility dog ranged from guarding to rabbit hunting. During their early history Cornish Terriers were breed solely for their athleticism. Unique to the Cornish Terrier compared to almost all other breeds is that the modern breed has not changed drastically in appearance since the 19th Century.
The loose skin around the neck is a hang over from their lineage from Staffordshire Bull Terriers where this trait was for allowing the dog to carrying on fighting while the other dog was griping on to it's neck, this also provided protection for the dog. In the Cornish Terrier the case is different it was just meant to be there for protection while in a working harness.
Although sharing a common ancestry with the Staffordshire Bull Terrier the Cornish Terrier was never associated with any bloodsports such as bull baiting or dog fighting, but because of it's lineage with the the greyhound it was popually involved in coursing for entertainment.
Health
editCornish Terriers are not known to suffer from any hereditary disease in particular. It is thought that the Cornish Terrier's large gene pool is the reason for it's resleince to genetic diseases that would usually affect similar breeds of dogs.
The average life span of the Cornish Terrier is not known as the ages of the breed vary so much.
