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American Manchester Terrier Club�Judges Education Seminar

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History and Background

Oldest of the identifiable Terrier Breeds
1570: First mention of terriers in literature: Dr. Caius Encyclopedia of Dogs mentioned Black & Tan Terrier as rougher in coat & shorter on leg
1859: The Dog in Health and Disease, by J.A.Walsh,

Devoted a full chapter to the Black and Tan terrier, giving them recognition as

an established breed.

Mr. Walsh’s description might serve well today:

Smooth coated
Nose-long, tapering
Skull-narrow and flat
Eyes-small and bright
Chest-rather deep than wide
Color-ONLY black and tan

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English History

Europe in the 1800s:

Cities had poor sanitation
Rats became a health menace (bubonic plague, etc)
Rat killing is a popular sport

John Hulme, an enthusiastic devotee of both the sports of rat killing and rabbit coursing, bred a Whippet to a cross-bred terrier to develop one breed of dog for both sports.

1827: The celebrated “Billy”, a dog with decided

Manchester features, was said to have killed 100

rats in 5 minutes, 30 seconds, in a rat pit

Circa 1850: Tiny Wonder, a Toy Manchester Terrier, was famous in the city if London for killing 200 rats in an hour

Ratting in the Hedgerow 1881

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"Jilted" by Briton Riviere, 1887

English History – The Gentleman’s Terrier

By 1860- the Manchester district became the breed center

for these “ rat terriers” and the name Manchester Terrier surfaced.

Various sizes emerged to suit their various needs:

Vermin control (businesses, farms, homes, ships)
Bloodsports (handicapped by weight)
Field work (crossed with Whippets to create superior rabbit courser)

Ears were cropped to reduce the risk of having them torn in frequent scraps. This also enhanced the sharp appearance of the expression.

Note, there was a use for the larger and smaller dogs.
Larger specimens could be used for coursing
Smaller specimens had an advantage in flushing game from burrows and ratting in small spaces. A smaller specimen was also given a handicap in the rat pits that was seen as advantageous.

The Breed developed a fighting spirit that made them equally handy in the rat pit or a hedge row: They could tackle an opponent twice their size, with silent determination! ��They were often called the “Gentleman’s Terriers” because of their dauntless spirit.

When rat killing became illegal in England, rat pits were supplanted by the dining halls of public inns, which were all infested with rats. Many Inns kept their own kennel.

�When the tap rooms closed, who do you think took command? The black & tan rat killing machines proved worth 100 fold to the Inn keeper

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��

1884: First Breed Standard (UK) written with 3 sizes described: Toy (up to 7 lbs), Medium (up to 14 lbs) and Large (up to 22 lbs).

In the early 1900s, smaller specimens gained appeal in some circles, leading to a concentrated effort to reduce size further, at any cost. They developed apple dome heads and size diminished to 2 ½ lbs. They became frail and sickly.

In England, the smaller specimens became the English Toy (Black & Tan) Terrier while the larger ones remained as the Manchester Terrier. These two are considered separate breeds in England and FCI countries today.

History - Size

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��1884 The American Kennel Club is formally founded��1885 The first Black & Tan Terrier was registered in the stud book��1887 The first Manchester Terrier was registered��1912 The Manchester Terrier Club of America was recognized (Standard Variety) ��1933 Officially renamed to Standard Manchester Terrier and Toy Manchester Terrier��1938 The American Toy Manchester Terrier Club was organized��1952 The MTCA was without organized breed representation ��1959 To the credit of the ATMTC, the two varieties were combined as one with the formation of the American Manchester Terrier Club (AMTC)

American History

Note that the first Black and Tan terrier was registered in the stud books just one year after the incorporation of the AKC. historically, the two varieties have been treated as one, both in breeding and exhibition – AKC always allowed interbreeding and exhibition based on weight.

In 1959, the two varieties were combined under one parent club by AKC due to the Standard Manchester Terriers decline after two world wars. The 1959 combining of varieties is often cited by breed fanciers today as the point at which the Toy and Standard were first combined, but our historical records show, they were always treated as one breed in the United States and even in Europe, they were allowed to inter-breed well into the 1950s. Today, breeders in European and FCI countries circumvent the breeding restriction by importing North American bloodlines.

Why is this important? What has been presented on the last two slides illustrates how the breed has evolved over time. These historic pressures applied to the breed, both with the variation of size and type, influences both the preferences (or lack of preferences with regards to size) and disqualifications found in the breed standard, as well as the variation in type.

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Toys 1936 – 1955

Note the difference from todays Toys:

Lack of substance
Ears
Eyes
Skulls
Muzzles

Standards

The varieties were still registered separately at this time. As you can see prior to the combining of the parent clubs, the toys looked very different. The Standards have not changed much. These toys were quite small, and are likely the reason we have an open class that is divided at 7 lbs, although you’ll rarely see an entry in that class today.

Remember how the smaller dogs were used in the rat pits because of the preferred handicap they received due to their small size. As toys get smaller, the eyes and heads get rounder. The pressures of mother nature making it very challenging to produce a tiny toy that meets the demands of the Manchester Terrier breed standard.

Toy Manchester Terriers climbed the AKC registration statistics and reached their height of popularity during this time.
In 1940, 395 were registered with AKC and
by 1941, registrations had more than doubled to 835.
They ranked as high as #19 in AKC registration stats in 1954.
From 1945 to 1957, registration numbers doubled with more than 3,166 Toys registered in 1957 compared to only 40 Standard Manchester Terriers.
World War II nearly caused the extinction of the Standard Variety and in 1958, the two varieties were combined.

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Toys 1960 - 1970

Note the improvement

Substance
Head
Eye
Muzzle
Ears

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Key Concepts

Strength – Working terrier
Elegance – Quietly powerful / Smooth outline
Agile – need to work in small spaces, ability to course
Endurance – could kill rats for hours
Devotion – devoted to their family, not so much to strangers. Rats �are vicious and a dog needs to have its head on a swivel to work �safely in the rat pit

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A small black short coated dog with distinctive rich

mahogany markings and a taper style tail.

In structure, the Manchester presents a sleek,

sturdy yet elegant look and has a wedge shaped long

and clean head with a keen, bright, alert expression.

General Appearance

The smooth, compact, muscular body expresses great power and agility enabling the Manchester to kill vermin and course small game.

Except for size and ear options, there are no differences between the Standard and Toy varieties of the Manchester Terrier. The Toy variety is a diminutive version of the Standard variety.

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General Appearance

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��The Manchester Terrier, overall, is slightly longer than tall. ��The height, measured vertically from the ground to the highest point of the withers, is slightly less than the length, measured horizontally from the point of the shoulders to the rear projection of the upper thigh. ��The bone and muscle of the Manchester Terrier is of sufficient mass to ensure agility and endurance. ��Toy Variety: weight over 12 pounds shall be excused��Disqualification: Standard Variety - Weight over 22 pounds �

Size, Proportion, Substance

Toy variety: Shall not exceed 12 lbs

Standard variety: Shall be over 12 lbs, and not exceeding 22 lbs

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“Keen and alert expression”

Eyes

nearly black and almond shaped
set moderately close together slanting upwards on the outside

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Ears

Standard variety:

3 ear types: naturally erect, button or cropped.
No preference is given to any of the ear types.
Cropped ears are long, pointed and carried erect
Button ears are wider at the base, tapering to pointed tips

Toy variety: Only natural ears allowed

Both varieties:

Carried well up on the skull
The naturally erect ears are wider at the

base, tapering to pointed tips

Fault: Wide, flaring, blunt tipped or

“bell” ears are a serious fault for both varieties.

Disqualification: Toy Variety –

Cropped or button ears.

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Head

Long, narrow, tight skinned and almost flat with a slight indentation up the forehead
Blunted wedge in frontal and profile views
Muzzle and skull are equal in length
Slight stop as viewed in profile
Muzzle well filled under the eyes with no visible cheek muscles
Underjaw is full and well defined

Pigment: Eye rims, nose and lips are black

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Scissors bite preferred
Level bite is acceptable
Lips lie close to the jaw
Jaws are powerful with full and proper dentition
Teeth are white and strongly developed

Bite

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Review: Head (Skull and Eyes)

Skull & Muzzle equal in length

Skull & Muzzle Faults

Resembles blunted wedge in frontal & profile view

Scissor bite preferred

Level bite acceptable

Skull too round, muzzle too short or thick and Lack of Underjaw

Eyes- Nearly black, almond shaped

Small, bright, sparkling

Set close together

Slanting upwards on outside

Neither protrude nor sink in skull

Rim pigmentation black

Eye Faults

Rather wide apart

Too large, too round

Too light in color

Ear faults

Wide, flaring, blunt tipped

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Faults: Head (Skull and Eyes)

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Faults: Head (Skull and Eyes)

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Review-Head (Ears)

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Neck

slightly arched, slim, graceful and of moderate length
gradually becomes larger as it approaches and blends smoothly with the sloping shoulders

Topline: Slight, subtle arch over the robust loins falling slightly to the tail set.

Underline: Tucked up extending in an arched line from the deep brisket.

Tail

Tapers to a point
Moderately short, reaching no further than the hock joint
Set on at the end of the croup being thicker where it joins
the body
Carried no higher than the back

Fault: While standing or in motion, a flat or roached

back is a serious fault for both varieties.

Neck, Topline, Body

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The gait is free and effortless with good reach of the forequarters
Rear quarters have strong, driving power to match the front reach.
Hocks fully extend. Each rear leg moves in line with the foreleg of the same side, neither thrown in nor out.
When moving at a trot, the legs converge toward the center of gravity of the dog

Gait

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Gait

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Slight Subtle Arch

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Why judged moving?

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Why judged moving?

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Shoulders are well laid back

Shoulder blades and upper arm relatively the same length

Distance from the elbow to the withers approximately the same as distance from elbow to ground

The elbows lie close to the brisket

Forelegs are straight, of proportionate length, and placed well under the brisket.

Forechest is moderately defined

Ribs are well sprung, flattened in the lower end to permit clearance of the forelegs.

The pasterns are almost perpendicular.

Dew claws may be removed.

Forequarters

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Review: Neck, Body, Topline

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The thigh is muscular with the length of the upper and lower thighs being approximately equal

The stifle is well turned

The hindquarters are in balance with the well laid back shoulders

The hocks are well let down.

Dew claws may be removed

Hindquarters

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Feet

Front feet

compact and well arched
two middle toes are slightly

longer than the others

pads are thick
jet-black nails

Hind feet

shaped like those of a cat
thick pads
jet-black nails

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Smooth, short, dense, tight and glossy

Jet black with rich mahogany tan which does not blend into each other, but abruptly form clear, well-defined lines of color.

Fault: White on any part of the coat is a serious fault

Disqualifications:

Whenever the white forms a patch or stripe measuring as much as one half inch at its longest dimension
Any color other than black and tan shall be disqualified

Coat

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Color and Markings

Very small tan spot over each eye and on each cheek
Sides of the muzzle are tanned to the nose, but the nose and nasal

bone are jet black

Tan extends under the throat ending in the shape of the letter V
Partly tan inside of the ears

Black “thumb mark” patch on the front of each foreleg at the pastern. The remainder of the foreleg is tan to the carpus joint

Distinct black “pencil mark” line running lengthwise on the top of each toe on all four feet

Soundness and type supercede color and markings

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Color and Markings

Soundness and type supercede color and markings

Tan on the hind leg should continue from the penciling on the toes up the inside of the legs to a little below the stifle joint

Outside of the hind legs is black

Tan under the tail and on the vent but only of such size as to be covered by the tail

Tan spots, called “rosettes” on each side of the chest above the front legs.
These are more
pronounced in puppies than in adults

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Color and Markings

Veteran

Natural Graying

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Thumbprints

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Coat and Color Faults

Breeching on the (outer) rear leg

Smuttiness in the muzzle

Runny Thumbprints

White on Chest

Thin Coat

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The Manchester Terrier is neither aggressive nor shy. He is keenly observant, devoted yet discerning.

Not being a sparring breed, the Manchester Terrier is generally friendly with other dogs.

Excessive shyness or aggressiveness is considered a serious fault.

Temperament

Note that this is not a sparring breed. This is a softer terrier that gets along with other dogs.

Table evaluation: be patient with the young puppies. This is a discerning breed that can be suspicious of strangers and they require a lot of socialization well into adulthood. They go through multiple fear periods. Please approach from the side and get in and out as fast as possible. Ask the handler to show the bite.

Aggressiveness or shyness should not be ignored, however, these are not social dogs. Please don’t hold them under the chin, gaze into their eyes and try to whisper sweet nothings to them. If the puppy is having a bad day, you won’t change their mind. The best you can do for an upset dog is examine it quickly and move on. The release of pressure is the greatest reward. They know they only have to stand there for a few seconds, and I guarantee you they are counting down in their heads, so don’t prolong it!

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Faults:�

Toy Variety: over 12 pounds shall be excused

Both Varieties:�

Wide, flaring, blunt tipped or “bell” ears
Flat or roached back while standing or in motion
Excessive shyness or aggressiveness
White on any part of the coat

Faults & Disqualifications

Disqualifications:�

Standard Variety: Weight over 22 pounds
Toy Variety: Cropped or button ears
Both Varieties:

White on any part of the coat whenever the white forms a patch or stripe measuring as much as one half inch at its longest dimension
Any color other than black and tan

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Class: Head

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Class: Topline

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Class: Bodies