Picture:  We took this photo as we approached the outskirts of Patterdale Village on our last UK visit

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When the fox was hunted in the mountainous country of the English Lake District these working terriers were a necessary part of every pack.  The hunting was on foot and they were out to kill, as the mountain foxes did untold damage to poultry and lambs.  Elsewhere, where hunting was done with foxhounds, terriers were not required to be so dead game that they came to grips with the fox, however in the Lakelands area the object was to kill the fox and these little terriers would do it.

The Fell country is rocky and steep (see photos in our album) and the fox dens are not soft earth that can be dug wider by an eager terrier.  So Lakelands are not primarily a digging terrier, but they were required to creep through narrow spaces amongst the rocks where any digging would be very difficult if not impossible.  It is generally supposed that a good Lakeland ought to be able to creep anywhere where it can get through with its head.

To quote from Clapham's Foxhunting on the Lakeland Fells "...the terrier for such work must be able to squeeze through very narrow places, be active, and sufficiently high on leg to enable him to follow the huntsman (usually by foot) through snow or rough ground without tiring". 

What is required to do this job is a terrier that is one with long lean sloping shoulders, straight front, deep fairly narrow chest, short to moderately short back, level croup, with tail set on high, well bent stifle and hocks low to the ground.  All should move straight and free.  Naturally few dogs live up to all of these points, but these are the Lakeland Terrier breeders ideal.

The Lakeland Terriers evolved from the old English hard haired Black and Tan terrier with the addition of many crosses, always with the object of introducing gameness.  It is thought that these crosses included Wirehaired Fox Terrier, Welsh, Airedale, Fox, Irish and also the Bedlington terrier.  In the old days Lakelands were called by various names including Fell Terrier, Patterdale Terrier, Ennerdale Terrier, Cumberland and Westmorland Terrier.  The Lakeland Terrier Association was formed in 1921 and the name Lakeland Terrier was decided upon.  This was the simplest way to include all the different strains and names that had been used up till then.  They were recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club (UK) and the first certificates were given out at dog shows in 1931. 

Even though the Lakeland Terrier is such a sportsman he is still content to be a faithful companion and delightful pet.  His great sense of humour and fun loving temperament endear him to all he meets.  Lakeland Terriers have an instant appeal to all.

This article from the Lakelander Jan-Mar 1957 appeared in an English newspaper:

"Jock, the three year old Lakeland Terrier who had been trapped in a foxhole 2,000 feet up on the Barbon Hill Fell overlooking Dentdale, since last Friday, was rescued yesterday, after exactly 73 hours underground.  Huntsman Walter Parkin's conjecture proved right, Jock had killed an 18 pound vixen and her body blocked his return route.  After being rescued, Jock trotted two miles down the hill, none the worse for his experience.  At Hilltop Farm in Dentdale, Mrs Mason was waiting with a bowl of bread and milk which was soon demolished.  Jock then curled up contentedly in front of the fire.

The rescue work had been carried out by a dozen followers of the Lunesdale foot pack in the vilest possible conditions, rain falling all day.  Mr. Mason took his tractor up the fellside and helped pull out the slab of rocks with chains.  Then, with less than an hour of daylight left, it looked as though Jock would have to be left for another night.  He was trapped behind a huge slab.  Huntsman Parkin told of the dramatic turn which brought success.  "We moved a slab and could see the fur of a fox blocking an opening under another slab" he said.  "It was a formidable rock and Tom Ridding, of Burton, decided to try to make another way in over the top of the slab.  As soon as he got a hole through we saw Jock's muzzle appear and he licked Tom's hand.  The hole was enlarged and Jock came out, none the worse.  This is the third time Jock has been on the wrong side of a dead fox and had to be dug out."

A further newspaper stated that Jock was to be retired to stud after this.

This shows the risks taken by terriers in the rocky Lake country. 

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