That the Toy Fox Terrier is the only toy breed developed in America isn’t up for debate, but exactly which breeds went into creating is. One source writes that the TFT, also known as the AmerToy, was bred down from already small Smooth Fox Terriers. Breeders of Smooths, intrigued by the “runts” in their litters, crossed them with the Miniature Pinscher, Italian Greyhound, Chihuahua, and Manchester Terrier (this, according to the AKC). Others insist that the Toy Fox Terrier was created from crosses between these small Smooth Fox Terriers, the Chihuahua, and the Manchester Toy along with English Toy Terriers.  Still another writer opines that Rat Terriers were also involved in the development of the Toy Fox Terrier but rarely mentioned because (some think) TFT fanciers wanting to get AKC acceptance for their breed wanted to steer clear of any non AKC genes, and that meant the exclusion of non-AKC Rat Terriers.

The constant in any of these theories is the Smooth Fox Terrier. United Kennel Club pedigrees for Toy Fox Terriers were traced back to well known Smooth Fox Terriers of Britain by Dr. Sally Reed. She traced Gr.Ch. “PR” Yancey’s Rinebold Skipper, born in 1967, back seven generations to “PR” MilBees Bim, a registered UKC Smooth Fox Terrier. “Bim” was related to “English Ch. Darrel,” ten generations removed from “Foiler,” the first Fox Terrier registered with the English Kennel Club in 1875 or 1876.

Speculation is a fine intellectual exercise, but as they say, the “proof is in the pudding,” and the result of this breed’s development is a great little dog that has the courage and gameness of a terrier, but with a mellower disposition.

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