The internet is a marvelous thing, but it can also be a dangerous place. Dangerous for children. Dangerous for the target of cyber bullies, and dangerous for novices looking for legitimate information about dog breeds.
We came across a site, for instance, that acknowledges that the AKC recognizes four standard colors in Border Terriers: Red, grizzle and tan, blue and tan, and wheaten. So far, so good. But it goes on to write that some other colors are “quite rare,” and that if, for instance, one owns a red wheaten Border Terrier, one is “blessed.”
Blessed………….unless that person comes to decide they want to show their dog. While there are no disqualifications for Border Terriers as we write, an unrecognized color will not fare well in a show ring.
In our view, wanting a dog because it is a “rare” color is probably one of the worst reasons to have the dog, but for the person who knows they want a Border Terrier because (after doing their homework) they believe the dog is a good fit for their family, and would welcome a rarer color, there is one that is both uncommon, and “legal.”
As always, we defer to breed experts, but our research came across some interesting anecdotes about this particular color in the Border Terrier.
According to one expert named “Robbie,” after entering over 44,000 Border Terriers into an international database, he found that less than ten Borders were called this color, and even these were suspected to be misidentified reds from European backyard breeders.
Another chap, Ronnie Irving, a third generation Border Terrier man and UK judge, reportedly hasn’t seen this color in a Border Terrier in 40 years, and allegedly, a couple of past Presidents of the Border Terrier Club of America have only seen the color once in nearly 50 years in the breed. The color that once existed now seems to be extinct since so few people have actually seen it, and if we understand it correctly, the BTCA Board tried to get the AKC to drop the color from the standard and add red grizzle, suggesting the rarity of true Border Terrier in this color.
If you are chomping at the bit to learn what this mysterious color is, wait no more. The color is wheaten. The color, wheaten, of course, is still listed as an acceptable color in the breed standard, but true wheaten Border Terriers are so extremely rare as to be virtually non-existent in most current breeding populations. It wasn’t easy finding a photo of a Wheaten Border Terrier, but we found one here. That said, many sources suggest that when one does find a Wheaten Border Terrier, it may not be a pure Border Terrier.
Image: Dottie Dracos
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