Three or four times a year in 19th century England’s Lake District, sheep – probably Herdwick Sheep, were herded off the fells to be dipped, clipped, and have their lambs. Around the same time that sheep were lambing, mountain fox were birthing their cubs, and this lead to a contest of survival between farmers of the Lake Country – poor, but gritty folk – and the fox.
Not all foxes took lambs, but they took enough to ruin livelihoods. Worse was the horror of what farmers found after an attack. One fox could terrorize a flock of sheep, kill many of them by repeatedly biting their necks and backs, leave others alive but mutilated, and run off with unborn lambs to feed its own young.
For these people, hunting fox wasn’t sport as it was in the more affluent part of the country, it was an effort to exist. The farmers didn’t need a dog to bolt a fox, they needed a dog to destroy it. The fox had to be controlled.
As for the fox, these were mountain fox sometimes called the “dog fox” because of its size. It made its home and “birthing center” high up in the fells, a high and barren range of mountains or moor-covered hills. Farmers could hunt the fox to a point, but once the critter got to the fells or ducked into a hole, they were safe. Safe to continue killing sheep, and safe to reproduce more cubs.
A dog breed was borne out of this need, a foxy dog that could be a match for the dog fox. Enter the Lakeland Terrier. He didn’t ride on a saddle as some terriers did on fox hunts, he walked, ran, scurried, chased and dug to earn his keep. A Lakie could put ten to twenty miles on those feet, and some of it was on treacherous footing where jagged rocks and ledges could turn one wrong step into certain injury or death. Lakies could get into hidey holes in which no other dog could fit, and twist and turn inside with the malleability of a gumby doll. Sometimes it wasn’t a fox the Lakeland Terrier encountered. Sometimes, it was a badger in a real foul mood.
Form followed functioned in this breed. A narrow body and long neck could fit into those holes, and superb dexterity helped him negotiate them. Long legs, a good layback of shoulders, a powerful hind end and deep chest enabled him to go long distances without tiring, and well padded paws protected against pebbles, scree, and jagged rocks. Loose skin protected his organs, but it wasn’t to be found on his throat lest his enemy have something to grab. He wore his own weatherproof coat, and its furnishings, much like the cords on a Komondor, acted to give a biting opponent not much more than a mouthful of hair. Strong jaws gave the Lakie as good as he got – and then some.
Gameness, tenacity, and good judgement has made the Lakeland Terrier the epitome of a dog that was created to fill a specific niche, and it did so admirably.
Image: Lakeland Terrier by Doggy Lips is available as an art print and pillow here and here