All terrier breeds small enough to fit in a den are permitted to compete in AKC earthdog trials, and not long ago, we mentioned that there is one, and only one, non-terrier breed allowed in earthdog trials (Dachshunds). Strictly speaking, this isn’t true if one considers the Silky Terrier, Yorkshire Terrier, and the breed seen at the left, the Manchester Terrier. All are members of the AKC’s Toy Group, but neither has lost terrier instincts inherited from ancestors.

With regards to the Manchester, it has deep roots as a “vermin control specialist.” The Manchester district of England was considered “breed central” for dogs used to control rats, a serious health issue in the early 1800s of England. Sanitation was poor, and rats contaminated food, spread disease, and gnawed off the fingers and toes of infants in their cribs. Dogs – and in particular – “rat terriers” (later to be renamed Manchester Terriers) made short work of dispatching rats. There were those who made sport of it, and it wasn’t long before the dogs were being bred for the job (and not always carefully). The smallest of among these early Manchester Terriers were carried in leather pouches that hung from the owner’s belt, and for that reason, early Manchesters were nicknamed, the “Groom’s Pocket Piece.”

Toy Manchester Terriers (the breed also comes as a Standard) by Monika Brauer is available as a print here.