Some of the topics we cover on these pages are born out of the mixed messages that occasionally surface in our research. We were intrigued to see that the breed standard on the Patterdale Terrier Club of America website lists acceptable colors as black, red, chocolate, or black and tan, yet the club’s official newsletter is entitled The Black Dog Magazine.
Somewhere between the standard and the newsletter, a little black dog clearly got the better press agent. And since we’re not about to argue with a terrier who’s already claimed the masthead, let’s talk about this.
Color has always been part of the Patterdale Terrier’s identity, but not in the tidy, show‑ring way many people expect. Modern registries such as the United Kennel Club list a broad range of acceptable colors: black, red, liver or chocolate, grizzle, black and tan, and bronze, either solid or with some white on the chest and feet. Within that palette, however, black remains both the most common and the most iconic color, which is why so many people still picture “a little black dog” when they think Patterdale. Black‑coated dogs turn up again and again in historic working lines and in contemporary working kennels, making black as much a visual shorthand as a historical reality.
The dominance of black in the breed’s image is rooted in the Fell Terriers of northern England. Patterdales descend heavily from the old black, smooth‑coated terriers developed to work in the harsh, rocky country of the Lake District, where dark, weather‑resistant coats and tight, practical jackets were valued over cosmetic variety. Those dogs themselves drew on earlier dark terrier strains—often described as Old English–type black terriers—and their descendants were selected almost entirely for gameness, hardiness, and underground ability. In that context, black became both frequent and culturally “correct,” even though other colors existed, because the men breeding them kept and bred from whatever would work, and the dogs that proved themselves happened to be black.
Genetically, it is not surprising that black emerged as the signature color. In many working‑terrier populations, genes capable of producing solid black coats are common, and when black dogs are heavily represented among successful breeding stock, the color can become increasingly prevalent over time. Over generations, especially in a closed or semi‑closed working population where color is tolerated but not prioritized, black can become the default appearance: other colors are possible, but black is what people see most. That’s why, even today, when registries explicitly recognize red, liver, bronze, and patterned dogs, the mental picture of the breed in many terriermen’s minds is still “a black dog,” and why black Patterdales seem to remain numerically and culturally prominent.
This history and imagery likely explain why the Patterdale Terrier Club of America chose the title of its official publication, The Black Dog Quarterly (often simply called The Black Dog Magazine). The club’s newsletter does not suggest that only black dogs are correct; Our inference is that the name is an homage to the breed’s black Fell Terrier heritage and to the long association between the Patterdale and the small black working terrier. The club doesn’t appear to have published a formal explanation for the title, but again, our inference is that it’s tacitly understood as a reference to the breed’s historic roots, and not a statement about preferred color.
In that sense, the name functions the way many breed publications do: it highlights an iconic trait rather than attempting to catalog every acceptable variation. It’s not an uncommon practice: The Dalmatian Club of America newsletter is named, “The Spotter;” The Scottish Terrier Club of America’s publication is entitled, “The Diehard,” while the Irish Wolfhound Club of America’s newsletter,”Harp and Hound,” fuses the primary heraldic cultural symbol of Ireland with the breed. And one more: The Irish Water Spaniel Club of America publishes, “Rat Tails.”
“The Black Dog,” then, evokes the classic image of a dark, compact, game terrier slipping into a rocky earth—an image forged in the fells long before written standards tried to capture the full color spectrum. At the same time, both the registry standard and the club’s actual practice acknowledge that a capable Patterdale can be red, liver, grizzle, bronze, or black and tan, with a bit of white on chest or toes. The title is not a constraint, but a tribute: a way of honoring the historic black core of the breed while recognizing the full range of colors that working history and genetics have produced.
Image of a young Patterdale Terrier by lucia2311/Adobe