There are several breeds that can reasonably make a claim to being the oldest native dog breed of Britain, but according to the research of Julian Calder and Alastair Bruce (whose book is a compilation of the oldest of everything throughout the British Isles), the Welsh Terrier is the winner. The “Welshie” is a descendent of two similar, and now extinct breeds, the Black and Tan Rough Terrier and the Old English Terrier, both of which can be traced to the early thirteenth century in Wales and England where they were used for hundreds of  years to support packs of fox, badgers, and otter hunting hounds. By the early part of the 1800s, the two breeds had become so similar to each other that that for all intents and purposes, they were considered the same breed, and it was at this point that breeders started to classify all dogs of this type as Welsh Terriers.

Image: Welsh Terrier In Autumn Leaves by Patsy Fumetti – SouthWest Design Stud is available as wall art, stationery, home decor and more here.