When Kike de Ca Batiste became a Spanish champion in 2011, it would have been understandable to think the Valencian Ratter had “arrived.” In some measure, perhaps it had. The breed had been recognized by the Real Sociedad Canina de España only seven years earlier, in 2004, and just 523 Ratonero Valencianos were recorded in the RSCE registry as of December 31, 2010. At the 2011 Jerez International Dog Show, Kike earned Best of Breed and the obligatory point that completed his Spanish championship.
Add to this that the Valencian is sometimes confused with the Andalusian Ratter, and to outsiders it may seem a little-known breed. The two are distinct, however.
The Gos Rater Valencià is a small, light terrier whose official standard calls for a body slightly longer than its height at the withers—the prescribed proportion is 3:4. Despite a general appearance described in the standard as “square,” the breed is not meant to be taller than it is long.
The breed has long been a practical country dog of the Valencian Community. Its official standard traces its development to dogs in the region that were similar in type to early terriers imported from Great Britain, and notes that such dogs were documented in the area from the last third of the 19th century. Farmers valued them for alerting to and dispatching vermin, as well as for their loyal companionship.
Traditionally, the Gos Rater Valencià hunted water rats, rabbits, and moles; it also served as an alarm dog, using its bark to announce strangers or intruders. This was useful work in farms and fields, where a determined small dog capable of controlling vermin and raising an alarm earned its keep.
The breed is small rather than medium-sized. Males stand about 11¾ to 15¾ inches at the withers, with 14¼ inches ideal. Females stand about 11½ to 15 inches, with 13 inches ideal. Both sexes weigh approximately 8¾ to 17¾ pounds.
Its exact ancestry remains open to interpretation. The FCI standard connects the breed with local Valencian dogs and early British terrier imports, but it does not establish a specific Fox Terrier origin. It is therefore safest to describe any Fox Terrier influence as a possibility rather than a certainty.
The standard describes the Gos Rater Valencià as lively, happy, active, affectionate, and faithful. It is reserved with strangers, brave in both hunting and defense of its owner’s property, and a fast learner. Put less formally, this is a spirited, intensely alert little working terrier—not a dog intended to be skittish, but one bred to notice things, announce them, and act when necessary.
International recognition is no longer merely a future ambition. The Fédération Cynologique Internationale granted the breed provisional recognition on June 21, 2022, as the 𝗚𝗼𝘀 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶à (𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗼 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼), FCI Standard No. 370, in Group 3, Terriers, Section 1. Provisional recognition is an important milestone, though it is not the same as definitive FCI recognition
This concludes our series on the five ratters native to Spain. Be sure to check out the Andalusian Ratter, Majorca Ratter, Murcian Ratter, and Basque Ratter.
Image of Valencian Ratter by Bobby-B/Alamy