The Welsh Terrier comes in many colors, as long as they are all only black/grizzle and tan. Kidding aside, it would be a shocked breeder who is presented with a puppy in the whelping box that isn’t almost completely black in color, and this is how it’s been for centuries.  As far back as 1450, a Welsh poet spoke of a good black-and-red (tan) terrier, and in 1885, pressure by breeders of the Black and Tan resulted in the breed’s classification with the UK’s Kennel Club as, “Welsh Terrier or Old English Wire- haired Black and Tan Terrier” (it was first shown under the name “Welsh Terrier” that year in Caernarfon, Wales). A year later, Welsh supporters who formed a club prevailed upon the Kennel Club to drop “Black and Tan” from the name altogether. 

Some claim the Welsh Terrier to be the oldest existing dog breed in the United Kingdom which makes it all the more appalling that the breed is currently on the UK Kennel Clubs list of vulnerable native breeds.

Image:Welsh Terrier by Katja Turnsek
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