Candle-flame ears, ideally 2,7 to 3,6 kilos and, according to the FCI standard, once capable of holding its own in a rat pit. The English Toy Terrier is a toy only in weight: at heart, an alert terrier who should never be excessively nervous.
| FCI | Group 3 (Terriers), Section 4 Toy Terriers, Standard No. 13, without working trial |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Great Britain |
| Height at the withers | Ideal 25 to 30 cm |
| Weight | Ideal 2,7 to 3,6 kg |
| Life expectancy | Median 12,9 years in a British analysis, pooled with Toy Fox Terriers and based on only 52 deaths (McMillan et al. 2024) |
| Coat | Dense, close-fitting and glossy, short hair in great density |
| Colours according to the standard | Black and tan only, sharply separated: tan on muzzle, cheeks, above eyes, legs and chest sides, black toe pencilling and thumb mark; white patches prohibited |
A toy with a terrier past
The origin is Great Britain; the breed sits among Toy Terriers alongside the Yorkshire Terrier. A toy with terrier characteristics, alert and never excessively nervous: the standard’s summary. A close relative is the larger Manchester Terrier; both breeds appear together in pedigrees (Furrow et al. 2023).
Candle flame and thumb mark
The standard requires a long, narrow, wedge-shaped head, small almond eyes and high-set ears erect by the ninth month. Fine bone is expressly desirable. Colour is precise: ebony black meets rich chestnut tan without blending. Each toe has a fine black line; a black thumb mark sits centrally on the front pastern.
Small, but no lap dog
The dog wants to run, sniff and think. Short search games, tricks and varied outings bring contentment. A delicate build needs careful people: rough play with big dogs or clumsy lifting by small children can injure. The short coat offers little warmth; a coat helps in wet and cold.
Grooming in a few minutes
A rubber glove or soft cloth suffices for the glossy coat. Regular tooth and nail checks matter more, as these quickly become issues in small dogs.
Heart and urinary stones: what genetic tests offer
Manchester and English Toy Terriers can suffer sudden cardiac death as puppies and young dogs, caused by inherited heart-muscle disease. A study found an ABCC9 variant: all 26 affected dogs carried two copies, none of 398 healthy adults did (Furrow et al. 2023). In English Toy Terriers, it occurred in 9 per cent of gene copies. Inheritance is recessive: testing both parents and never mating two carriers avoids affected puppies. Similarly for xanthine urinary stones, 58 of 285 tested English Toy Terriers carried one causal-variant copy, none two (Tate et al. 2021). Ask for both test results.
A good fit if
You seek a small, alert companion with a terrier mind, enjoy training and share the home with calm adults or older children.
Better avoided if
The household is loud and hectic, or you need a sturdy dog for rough-and-tumble with toddlers.
To see whether a Toy Terrier fits your daily routine, try the breed quiz, with more background in our book “Welcher Hund passt WIRKLICH zu dir?” (book in German). For those first weeks with a puppy, try our free Puppy Starter Pack. Find your black-and-tan miniature among our dog portraits from your own photo or as a magazine cover on canvas.
Further reading
- Yorkshire Terrier: three kilos of terrier, not an accessory
- Chihuahua: why the yapping is home-grown
- Toilet training your puppy: a plan for the first 4 weeks
Sources, accessed on 20.10.2026: FCI-Standard Nr. 13 English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) (fci.be, English version dated 06.10.2026, valid standard published 08.09.2026; no German version has been published) and FCI breed page Nr. 13; Furrow E et al., An ABCC9 missense variant is associated with sudden cardiac death and dilated cardiomyopathy in juvenile dogs, Genes 2023; Tate NM et al., Multiple variants in XDH and MOCOS underlie xanthine urolithiasis in dogs, Molecular Genetics and Metabolism Reports 2021; McMillan KM et al., Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death, Scientific Reports 2024.
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