Australian Silky Terrier

About the Australian Silky Terrier

Australian breeders crossed the Yorkshire Terrier with the Australian Terrier around the turn of the twentieth century and fixed the result as the Australian Silky Terrier, a small companion that kept enough terrier to deal with snakes and rodents around the house. The Royal Kennel Club places it in the Toy group, but nobody who lives with one is in any doubt about the terrier half.

Height sits around 23 cm, with a straight, fine, glossy coat parted along the back and falling to about 13 to 15 cm, in blue and tan. The dog should be slightly longer than tall and look wiry rather than fragile. The coat is real work: it mats quickly and needs daily attention. In a stud, look for sound substance, a correct silky texture rather than a woolly one, and the alert, self-assured character the standard asks for.

Request a patella examination, and a current eye certificate as well. Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease, which affects the hip joint of young small-breed dogs, is worth raising, as is any history of tracheal collapse. Dental disease and retained baby teeth are common in small mouths, so look at the stud's mouth yourself. Ask what the breed club currently recommends and how long the dog's parents lived, since this is generally a long-lived breed.

Health & breeding

We check every hip, elbow, eye and DNA result you give us against the Royal Kennel Club’s public records by hand, and we record who checked it and when. The Royal Kennel Club’s public records may not include all the screening a dog has had, so a dog with no Royal Kennel Club record showing is not necessarily untested.