Smooth Fox Terrier
The Smooth Fox Terrier was the hunt servant's terrier of Victorian England, carried in a saddlebag or running with the pack and put in to bolt a fox that had gone to ground. It…
About the Smooth Fox Terrier
The Smooth Fox Terrier was the hunt servant's terrier of Victorian England, carried in a saddlebag or running with the pack and put in to bolt a fox that had gone to ground. It was among the very first breeds to be shown in numbers, and its clean, hard outline has altered remarkably little since.
Dogs stand around 39 cm and weigh 7.3 to 8.2 kg, with a flat, hard, dense coat, mostly white with black, tan, or black and tan markings. The head is long and wedge-shaped with a small, dark, deep-set eye, and the front should be straight and narrow. A stud should be tight in the shoulder, short in the back and hard-muscled, and it ought to be capable of being spanned.
Ask for the DNA result for primary lens luxation, which affects the fox terrier breeds and causes sudden, painful loss of sight in middle age. Because the coat is mostly white, a BAER hearing test is a reasonable request. A patella assessment and a question about Legg-Calve-Perthes disease are worth including, and an annual eye examination should be routine. Ask about behaviour with other dogs as well, which varies more than the standard suggests.
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.
Breed Right’s summary — under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard
Health tests for the Smooth Fox Terrier
This panel is Breed Right’s summary of the testing that matters for the breed under The Royal Kennel Club Health Standard. The Health Standard is the Royal Kennel Club’s guidance for breeders, not a registration rule. It describes tests to ask about — it is not a report on any individual dog. 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.
Best Practice — further tests it recommends
Completing these as well as the Good Practice tests is what the Royal Kennel Club calls Best Practice.
| Test | Type | Scheme | What’s involved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eye testing (BVA/KC/ISDS) | Screening scheme | BVA/KC/ISDS | Result printed on the eye certificate. |
Breed hip median
Too few dogs of this breed have been scored (BVA Hip Dysplasia Scheme breed statistics 2025 — 5 years: 1 dog) to give a meaningful breed median. Source · How hip scores work
At stud now
Smooth Fox Terrier stud dogs
No Smooth Fox Terrier studs are listed right now
When a Smooth Fox Terrier on the Royal Kennel Club Breed Register is listed at stud, it will appear here.
Also available
Smooth Fox Terrier litters
No Smooth Fox Terrier litters are listed right now
Litters appear here as breeders list them. Check back soon, or browse other breeds.
