The Smooth Fox Terrier
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Smooth and Wire Fox Terriers are considered two separate breeds now, but used to be considered varieties within the same breed.
The ancestor of the Wire is thought to be the old rough-coated black-and-tan working terrier of Wales, Derbyshire, and Durham. The important ancestors of the Smooth are believed to include the smooth coated black and tan terrier, the Bull Terrier, the Greyhound, and the Beagle.
Smooth Fox Terriers preceded the Wires in the show ring by over 15 years. They were at first classified with sporting dogs, due to their keen noses, great eyesight, and stamina in driving foxes from their hole.
Early on, breeders liberally crossed Wire Fox Terriers with Smooths to give the Wire Fox Terrier a predominantly white pigmentation, a cleaner cut head, and a more classical outline. Interbreeding of these dogs has been discontinued for many years now.
The coat should be smooth, flat, hard, dense and abundant. White should be the base color, and can have colored markings.
Health concerns in the breed include Hypothyroidism which is the result of an abnormally functioning thyroid gland resulting in a lower than normal level of thyroid hormone.
Other concerns are Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (LCPD) which is a disorder of the hip joint conformation. It is most often seen in the miniature and toy breeds between the ages of four months and a year. LCPD results when the blood supply to the femoral head is interrupted resulting in avascular necrosis, or the death of the bone cells. Followed by a period of revascularization, the femoral head is subject to remodeling and/or collapse creating an irregular fit in the acetabulum (hip socket) and causing stiffness and pain.
Patellar luxation is the dislocation (slipping) of the patella (kneecap). In dogs the patella is a small bone that shields the front of the stifle joint. This bone is held in place by ligaments. As the knee joint is moved, the patella slides in a grove in the femur. The kneecap may dislocate toward the inside (medial) or outside (lateral) of the leg. This condition may be the result of injury or congenital deformities (present at birth). Patellar luxation can affect either or both legs.
