Silky Terrier | Dog Breed Information & Facts – Pictures

Last Updated on February 21, 2023 by Pets Feed

Australian Silky Terrier is an adorable dog that looks like a toy. But behind its decorative look hides a formidable guard, shepherd and hunter. The dog is daring, intelligent, will be a good goalkeeper, while being compact and incredibly cute.

Breed name	Silky Terrier
Country of origin	Australia
Weight	5 – 6 kg
Height (at the withers)	24 – 26 cm
Life expectancy	13 – 15 years
Size	Small

The Australian Silky Terrier is a small dog with a gorgeous long coat, which is parted down the middle of the back. He has an elongated body and an athletic build not usually found in toy breeds.

Its size varies from 24 to 26 centimeters. The weight is only 5-6 kilograms.

• Head: The head is of medium size, rather strong, broad near the ears. Stop moderately expressed.
• Jaws: Scissor bite, straight, white teeth.
• Ears: The ears are set high, small, triangular in shape.
• Eyes: The eyes are oval, small. The darkest color is considered correct.
• Body: The length of the body corresponds proportionally to the height of the body. The chest is wide, quite deep. The back is straight, the lumbar region is muscular.
• Limbs: The limbs are straight and parallel. The legs are compact, the claws are dark.
• Coat: The coat is long, straight, silky. The coat is long, but does not interfere with movement. It is long on the head, but short on the muzzle and ears, and does not obstruct the view. Permissible color, bluish gray with fawn.

The Australian Silky terrier will become for the owner and his family both an affectionate favorite and a nasty nightmare. It depends on the quality of training and heredity of the dog. Dogs have great intelligence and cunning. Timely socialization, training can help them grow up to be good, obedient pets.

These small dogs are active, attentive, sensitive. The dog is attached to the owner. But in return from the owner, he needs to receive good care. The care of the silky terrier is a daily work, any owner should understand this. The dog should be kept in good physical shape, subject to mental stress.

There are a number of problems common to many small breeds, namely:

• Dislocated knee cap – it can move and cause pain when moving; the treatment is quite complex and time consuming;
• Collapse of the trachea – the dog begins to cough, wheeze, sniff, may as a result suffocate to death, is solved by drug therapy or surgery;
• Diabetes mellitus – you should be alerted by frequent urination, weight loss or gain, an increase in appetite – if the diagnosis is confirmed, you will have to keep the dog on a special diet and inject insulin for the rest of your life
• Perters disease or osteochondropathy of the femoral head (aseptic necrosis of the femoral head) – occurs as a result of a violation of the blood supply to the femoral head – sounds quite unpleasant and frightening, but in fact the problem is solved by surgery;
• Dysplasia – but this is already really a byaka, which can seriously ruin the life of the dog and the owner;
• Colds;
• Dental diseases – teeth must be carefully monitored and cleaned regularly;
• Epilepsy;
• Problems with intervertebral discs.

Weekly grooming for the Australian Silky Terrier includes:

• Clean the eyes, ears and mouth of the animal;
• Regular clipping of claws.
• The coat requires special care. For the coat to look good, all measurements must be followed. To do this, comb it every day for 15 minutes. For this, it is better to use a special massage brush.
• You can bathe your dog at any time. For bathing, it is better to use products specially designed for dogs of long-haired breeds. After bathing, the dog’s coat should be wiped with a towel and dried with a hair dryer.

The Australian Silky Terrier is abbreviated as ” Silky Terrier” – it is a small breed dog obtained by crossing two terriers – Australian and Yorkshire.

The history of the breed began in the 19th century, when the first Yorkshire Terriers were brought into Australia. Such small breeds were highly valued in the country, therefore, to improve the local representatives of Australian terriers, they were crossed with the imported ones. Another important goal was pursued – to get a blue coat.

The breeders’ hopes were justified – the new breed came out to glory, favorably distinguished by the most beautiful coat with a silvery-bluish tint. This wool became the name of the breed – because in translation “silk” means silk.

The world cynological communities quickly appreciated the new breed, and already at the beginning of the 20th century, its representatives could be found at the most prestigious exhibitions. And a little earlier, the standards of these small dogs were approved.

However, over a quarter of a century of its existence, the official standards have been changed more than once, and it became uniform and unchanged only in 1926. Until the middle of the last century, in addition to the main name, pedigree dogs began to be called Sydney-snares.

The intensive spread of the breed around the world began at the end of the 2nd World War, when the demobilized military took these small dogs to their homeland. Thus, the terrier came to the States. There, representatives quickly gained popularity, and dog breeding clubs for snake terriers began to open throughout the country.