British Dog Breeds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cardigan Corgi

Pembroke Corgis have a 'bob' tail which is not much more than a stump, while the Cardigan Corgi has a very long tail. It is obvious why this great dog breed was sometimes called 'Ci Llathaid' in Welsh which translates to 'the yard long dog'.
Corgis are tough strong dogs originally used for livestock droving. They have short legs which enabled them to nip between the hooves of cattle without being kicked.

'Droving' is an old English word, which has much the same meaning as 'driving' now. Men who moved cattle about the country were drovers and the routes they used were 'drove roads'.

Answer: pubs

Manchesters are quite unusual nowadays. To me they look very like a miniature Doberman having a short black and tan coat. Their personalities are quite different of course being terriers.

The breed received a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria for rat catching (can't imagine she was in a pub though!)

Manchesters are one of the 25 'vunerable' British breeds in that there are less than 300 pups registered each year with the British Kennel Club. It would be a shame if these perky little dogs disappeared altogether.

Answer: beater, to flush out game

This big strong spaniel could do the work of several men, crashing through undergrowth flushing out game for long periods of time.

It has a creamy white coat with lemon patches.

This is an unusual breed from a small estate in Nottinghamshire. It is on the 'vunerable' breeds list as not many pups are registered with the Kennel Club each year.

The Kennel Club of Great Britain list 63 British breeds 23 of which are on the vunerable list.

Answer: West Highland White Terrier

This little dog was bred to control vermin in the quite inhospitably mountainous region of Scotland. You would think a big hairy dog would have been needed but no. The Westie is a brave, strong dog prepared to take on anything.

Now they are bred as companion dogs, but remember every Westie has the call of the highlands in him!

Answer: Sheltie

This breed looks like a miniature Lassie (Rough Collie) but it is a breed on its own and not a miniaturisation of any breed. It has a lot of Border Collie in its ancestry. It has been bred to have a thick double coat to protect it from the weather in the Shetland Islands.

The breed standard for Britain demands a smaller dog at 14" than the American breed standard which allows a dog to be up to two inches taller.

Interesting that the Shetland pony, Shetland sheep and the Shetland sheepdog are all small. I wonder if the mice are too.

Answer: Edinburgh

Greyfriars Bobby is an interesting story which you can easily find on the 'net'. Edinburgh is where the story played out and there are various memorials of him there.

The Skye Terrier, although bred for destroying vermin, has a long silky coat and has been kept as a pet for centuries.
After the execution of Mary Queen of Scots it is said that her Skye Terrier emerged from under her skirts and refused food until he died.

I have always thought that Dougal from the Magic Roundabout was modelled on a Skye.

Answer: coal mines

Yorkies were used in mines because they were small enough to slip inside a miner's shirt, while they went down in the very basic lifts in nineteenth century coalmines, as the miner needed his hands free to hold on.

Now Yorkies are bred as companion dogs, which they seem to approve of, but although they look as though butter wouldn't melt in their mouths, they are still feisty little dogs ready for anything.

Answer: All of these

The Airedale is a lovely friendly dog, much bigger than the average terrier being about 23" at the shoulder.

He has a waterproof wiry coat and is usually black and tan.

It seems that terriers did a very good job of keeping down otters, necessary to protect fishing stock,as we are now trying to reintroduce them in Britain.

Answer: England Scotland border

I always thought it was England/Wales but when I researched this quiz I found I was wrong.

Border Collies are considered by some to be the most intelligent breed, however those of us owned by poodles have been very firmly told that poodles rule the world.

Border Collies have an amazing work ethic and are never happier than when rounding up something - anything. They have a high energy level and excel at all dog sports involving speed and thought like agility and flyball and many do well at Heel work to Music.

Border Collies live to work, they need more brain work and exercise than most other dogs.

Border Collies do not make good family pets unless the whole family do agility or something similar.

There are huge numbers of Border Collies in rescue centres because people do not understand what they are taking on by buying one of this breed and have to give it up.

Answer: affectionate with children

Staffies are well known to be great family dogs. They will play for hours with children and protect them well.

BUT a Staffie - or any other breed, however gentle, should never be left alone with a child. A dog is a dog and should not be given human responsibilities. Too many tragic accidents happen because of careless parents and dog owners.

Staffies were bred for bull baiting and dog fighting. This was banned in 1835 in Britain which surprised me as I thought it would have been much more recent and this was before it was made illegal for children to work in coal mines.