Helpful Information

Feeding Your Border Terrier

Feeding your Border Terrier can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Most people with purebred dogs choose a dry kibble and may or may not add canned food or meat. There are many good brands of dog food on the market. We suggest you stay away from most “grocery store” brands, other than Pedigree, which is an OK food if cost/availability are issues in your selection. Brands available at Petsmart or Petcetera that are pretty good are Nutro, especially Nutro Ultra and Eukanuba. In some areas, these stores stock Solid Gold, which is a very good brand. Follow manufacturer’s instructions and gauge how your dog looks to determine how much to feed and whether or not what you are feeding is working.

We feed a dry kibble and bones to our dogs. Our kibble of choice is Nutro Lamb and Rice, small bite size. Our dogs are given raw beef rib bones, beef knee caps, and various raw shank bones. As far as supplements, we use Dyna-Pro Probiotics for digestive health and add cottage cheese or sardines to the diet from time to time for a treat and for added calcium. Hot dogs, broken into tiny pieces, make excellent treats for training. Borders are generally very good eaters and easy keepers so remember to count training treats and cookies into the daily total for your pup to prevent them from getting too fat.

Things you’ll need for your Border Terrier puppy

We strongly advise crate training your puppy. For a typical adult Border Terrier, a size 200 or 300 Vari Kennel or a 18″X24″ wire cage are ideal training/sleeping crates. Good sources for inexpensive crates are www.petedge.com or Petsmart.

Teri Beverly has a terrific grooming video for new Border Terrier owners. Contact Teri at OlHenry@BellSouth.net.

I use a simple pumice stone with a handle to assist with stripping my Borders. I find stripping knives, especially those sold in pet stores, cut the hair rather than assisting you to pull it out. The aim is to pull out the dead coat so new coat can grow in smoothly so just using your fingers or a pumice stone for traction are the best options! You can also use any type of natural bristle brush, small slicker brush or comb. As with any pup, you’ll need nail trimmers, either rotary or guillotine type.

Grooming your Border Terrier

Grooming is an important aspect of owning a Border Terrier and can be as easy or complex as one wants it to be. Just as other Terrier breeds such as the Miniature Schnauzer are clipped (clippered) routinely, if you are unable or unwilling to hand-strip your Border Terrier, clippering is an option. A clippered Border Terrier is still a terrific and attractive companion however he will not have the desired, wiry coat texture or rich coloring that are gotten by hand-stripping.

“Hand-stripping” is the removal of dead coat by “plucking” it out by the roots. This is not as bad as it might sound, because Terrier hair is rooted differently than other dogs’ hair and usually comes out painlessly and easily. Some coats are more difficult to strip than others. The degree of discomfort also varies from dog to dog.

If you are going to learn to strip your dog, We strongly suggest that you obtain a good instructional video. A Border Terrier – specific video is available from long-time Breeder/Handler, Teri Beverly, at OlHenry@BellSouth.net. The cost of this video is less than a single, two-hour session with a Professional Groomer. Border Terriers need to be stripped anywhere from twice to three times a year, depending on their coat type. I use and recommend nothing more complicated than a pumice stone with a handle, used in foot care, and readily available in nail shops for $2 – $3. In some areas, professional groomers who hand-strip can be found to do the stripping for you.