Is a Lakeland Terrier the dog for you?
If you are thinking of buying a Lakeland Terrier, you must first decide whether this is the right breed for you and your family. When you decide to buy a Lakeland Terrier, you are taking on a long lived, hardy dog, a dog who may live for 14 or 15 years and who retains his energetic 'joie de vivre' well into old age.
Some of the adjectives used to describe the breed, are 'dynamic, inquisitive, intelligent, independent minded, free thinking, happy, stubborn, mischievous, noisy busy bodies'. So you can see, they are not a dog to be taken on without appreciating the particular challenges they present; but with kind, consistent, patient and firm handling and training, they make loyal, loving and rewarding pets.
This article has been produced to help in your search for a happy, healthy Lakeland Terrier, a dog who will become a much loved member of your family, and before you look for a puppy you should find out as much as you can about the breed and its unique character.
WHERE TO BUY A PUPPY
Where you buy your puppy from is the first and most important decision you will make. There are some unscrupulous people breeding puppies, advertising them for sale on the internet and in local newspapers at bargain prices. If you buy from one of these sources you have no way of knowing whether you are buying a well bred healthy pup with a good temperament. The safest way to buy a pedigree Lakeland puppy is to contact one of the breed club secretaries who will know reliable breeders who have litters waiting for homes, or from the list of Assured Breeders on the UK Kennel Club website.
RECOGNISE A GOOD BREEDER
You should be able to visit the breeder and meet the mother and the pups. The temperament of the mother is the first influence the puppies will have. If she is a calm and loving mother, she will give her pups the best start in life. The first few weeks are crucial; his experiences during this time will determine whether he grows into a healthy, happy dog or into an untrained hooligan. Puppies in a litter do not all have the same temperaments, some pups are more independent than others, some are quieter and do not push themselves forward. A good breeder will ask you many questions about your personal circumstances and lifestyle and because they know their puppies as individuals, will be able to suggest the best pup for you.
If you have bought your pup from a knowledgeable and caring breeder, he or she should already have started the socialisation process. He will have experienced lots of different household activity and noises. He will have met people of different ages, children in particular cause great excitement with their high pitched voices and quick and unpredictable movements when they are playing. He will have been allowed to play outside in the fresh air with his littermates, had his coat brushed, his nails clipped and learned that humans are kind and can be trusted.
Puppies bought from uncaring breeders have often been inadequately housed and poorly fed. If they have been kept in a shed or outhouse they will be fearful of everyday household life and the outside world. They have not learned how to interact with humans and other household pets; they have only experienced the rough and tumble of life in the whelping box. Puppies whose first weeks are spent in isolation, without a caring human contact will need careful training to help them overcome their poor start in life. Some of these puppies will never recover and will grow into unhappy, neurotic adults who very often end up in rescue centres.
A good breeder will provide you with lots of information about training and socialisation. You should also be given a diet sheet, a copy of his pedigree and Kennel Club registration papers and details of when he was last wormed and with which medication. Good breeders offer help and guidance during the pup’s first year and some like to stay in contact throughout the lifetime of the dog.
Good breeders will also ask you to contact them in the first instance if things go wrong and the pup needs re-homing.
Some of the adjectives used to describe the breed, are 'dynamic, inquisitive, intelligent, independent minded, free thinking, happy, stubborn, mischievous, noisy busy bodies'. So you can see, they are not a dog to be taken on without appreciating the particular challenges they present; but with kind, consistent, patient and firm handling and training, they make loyal, loving and rewarding pets.
This article has been produced to help in your search for a happy, healthy Lakeland Terrier, a dog who will become a much loved member of your family, and before you look for a puppy you should find out as much as you can about the breed and its unique character.
WHERE TO BUY A PUPPY
Where you buy your puppy from is the first and most important decision you will make. There are some unscrupulous people breeding puppies, advertising them for sale on the internet and in local newspapers at bargain prices. If you buy from one of these sources you have no way of knowing whether you are buying a well bred healthy pup with a good temperament. The safest way to buy a pedigree Lakeland puppy is to contact one of the breed club secretaries who will know reliable breeders who have litters waiting for homes, or from the list of Assured Breeders on the UK Kennel Club website.
RECOGNISE A GOOD BREEDER
You should be able to visit the breeder and meet the mother and the pups. The temperament of the mother is the first influence the puppies will have. If she is a calm and loving mother, she will give her pups the best start in life. The first few weeks are crucial; his experiences during this time will determine whether he grows into a healthy, happy dog or into an untrained hooligan. Puppies in a litter do not all have the same temperaments, some pups are more independent than others, some are quieter and do not push themselves forward. A good breeder will ask you many questions about your personal circumstances and lifestyle and because they know their puppies as individuals, will be able to suggest the best pup for you.
If you have bought your pup from a knowledgeable and caring breeder, he or she should already have started the socialisation process. He will have experienced lots of different household activity and noises. He will have met people of different ages, children in particular cause great excitement with their high pitched voices and quick and unpredictable movements when they are playing. He will have been allowed to play outside in the fresh air with his littermates, had his coat brushed, his nails clipped and learned that humans are kind and can be trusted.
Puppies bought from uncaring breeders have often been inadequately housed and poorly fed. If they have been kept in a shed or outhouse they will be fearful of everyday household life and the outside world. They have not learned how to interact with humans and other household pets; they have only experienced the rough and tumble of life in the whelping box. Puppies whose first weeks are spent in isolation, without a caring human contact will need careful training to help them overcome their poor start in life. Some of these puppies will never recover and will grow into unhappy, neurotic adults who very often end up in rescue centres.
A good breeder will provide you with lots of information about training and socialisation. You should also be given a diet sheet, a copy of his pedigree and Kennel Club registration papers and details of when he was last wormed and with which medication. Good breeders offer help and guidance during the pup’s first year and some like to stay in contact throughout the lifetime of the dog.
Good breeders will also ask you to contact them in the first instance if things go wrong and the pup needs re-homing.
THE FIRST FEW DAYS
Before you bring your new puppy home, you must puppy proof your home and garden.
Check around the house, get down on all fours and see the world through puppy eyes. Trailing flexes invite chewing; loose threads on carpets just ask to be pulled!! Ornaments at low level are a temptation to an inquisitive pup. If you have children, the arrival of a new puppy is a good incentive for them to pick up their toys, any left lying around will almost certainly be chewed. Many people are not aware that Pot pourri, which some people use to make the house smell nice, contain ingredients which are poisonous to dogs, so check the house, put away valuables until he’s learned to behave. Decide, before he comes home, will he be allowed on the furniture, are any areas of the house out of bounds? Start as you mean to go on. It is tempting to allow a small puppy onto the sofa but do you want him on there for possibly the next fourteen or fifteen years?
The garden is a wonderful place for a puppy to play but can be full of hazards. Many plants are poisonous to a dog so either remove them or teach the pup right from the start that nibbling your plants is not allowed. You will have to be persistent but a firm ‘NO’ every time he chews something will eventually work. Don’t shout too much though, it is better to distract him by offering a toy or playing a game.
Check your fencing, is it secure? Lakeland puppies are notorious for squeezing through small gaps. They seem to have a penchant for putting their heads down or into anything resembling a hole. As they get older and stronger they can jump remarkably high, so make sure your fences are high enough to keep him in. Remember that they are terriers!! terriers dig, so can he dig holes and escape UNDER the fence?
Ask your breeder before you bring the pup home what food he has been having, you can then get in a supply ready for his arrival. You should be provided with a diet sheet covering his first year of life, which tells you how much to feed and how often.
Decide where he is going to sleep. An indoor kennel or crate is a very good idea. This should be large enough to accommodate an adult size Lakie, allowing plenty of room for lying down stretched out and also high enough for him to stand comfortably. They are not intended to be used as cages, the door can be left open most of the time but it is useful to be able to close the pup in when you are busy with housework, when you are decorating and want the paint to dry without the addition of dog hair or when the front door needs to be open for deliveries etc. Never shut him in as a punishment, used properly a crate provides a safe, comfortable haven for your pup. It is somewhere he can retreat to when he needs to rest. You can buy attachable water bowls which will prevent him knocking the bowl over and he will have access to water on the occasions when the door needs to be shut.
When you arrange to collect your puppy, it is a good idea to do so as early in the day as possible. It is not fair to a young puppy to introduce them to a new home and then expect them to settle down and sleep all night. Leave plenty of time for the pup to explore its surroundings, to play a little and have a meal before bedtime. Some breeders supply a blanket which the pup has slept on whilst still with his littermates. This provides a comforting, familiar smell to help him settle. A hot water bottle, carefully wrapped can also be a comfort for the first few nights, although you must make sure it cannot be chewed or he’ll end up giving himself a bed bath!!
DIET AND FEEDING
For the first few days, you must keep the puppy on the diet he was having at the breeders, any changes you decide to make should be done very gradually. There are many different ways of feeding dogs and you should do your research and choose the one that you feel is best.
Choosing your dog's diet is probably the most important decision you will make. He cannot choose for himself and it is up to you to pick the best food, anything else could have long lasting implications for your pet's health and well-being. You cannot expect your dog to live a long and healthy life if you feed him poor quality food.
There are four basic types of food:
- manufactured dry food or kibble
- manufactured wet food in cans or pouches
- home cooked diet
- raw food - better known as B.A.R.F. which stands for Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
KIBBLE
This is the most popular way of feeding dogs today because it is relatively cheap, clean to feed and convenient and you can buy it along with your weekly shopping at the supermarket. But before you decide to feed in this way, ask yourself is it the best for your precious new puppy, will it give him a long and healthy life. Manufacturers spend vast sums of money on advertising to persuade us to use their food and some dried dog foods are significantly better than others. The best quality dried foods are unavailable in supermarkets, you will need to go to a pet store to buy them.
Learn to read the ingredients label; ingredients are listed in proportion, the largest first. The first ingredient listed should be a named meat such as chicken or lamb, not a meat meal or animal derivatives as these are very low quality forms of protein and can include unusable body parts such as beaks and feet and in some cases, the carcasses of diseased animals rejected by the human food industry. Cereals are usually the largest ingredient in dog food. They add cheap bulk and are unsuitable for dogs, passing through the system undigested, producing huge heaps of faeces for you to pick up! Check out the additives and preservatives listed, some dog foods contain 'E' numbers banned in human food processing because they are carcinogenic. If you are in any doubt about a particular food, there are many dog food comparison websites where you can check it out.
WET DOG FOOD IN CANS OR POUCHES
This is also a manufactured, processed food, the only difference is the addition of water. Again, if this is your choice, read the label carefully and choose one that has quality ingredients. As a rule of thumb, the better quality foods are not available from supermarkets.
HOME COOKED DIET
If you decide to feed a home cooked diet, you will need to do your research to avoid nutritional deficiencies or overfeeding. You must also familiarise yourself with the human foods which are toxic to dogs. Lists of these can be found in books about feeding your dog and also on the internet.
RAW FOOD
The main reason for choosing a raw food diet for your dog is the benefits to his health. There is a growing body of evidence which points to the low quality cereal content in commercial food as the cause of many modern diseases in our pets. Our human bodies are able to digest cereal and grain because we have a long intestinal tract which allows enough time for digestion to take place. Dogs have a very much shorter intestine, their powerful stomach enzymes are designed to quickly digest raw meat and bones. A good raw diet comprises raw muscle meat such as chicken, lamb or beef, raw meaty UNCOOKED bones, (cooking makes bones soft and liable to splintering which is dangerous for the dog), some organ meat, e.g. heart and liver and maybe some crushed vegetables.
As with other types of diet, there is a lot of information available in books and online which will guide you in the beginning. Raw food diets are growing in popularity as more people realise the benefits of this method of feeding. Commercial pet food has only been around for about 50 years and during this time there has been an increase in the number of dogs suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. This mirrors the situation in the human population; we know that too much processed food is damaging our health, the same goes for our pets. A few years ago, if you chose to feed raw, you would have to source the food yourself. Now, as it increases in popularity, pet food companies are producing frozen raw food which you can buy in pet stores or order online.
Before you bring your new puppy home, you must puppy proof your home and garden.
Check around the house, get down on all fours and see the world through puppy eyes. Trailing flexes invite chewing; loose threads on carpets just ask to be pulled!! Ornaments at low level are a temptation to an inquisitive pup. If you have children, the arrival of a new puppy is a good incentive for them to pick up their toys, any left lying around will almost certainly be chewed. Many people are not aware that Pot pourri, which some people use to make the house smell nice, contain ingredients which are poisonous to dogs, so check the house, put away valuables until he’s learned to behave. Decide, before he comes home, will he be allowed on the furniture, are any areas of the house out of bounds? Start as you mean to go on. It is tempting to allow a small puppy onto the sofa but do you want him on there for possibly the next fourteen or fifteen years?
The garden is a wonderful place for a puppy to play but can be full of hazards. Many plants are poisonous to a dog so either remove them or teach the pup right from the start that nibbling your plants is not allowed. You will have to be persistent but a firm ‘NO’ every time he chews something will eventually work. Don’t shout too much though, it is better to distract him by offering a toy or playing a game.
Check your fencing, is it secure? Lakeland puppies are notorious for squeezing through small gaps. They seem to have a penchant for putting their heads down or into anything resembling a hole. As they get older and stronger they can jump remarkably high, so make sure your fences are high enough to keep him in. Remember that they are terriers!! terriers dig, so can he dig holes and escape UNDER the fence?
Ask your breeder before you bring the pup home what food he has been having, you can then get in a supply ready for his arrival. You should be provided with a diet sheet covering his first year of life, which tells you how much to feed and how often.
Decide where he is going to sleep. An indoor kennel or crate is a very good idea. This should be large enough to accommodate an adult size Lakie, allowing plenty of room for lying down stretched out and also high enough for him to stand comfortably. They are not intended to be used as cages, the door can be left open most of the time but it is useful to be able to close the pup in when you are busy with housework, when you are decorating and want the paint to dry without the addition of dog hair or when the front door needs to be open for deliveries etc. Never shut him in as a punishment, used properly a crate provides a safe, comfortable haven for your pup. It is somewhere he can retreat to when he needs to rest. You can buy attachable water bowls which will prevent him knocking the bowl over and he will have access to water on the occasions when the door needs to be shut.
When you arrange to collect your puppy, it is a good idea to do so as early in the day as possible. It is not fair to a young puppy to introduce them to a new home and then expect them to settle down and sleep all night. Leave plenty of time for the pup to explore its surroundings, to play a little and have a meal before bedtime. Some breeders supply a blanket which the pup has slept on whilst still with his littermates. This provides a comforting, familiar smell to help him settle. A hot water bottle, carefully wrapped can also be a comfort for the first few nights, although you must make sure it cannot be chewed or he’ll end up giving himself a bed bath!!
DIET AND FEEDING
For the first few days, you must keep the puppy on the diet he was having at the breeders, any changes you decide to make should be done very gradually. There are many different ways of feeding dogs and you should do your research and choose the one that you feel is best.
Choosing your dog's diet is probably the most important decision you will make. He cannot choose for himself and it is up to you to pick the best food, anything else could have long lasting implications for your pet's health and well-being. You cannot expect your dog to live a long and healthy life if you feed him poor quality food.
There are four basic types of food:
- manufactured dry food or kibble
- manufactured wet food in cans or pouches
- home cooked diet
- raw food - better known as B.A.R.F. which stands for Bones and Raw Food or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food.
KIBBLE
This is the most popular way of feeding dogs today because it is relatively cheap, clean to feed and convenient and you can buy it along with your weekly shopping at the supermarket. But before you decide to feed in this way, ask yourself is it the best for your precious new puppy, will it give him a long and healthy life. Manufacturers spend vast sums of money on advertising to persuade us to use their food and some dried dog foods are significantly better than others. The best quality dried foods are unavailable in supermarkets, you will need to go to a pet store to buy them.
Learn to read the ingredients label; ingredients are listed in proportion, the largest first. The first ingredient listed should be a named meat such as chicken or lamb, not a meat meal or animal derivatives as these are very low quality forms of protein and can include unusable body parts such as beaks and feet and in some cases, the carcasses of diseased animals rejected by the human food industry. Cereals are usually the largest ingredient in dog food. They add cheap bulk and are unsuitable for dogs, passing through the system undigested, producing huge heaps of faeces for you to pick up! Check out the additives and preservatives listed, some dog foods contain 'E' numbers banned in human food processing because they are carcinogenic. If you are in any doubt about a particular food, there are many dog food comparison websites where you can check it out.
WET DOG FOOD IN CANS OR POUCHES
This is also a manufactured, processed food, the only difference is the addition of water. Again, if this is your choice, read the label carefully and choose one that has quality ingredients. As a rule of thumb, the better quality foods are not available from supermarkets.
HOME COOKED DIET
If you decide to feed a home cooked diet, you will need to do your research to avoid nutritional deficiencies or overfeeding. You must also familiarise yourself with the human foods which are toxic to dogs. Lists of these can be found in books about feeding your dog and also on the internet.
RAW FOOD
The main reason for choosing a raw food diet for your dog is the benefits to his health. There is a growing body of evidence which points to the low quality cereal content in commercial food as the cause of many modern diseases in our pets. Our human bodies are able to digest cereal and grain because we have a long intestinal tract which allows enough time for digestion to take place. Dogs have a very much shorter intestine, their powerful stomach enzymes are designed to quickly digest raw meat and bones. A good raw diet comprises raw muscle meat such as chicken, lamb or beef, raw meaty UNCOOKED bones, (cooking makes bones soft and liable to splintering which is dangerous for the dog), some organ meat, e.g. heart and liver and maybe some crushed vegetables.
As with other types of diet, there is a lot of information available in books and online which will guide you in the beginning. Raw food diets are growing in popularity as more people realise the benefits of this method of feeding. Commercial pet food has only been around for about 50 years and during this time there has been an increase in the number of dogs suffering from diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease. This mirrors the situation in the human population; we know that too much processed food is damaging our health, the same goes for our pets. A few years ago, if you chose to feed raw, you would have to source the food yourself. Now, as it increases in popularity, pet food companies are producing frozen raw food which you can buy in pet stores or order online.
