Smooth Fox Terrier breed guide

Smooths are bold but not aggressive toward people and make excellent watchdogs at home. Alert and on the tiptoe of expectations, they are always ready to go.

New owners should know that the breed's innate sense to dig may affect the family yard or flowerbeds unless the dog is taught otherwise.

Smooth Fox Terriers live 12 to 15 years. AKC says breeders test stock for patellar luxation and cardiac disease.

The short but hard, dense coat should be groomed weekly with a thick brush or hound glove and a bath about every month is enough unless the dog follows its nature and digs in the mud, in which case bathe as needed.

Like most terriers, the Smooth is lively and athletic and needs ample exercise, through long walks, a tennis ball in the backyard or playtime in a large, securely fenced area. It should never be allowed to run loose.

Foxhunting in its traditional form is banned in England now, but for generations it was the passion of the British gentry: dozens of hunters and horses, huge packs of hounds and tenacious fox terriers thundering across the vast estates of the very rich.

The terriers rode in saddlebags and were released when the fox went underground and after they routed the fox, the horses and hounds resumed the chase.