Breed dogs for ratting and pest control terriers? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.
- Free basic profile: your breeder or company name, website, social media, location, breeds and industries.
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- Sponsored articles about your breed or industry, written and published by our team.
- Featured placement at the top of this page, labelled as sponsored.
Is it free to advertise here?
Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.
Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.
About ratting and pest control terriers
Rats damage feed and buildings and spread disease around farms, stables and waste sites, and terriers have been used to control them for centuries. Catching rats with dogs is lawful in England, Wales and Scotland; in England and Wales it must be on land you own or where the occupier has given permission. It remains a practical form of pest control. If you are looking for a ratting terrier, working terrier puppies, or information on rat catching dogs and pest control dogs, this page explains who breeds them and what to ask. Canine Breeder lists breeders; we do not sell or certify working dogs.
What this work involves
Ratting usually happens when rats are disturbed: bales or feed sacks are moved, muck heaps are cleared, or ferrets are used to bolt rats from burrows and drains. The terriers find rats by scent, wait at bolt holes and kill quickly. Several terriers often work together, so a good ratter must be steady with other dogs as well as keen. Dogs should never have access to rodenticide baits.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
Ratting terriers come from private working lines, and their owners train them, often alongside older dogs. There is no registry for working ratting terriers.
The National Working Terrier Federation (NWTF) is the umbrella body for working terrier clubs in Britain and publishes a Code of Conduct for terrier work, which its member clubs endorse.
The Fell and Moorland Working Terrier Club, formed in 1966, runs a rescue service for members’ terriers trapped underground. Its aims include improving working terriers by retaining the old strains and encouraging terrier and lurcher shows, which its areas hold in the summer and which are a good place to meet breeders. It is a member club of the NWTF and fully endorses the NWTF Code of Conduct; members agree to abide by it, and the rescue service is for dogs worked with permission on legitimate quarry.
Breeds and lines
- Jack Russell Terrier: the classic farm ratter, recognised by the Royal Kennel Club (RKC) in 2016, though many working Jack Russells are unregistered.
- Parson Russell Terrier: a longer-legged Russell type, now on the RKC’s vulnerable native breeds list.
- Border Terrier: hardy and usually easy-going with other dogs.
- Patterdale Terrier: a tough northern working terrier, not recognised by the RKC. People looking for a Patterdale for ratting will usually find unregistered working lines.
- Lakeland Terrier: a Lake District working terrier, also on the vulnerable native breeds list.
- Bedlington Terrier: fast and agile, bred in Northumberland to deal with vermin.
What to ask a breeder
- What do the parents work, and on what quarry? Can I see them work, or speak to people who use your dogs?
- How do the parents behave with other dogs, ferrets, livestock and children?
- Which health tests have the parents had? For Russell types, the RKC recommends DNA tests for PLL, LOA and SCA and eye testing under the BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme.
- Are the pups RKC-registered, and if not, what records do you keep of their breeding?
- If the pups’ tails are docked, can I see the vet’s certificate?
- Which vaccinations will the puppy have had, and what do you advise on leptospirosis for a dog that will work around rats?
Legal and welfare notes
- In England and Wales, the Hunting Act 2004 exempts hunting rats on land that belongs to the hunter or where the occupier has given permission. The exemption sets no limit on the number of dogs.
- In Scotland, the Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Act 2023 excludes rats and mice from its definition of wild mammal, so ratting falls outside the Act.
- Work below ground is different. In England and Wales, the only Hunting Act exemption for a dog below ground is to protect game birds or wild birds kept for shooting, with one dog at a time, written evidence of the landowner’s permission and compliance with the code of practice. Scotland allows one dog below ground for foxes, fitted with a tracking device, under separate conditions in the 2023 Act.
- In England and Wales, apart from veterinary treatment, tail docking is lawful only for certified working dogs docked by a vet when no more than five days old, with evidence that the dog is likely to be used for work such as lawful pest control or shooting. Terriers are a permitted type in England; Wales has its own regulations and Scotland its own rules.
- Rats carry leptospirosis, which can infect dogs and people.
Frequently asked questions
Is ratting with dogs legal?
Yes, in England, Wales and Scotland; in England and Wales, on land you own or where you have the occupier’s permission. Using a terrier below ground on other quarry is tightly restricted.
Are Patterdale Terriers registered with the Kennel Club?
No. The Patterdale is not a Royal Kennel Club breed, so pups have no RKC pedigree. Many working terriers are unregistered; judge them on the parents and their working record.
Can a ratting terrier also be a family pet?
Most working terriers live at home between jobs. They are keen, vocal and strong-willed, and many will hunt anything small, so homes with pet rodents, rabbits or cats need care.
If you breed terriers from working lines used for rat control on farms, stables or yards, list your kennel on Canine Breeder and tell buyers what your dogs work and how you health test.