Australian Terrier Dog Breed Information

The Australian Terrier is one of only two dog breeds developed wholly in Australia (the Silky Terrier is the other), and the first Australian-developed breed to win international kennel club recognition. Bred in the 19th-century Australian bush from rough-coated British terriers brought by settlers, the Aussie was a working farm dog: a vermin killer, a snake dispatcher and a small watchdog all in one 6 to 7 kg package. Modest popularity in NZ, with most dogs tracing to Australian lines.

Adults stand 25 to 28 cm at the shoulder and weigh 6 to 7 kg. The harsh wire double coat is blue and tan, sandy, or red. Lifespan is 12 to 15 years. The signal that defines daily life with an Aussie is the working terrier wiring under the small dog exterior: real prey drive, real alert-bark, real opinions about what the household needs to know about right now.

NZ buyers who picked the breed expecting a quieter version of the Silky Terrier sometimes get more terrier than they wanted. Buyers who picked it because they wanted terrier character at a manageable size tend to keep them for life.

Personality and behaviour

Australian Terriers are confident, busy and bonded to their household. They are affectionate with their family without being clingy: they want to be near you, they prefer the room you are in, but they spend the day patrolling windows, gardens and gates rather than sitting on the couch. They make a sharp little watchdog with a bark that punches well above the body weight.

The breed is generally good with school-age children who respect a small dog’s space, less ideal with toddlers because of size and the breed’s tendency to defend itself if cornered. With other dogs they are friendly but not pushovers; same-sex dog-dog conflict can show up in adolescence and most experienced Aussie households mix sexes if they keep more than one.

Prey drive is genuine. The breed was developed to dispatch rats, mice and snakes in the Australian bush and the same wiring works on NZ rabbits, possums, mice and small birds. Lifestyle block owners often run an Aussie as part of the property’s vermin control programme; the dog is small enough to manage and switched on enough to do real work. The flip side is that recall in unfenced areas should not be relied on. Long lines for the first two years and fenced parks thereafter are the realistic options.

What surprises new owners is how much terrier turns up in such a small dog. The Aussie is more biddable than most working terriers and easier to train than an Irish or Kerry Blue, but the drive, the alert-bark and the independence are all in there. Owners who picked the breed expecting a Yorkie-style lap dog get a small working terrier instead.

Care and exercise

Plan on around 45 minutes of structured exercise a day, split between a brisk walk and some kind of mental work. Mental work counts: scent games, food puzzles and short trick training sessions tire an Aussie out as effectively as another 20 minutes of pavement walking. The breed handles long walks, hikes and fenced off-lead time well for its size.

Grooming is the input most owners underestimate. The hard wire coat sheds very little but needs real coat work to stay weatherproof and to hold its colour.

• Hand-stripping every three to four months keeps the harsh outer texture and the deep blue-and-tan colour. NZ groomers who hand-strip charge NZ$70 to NZ$130 per session.
• Clipping is faster and cheaper (NZ$50 to NZ$90) but softens the coat permanently and fades the blue to grey. Most NZ pet Aussies are clipped.
• Brushing twice weekly either way, with monthly trims around eyes, beard and feet.

Bathe only when needed. Over-bathing softens the coat further and most owners wash an Aussie three or four times a year, not monthly.

Dental care is a lifetime job. Small jaws crowd teeth, plaque builds, and by age four to five many Aussies need a full scale-and-polish under general anaesthetic (NZ$400 to NZ$900). Daily tooth brushing from puppyhood pushes that out by years.

The dietary watch-out is allergies and diabetes. A meaningful proportion of NZ Aussies react to common chicken-and-grain commercial foods with itchy paws and ear infections; a fish-based or limited-ingredient diet often clears it. Diabetes mellitus is documented at higher than average rates in the breed. Keeping the dog lean and avoiding sugary treats matters more than for some other small breeds.

Cold tolerance is good. The wire double coat handles Wellington wind and Otago winters easily. Heat is the limiting factor: a summer hand-strip or clip thins the coat for upper North Island summers, and midday walks should be avoided December through February.

Where to find an Australian Terrier in New Zealand

The breed is uncommon in NZ. Active NZKC breeders number perhaps two or three at any given time, litter sizes run 3 to 6 puppies, and waitlists are long.

1. Registered NZKC breeders. The Dogs NZ breed directory lists active Australian Terrier breeders. Expect a 12 to 24 month waitlist and NZ$2,000 to NZ$3,500 per puppy. Reputable breeders provide patella checks, parent health information including any diabetes history in the line, and early socialisation in the breeder’s home.
2. Australian breeders. Many serious NZ buyers source from registered Australian breeders and import. The breed is more common across the Tasman. Total cost (puppy plus quarantine plus flights) typically NZ$4,500 to NZ$7,000.
3. SPCA NZ and rescue. Australian Terriers turn up rarely in NZ rescue. Adoption fees NZ$300 to NZ$700 when they appear. More often what surfaces are Yorkie crosses or unidentified small terrier crosses sometimes labelled as Aussies.

Avoid Trade Me listings without parent registration; the breed is rare enough that most “Australian Terrier” listings without papers are actually small terrier crosses.

Insurance and lifetime cost

Australian Terrier insurance claims in NZ skew toward dental disease, dermatology, patellar luxation and the occasional diabetes diagnosis. The breed does not present heavily for orthopaedic conditions compared with larger terriers.

The 12 to 15 year lifespan stretches every fixed cost. Insurance, food, grooming and registration over an Aussie life add up to more than for a 10-year breed. Lifetime cover is meaningful because of the diabetes risk; insure puppies the day you bring them home so the cover starts before any pre-existing exclusions can apply.

For a typical NZ Australian Terrier on a mid-range lifetime policy, lifetime cost (purchase plus 12 to 15 years of food, vet, insurance, registration, grooming and incidentals) sits around NZ$22,000 to NZ$34,000. Food and grooming are moderate; vet costs sit at the typical small-breed average unless diabetes shows up.

What surprises new owners

Three things come up repeatedly with NZ Australian Terrier households.

The first is the bark. Aussies alert at the gate, alert at the postman, alert at the cat across the road and alert at noises the owner cannot hear. The breed is genuinely barkier than the silky-coated breeds it gets compared to, and apartment dwellers should test tolerance by spending time with an adult Aussie before committing.

The second is the prey drive. The breed was developed to kill vermin and the wiring still works. Households with rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, aviary birds or small reptiles should think hard before bringing in an Aussie puppy. Many NZ rural Aussies are valued precisely because of this drive; the same drive in a household with the family rabbit ends badly.

The third is the grooming. Hand-stripping is the breed-correct approach and not in every NZ town. Clipping is the practical fallback for most pet households but softens the coat permanently. Decide which trade-off you want before the puppy arrives.