With a presidential name, a passion for rounding up rodents, and acting as the star jokester of the household, the small-sized Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is an American breed and a variety of the Rat Terrier. The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier’s short legs power a long, smooth-coated, muscular body, distinguishing it from the longer-legged Rat Terrier. Learn more about this breed with some Teddy Roosevelt Terrier history.
Job-Defining History
Terriers originated in England, Scotland, and Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. As working dogs, they controlled rats, foxes, badgers, and vermin.
In the 1800s, English settlers brought their small terrier-type dogs with them to the U.S. As companions, these dogs also helped them inside and outside their new homes. The Terriers kept the household and farm free of vermin and small rodents.
Dogs resembling the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier appear in literature and were called bobtail, wry leg, and the turnspit. Abraham Lincoln wrote a poem titled, “The Bear Hunt,” about a short-legged type of terrier known as a bench fice.
The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier and the Rat Terrier share a common early history and job description as small, reliable, and hard-working home and farm dogs that excelled as pest eradicators.
These terrier ancestors include the Smooth Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Bull Terrier, and English White Terrier. The dogs had a strong instinct to pursue unwanted pests, especially rabbits that overran crops in the Midwest. To improve their Terriers’ speed and tracking ability when pursuing small game, the farmers bred their dogs with Whippets, Italian Greyhounds, and Beagles. Later crosses included Toy Fox Terriers, Chihuahuas, and mixed Terriers.
“People bred their small working terriers to dogs with the best rat-catching abilities, regardless of the dogs’ pedigrees,” says Deb Botruff, President of the American Teddy Roosevelt Terrier Club.
The Type B Teddy
Initially, the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier was a variety of the Rat Terrier. Before 1990, Teddy’s original name was the Type B rat terrier. The Rat Terrier was called the Type A rat terrier.
“In every litter long- and short-legged terriers appeared,” Botruff recalls. “A lot of Rat Terriers were shown as Teddy Roosevelt Terriers at other dog shows.”
During the 1990s, dedicated Teddy breed fanciers sought to divide the Type A and Type B terriers into two breeds. In 1999, organizers established a separate breed standard for the Teddy. They organized the American Teddy Roosevelt Terrier Club in 2016, and the breed moved into the AKC Foundation Stock Service in 2016. In July 2019, the breed advanced to the Miscellaneous Class and became a member of the Terrier Group in January 2026.
Today’s Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is a short-legged, rectangular-shaped, muscular dog. It carries a chondrodysplasia gene, or “CDPA.” This gene affects the cartilage, leading to short stature and abnormal bone growth. This gene doesn’t affect the dog’s health, but the dog’s limbs or trunk may be shorter than usual, producing a characteristic body shape.
Naming the Type B Rat Terrier
When Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the U.S. from 1901 to 1909, moved into the White House, he attempted to rid his new Washington, D.C. home of vermin. In 1906, he tried using ferrets to hunt the vermin, and even his sons, Archie and Kermit, attempted to catch some rats.
Terriers were somewhat successful, but two years later, the rodents returned. To honor the President’s commitment to wildlife, his love for dogs, and his association with the Rat Terrier, the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier received his name. The President did not develop the breed.
At 8 to 25 pounds and at least 8 inches but not more than 14 inches tall, the Teddy’s long body is easily recognizable. Its height-to-length ratio is 7:10, and the dog is well-muscled without appearing coarse or fine. Its small size makes it an ideal traveling companion to ride in a pet bag under the airplane seat.
Intelligent and intuitive, the Teddy’s versatility enables it to adapt to life in a variety of living arrangements, from high-rise apartments, farms, or city living. The Teddy is equally happy when warning the family of intruders or resting on the couch beside its owner at the end of the day.
“One of the best aspects of Teddy’s personality is that the breed is equally happy running in a field tracking a mouse or doing whatever his owner is doing,” Botruff says. “He also likes to stand on its back legs like a meerkat or stretch out on its back legs in a frog leg position. Teddies know when to amuse people and when it’s time to relax,” Botruff says.
An Enthusiastic Performance Partner
The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier thrives on keeping up with its owner. When the Teddy can’t find any rabbits to chase, participating in canine dog sports alongside its owner fulfills its need to stay engaged.
The breed’s superior scenting ability can also help the Teddy to locate black truffles, which grow several inches below tree roots.
As a member of the Terrier Group, the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier possesses an instinctive nature to chase vermin and rats above and below ground. It employs a keen sense of smell, agility, speed, and strength to dart, dig, and pounce faster than most dogs. These skills enable the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier to sniff out and indicate a rat hidden in a tube within hay bales and excel at AKC Barn Hunt.
For Teddies, chasing a mechanically operated lure in AKC FastCAT serves as a perfect substitute for tracking down small game.
Teddy Roosevelt Terriers also enjoy dock diving and AKC Rally. Teaching the Teddy some new tricks with AKC Trick Dog keeps this breed active indoors and helps build a lifetime bond with its owner.