Activities For American Hairless Terriers

American Hairless Terriers, like their direct ancestor, the Rat Terrier, are very intelligent little dogs who quickly pick up new commands. Continuing training after they have mastered the basic commands can help to keep their very active minds occupied and can also help to reinforce previous training. While these little dogs can display some stubbornness during training sessions, ensuring that sessions are varied in nature and kept fairly short will produce the best results with this breed.  Advanced obedience training is a good way to reinforce training techniques, entertain your dog, and improve both the communication and the overall bond between pet and pet-parent. 

American Hairless Terriers, like many terrier breeds, were bred for hunting vermin. In the case of Rat Terriers and their descendants the American Hairless Terrier breed, they were specifically developed to hunt rats in barns, making them naturals at the newly developed sport of Barn Hunt. This sport involves placing rats in safety tubes and hiding them in specially designed mazes, usually made up of eighteen inch bales of hay, and is open to any dog that is able to fit through an eighteen inch tall opening; deaf dogs, senior dogs, and even dogs with missing limbs are often able to compete at these events. 

Searching for your supper is an activity that can be done to make your dog’s meals more entertaining for them as well as giving them an extra opportunity to use their minds in everyday situations. American Hairless Terriers are very active little canines, but like many small dogs, they can be prone to obesity if they get bored and lethargic or if they are given too many treats. They are also somewhat natural foragers as their ancestors were developed to search for and eradicate rats and vermin from human habitations, and this activity gives them an opportunity to follow their natural desires in a way that increases their physical activity without increasing their caloric intake.