Norwich Terrier

The early breeds of Norwich Terriers were a mix of many different Terriers and were called the Jones, Trumpington, and Cantab Terriers. These dogs were made famous by the sporting undergraduates in Cambridge University in the 1880s who used them as ratters and to flush foxes. The first Norwich Terrier was a dog named Rags who originated in the town of Norwich, which is in Norfolk County in East Anglia, England. The Norwich Terrier and Norfolk Terrier were considered the same breed in England until 1964, when it was decided that those dogs with prick ears were Norwich Terriers and those with dropped ears are Norfolk Terriers. Before that they were called Norwich Terrier D.E. (drop ears) and Norwich Terrier P.E. (prick ears). It took until 1979 for the Canadian Kennel Club and United Kennel Club to recognize these as two separate breeds. Both breeds still had only one parent club in the United States until 2009 when the members agreed to have two separate clubs: The Norfolk Terrier Club and the Norwich Terrier Club of America. The first of this breed to come to the United States was named William Jones who was owned by Robert Strawbridge, Esquire. He was bought from a breeder by the name of Frank Jones and was famous for his fox hunting as well as siring a great deal of generations of Norwich Terriers. Because of their small size, this breed was favored in fox flushing because they were able to get into the fox holes to flush out the foxes.