This breed make excellent family pets due to the fact that they are extremely loyal and have very friendly natures. However, it must be noted that these guys are very high-energy, and will need lots of walkies and other forms of physical activity, so a highly active family is probably a better home for this breed. They also have an extremely high prey drive, due to their original reasons for being bred. Alongside the ability to compress their lungs, which allows them to go into holes and burrows, it’s best you don’t let these guys off their leads unless in a very secure area! It may also not be the best dog if you have other small pets. They are really human orientated and make good pets for owners who have experience handling terriers.

These sweet dogs were developed in the Lake District in the 1960s, by Brian Nuttall. It’s thought he used Buck and Breay dogs to create the Patterdale that we know today. Even now, puppies from the ‘Nuttall Bloodline’ are considered to be one of the most prestigious lines in the world, demanding an extremely high price! They were originally developed to protect flocks against predators and to be able to work in harsh and hilly terrain. As compared to other breeds, this particular group of dogs were trained to catch prey without killing them and were taught to withstand their ground and react quickly and efficiently to every situation thrown at them. The name of this breed comes from the village where they were originally bred in, called Patterdale.