The breeds · terrier
AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 272
Norfolk Terrier.
AKC standard: one of the smallest working terriers, a 'perfect demon' in the field; can go to ground, bolt a fox and tackle or dispatch other small vermin, working alone or with a pack. UKC: developed to go to ground to bolt a fox, or to find and dispatch other vermin. FCI 272: utilization Terrier; used on fox and badger and on rats. RKC: the Terrier group was bred to pursue fox, badger, rat and otter above and below ground. Wikipedia: originally barn dogs to rid the barn of vermin; some literature says they were occasionally used on the hunt to bolt animals of equal size from their den..
Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.
The body
What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.
Height at the shoulder
AKC, UKC and FCI agree within a fraction of an inch. Center left blank because the standards print different ideals (UKC 10 in, FCI 25 cm); low/high is the AKC range. Wikipedia repeats 9 to 10 in (23 to 25 cm).
Weight
AKC and UKC agree. Both-sex row; no source splits weight by sex.
Coat
AKC, UKC and FCI agree.
Shedding
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Heat tolerance
Derived from the standard's coat (short-to-medium weather-resistant double coat = 3) on a 11 to 12 lb dog. No measured data.
How long they live, and what they cost
Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.
Median lifespan
McMillan et al. 2024 / Dogs Trust table. UK population; the median is across dogs that had died plus censored dogs per the paper's method. Not in Teng et al. 2022. The AKC page prints a 12 to 16 year band, which is not used here. Wikipedia repeats 13.5 years from this table.
The dog at home
What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.
Exercise need
RKC is a UK registry band, not a study; mapped by the library rule (up to 1 hour = 60).
Exercise need
AKC bands are not mapped to minutes; RKC supplies the minutes figure.
Energy
AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.
Grooming load
RKC band mapped by the library rule (more than once a week = 3). Hand stripping a show or working coat sits above that band; the RKC band is what is printed.
The work
What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.
Role
AKC and UKC wording on fox and vermin; FCI history on badger; the barn-dog and 'occasionally used' lines are Wikipedia (editorial) and disagree in emphasis with the AKC and UKC 'bolt a fox' role.
Primary game
Quarry named by the AKC and UKC standards and the FCI history; the barn-vermin line is Wikipedia.
Also used on
Group text from RKC is the whole Terrier group, not Norfolk-specific.
Search pattern
Pack or single work only; no source read prints voice or cry on the line.
Field trial standard
No test scoring or pass rate read.
How common the problems are
Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.
Hip dysplasia
OFA's own breed statistics. OFA-evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock (owners and breeders submit films, and poor results are less likely to be submitted), so this is not the rate across all dogs of the breed; the true population rate is not known. Read it as a high-risk breed on the tested dogs, and ask any breeder for the sire and dam's own OFA or PennHIP results. Wikipedia (editorial): Norfolks most often have shallow hip sockets, many lines are dysplastic, and no Norfolk has ever been rated OFA excellent; the claim was not checked against OFA.
Most common disorders
Single editorial source; Wikipedia's own citations (a 2024 UK life-expectancy study and breeder statements) were not read. No VetCompass or club health survey was read for this breed.
More
akc bands
Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.
What to ask a breeder for
The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.
- USHip evaluationOFA or PennHIP · Wikipedia, Norfolk Terrier (Internet Archive copy; editorial, cites secondary and some primary studies that were not read)
How to read this page
Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.
Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.
- Also called
- Norfolk
Every breed, read the same way.
The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.
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