Although his ancestry is British, the sleek but sassy little Australian Silky Terrier breed was first developed in Sydney.

Believed to be basically a cross between the Australian Terrier and the Yorkshire Terrier, the Silky was bred to fill the need for a small terrier which would be suited to life in a small house or cottage but, at the same time, would be effective in hunting and killing domestic rodents.

Although his long, fine, glossy coat gives him a rather glamourous appearance, do not be fooled - the Australian Silky Terrier is in fact a hardy, spunky little fellow, with true terrier charecteristics. He is just as much at home sniffing around a rathole, as he is lying on the furniture looking decorative.

Very active and alert, the Silky is a good little watch dog, making a noise out of all proportion to his size. In fact he tends to be rather possessive about his family and its property.

His merry and affectionate nature, coupled with the fact that he is long living, easy to look after, inexpensive to feed plus small enough to fit into any household, makes the Australian Silky Terrier a popular and charming pet.

Desirable weight is from 3.5 to 4.5 kgs with dogs standing around 23 cm at the shoulder and bitches slightly less.

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