Original Works of art

Black-and-tan colored Terriers have existed in Wales for centuries and they were probably the progenitors of the modern Welsh Terrier. According to Walter Glynn in Cassell's Book of the Dog, the Welsh Terrier "is in reality identical with the old black and tan wire-haired dog which was England's first Terrier, and which has taken such a prominent part in the production and evolution of all the other varieties of sporting terrier."

Indeed, in Carnarvonshire, there is evidence that a John Jones of Ynysfor, worked Black-and-Tan Terriers with a pack of Otterhounds around 1760. It was not until 1884, however, that specimens appeared on the show bench. About that time, several fanciers met to try to improve matters, the end result being the founding of The Welsh Terrier Club and the recognition of the breed by The Kennel Club.

Just after the Welsh Terrier made its debut at shows, a rival, similar in size and color, called the Old English Black-and-Tan Terrier, appeared on the scene. In 1886, when The Kennel Club agreed to entry in its Stud Book in 1886, the classification of Welsh or Old English Wire-haired Black-and-tan Terrier was given. Within a short time, however, the Old English Black-and-tan more or less faded away, and it was in 1888 that the Welsh Terrier, as such, first appeared in the Stud Book.