The English Toy Terrier was developed from the Old English
Black and Tan Terrier and is closely related to the larger
Manchester Terrier. Fast and agile, its origins are in the world of the
rat pit, a sport popular in the cities of Victorian England where terriers were placed in a circle or pit with a number of rats and bets were taken as to which dog would kill its quota of rats in the fastest time. Small dogs were highly prized, with the ideal being to produce the smallest dog still capable of killing its quota of rats in as short a time as possible. In 1848 a Black and Tan Terrier named
Tiny the Wonder, weighing just , is recorded to have killed 200 rats in less than an hour. The outlawing of this sport coincided with the formation of the
Kennel Club. With its elegant appearance, the Black and Tan Terrier moved into the conformation show ring. At the first all-breeds dog show, there was a very respectable entry of Black and Tan Terriers divided by weight. This weight division continued with two varieties of Black and Tan Terrier until 1903 when the 1st Black and Tan Terrier (Miniature) was registered with the KC. The current name English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan) was adopted in 1960. Black and Tan Terriers of all sizes were exported to Canada and the US, founding a population which was largely isolated from the European one until very recently. In North America, the two sizes were also split into two breeds until 1958 when declining numbers of the Standard Manchester Terrier prompted the American Kennel Club to redefine them as a single breed with two varieties: Standard and Toy. , the
Paisley Terrier ==Concerns of extinction==