Norfolk Terrier

HDB-APPROVED · DOG BREED GUIDE

Also known as Norfolk, Drop-eared Norwich.

A Norfolk Terrier's determined little nose is trained to hunt rodents, but in an HDB flat, it mostly sniffs out misplaced socks and stray crumbs like a four-legged detective with a penchant for household mysteries.

At a glance

Size category

Small

Weight

5 to 6 kg

Height

23 to 25 cm

Lifespan

12 to 15 years

Energy level

●●●●○ 4/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Shedding

●●○○○ 2/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Heat tolerance

●●○○○ 2/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Barking

●●●○○ 3/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Trainability

●●●●○ 4/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Grooming needs

●●●○○ 3/5 (editorial, unvalidated)

Origin

United Kingdom

The Norfolk Terrier is one of the smallest working terriers there is, five to six kilograms of ratting dog with drop ears and an unreasonably cheerful outlook. It is on HDB's approved list. It is rated good with children, good with other dogs and beginner-friendly, which for a terrier is an unusually clean sweep.

There are two things this page needs to be honest about. The Kennel Club recommends no health screening for the breed at all, which changes what you can ask a breeder for. And IVDD is on this page's health-issue list, which is not what most people expect from a terrier.

Personality and temperament

Norfolks were bred to work in packs and to go to ground after vermin, and the pack part is why the temperament is so much softer than the terrier reputation suggests. A dog selected to work alongside other dogs and horses without argument makes an easy household companion.

Trainability is rated 4 out of 5 and beginner friendliness is high. Barking is rated 3 out of 5, moderate, which for a working terrier is genuinely good news beside a shared corridor and still needs shaping.

Energy is rated 4 out of 5, and that is the number people discount because the dog is small and charming. This is a working animal that wants a job, and a Norfolk with nothing to do will dig, chew and self-employ.

The drop ears distinguish it from the Norwich, which carries the same history with upright ones. Beyond that they are close cousins and the practical advice for both is much the same.

Exercise in Singapore's climate

Heat tolerance is rated 2 out of 5, and the coat explains it. A harsh wiry outer coat over an insulating undercoat, developed for cold, wet East Anglian fieldwork, is close to the wrong specification for a daily maximum of 31 to 33 degrees Celsius with average relative humidity around 82% year round (Meteorological Service Singapore).

So 4 out of 5 energy against 2 out of 5 heat tolerance is the central management problem, and the answer is to move most of the work indoors rather than push the dog outdoors and hope.

Two walks a day of about thirty minutes, strictly before 8am and after 8pm, on grass and shade, with water.

Then use the nose. This is a dog bred to hunt in tight dark places, and searching satisfies it in a way that walking does not. Scatter kibble across a room, hide a toy and send the dog after it, use a snuffle mat at breakfast, run a flirt pole in the cool of the evening. Ten focused minutes several times a day does more than another lap of the block, and it can happen at two in the afternoon when going out would be unwise.

Given the IVDD entry, keep the games flat. No repeated leaping down from furniture, and no twisting chase games on slippery floors.

Coat and grooming in the humidity

Grooming needs are rated 3 out of 5 at about S$1,300 a year, with shedding rated 2 out of 5. The wiry coat is low-shedding and reasonably practical, with one decision attached that matters more here than in a temperate country.

A harsh terrier coat is traditionally hand-stripped, which removes dead outer hairs so the new harsh coat grows through. Clipping is quicker and cheaper and cuts those hairs rather than removing them, and over time the coat softens, lies flatter against the skin and traps more moisture. In 82% humidity that is the wrong direction. Discuss stripping versus clipping with your groomer rather than defaulting, and if you clip, keep it short.

Brush two or three times a week to get the dead undercoat out, which is what actually helps the dog cool.

Itchy skin and allergies are both on this page's health-issue list, so dry the dog properly after any bath or rain. Check the drop ears weekly, since they hold moisture more readily than the Norwich's upright pair.

Diet and feeding

Food runs about S$1,200 a year, which is high for a 5 to 6 kg dog and reflects the energy rating.

Keeping this dog lean does two jobs at once. Patellar luxation and joint mobility both sit on this page's health-issue list, and so does IVDD, so weight is going through both the knees and the back.

Weigh the food, count treats inside the daily total, and use the dog's own kibble as training currency, which on a breed you should be training this much is useful twice over. A wiry coat hides a thickening waist, so assess by hand and have your vet body-condition score at each visit.

Dental health is also listed. Brush daily over a life that may reach fifteen years.

Training

A willing terrier is a pleasure to teach and will still negotiate. Four priorities:

• Daily mental work, structured. Not enrichment. It is the substitute for the outdoor exercise the climate will not allow, and it is what prevents the digging and chewing.
• Four feet on the floor. Given IVDD and patellar luxation on the same health list, provide steps to any furniture the dog uses or make it inaccessible. The jump down is what does the damage.
• Recall, worked hard and never fully trusted. A dog bred to pursue quarry into a hole will chase. Keep the lead on in unfenced spaces however good it gets.
• Grooming and handling tolerance. Stripping asks a dog to stand and be handled at length. Start in week ten.

Health

The UK Kennel Club states that "at this time this breed does not have any recommended pre-breeding health screening in place, however breeders and puppy buyers should check frequently as this may change once new evidence and research becomes available". It places the Norfolk Terrier in Breed Watch Category 1, and records no points of concern identified for special attention by judges.

A clean Breed Watch category is good news. No recommended screening is neutral news that people read as good news, and the difference matters: it means there is no certificate for you to demand, so the quality of your questions has to replace it.

Three worth asking, drawn from this page's own health-issue list.

Knees. Patellar luxation heads the list, with joint mobility beside it. Ask for a written veterinary patella assessment on both parents and read it rather than accepting a summary.

Backs. IVDD is on the list, which surprises people on a terrier. It is a condition in which the discs between the vertebrae can herniate and press on the spinal cord, producing pain, reluctance to move, and in severe cases hind-limb weakness. Ask whether any dog in the line has had back trouble, and set the household up accordingly: steps to the furniture, runners on polished tile. Learn the emergency signs, a yelp on being lifted, a hunched back, wobbliness or dragging behind, and treat them as a same-day vet visit.

Hearts. Heart conditions are listed. Ask whether both parents have been examined with the heart in mind, and ask your own vet to listen at every visit.

Eye conditions, allergies, itchy skin and dental health complete the list, and the last three are largely managed by routine rather than screened for.

Routine veterinary care runs about S$1,000 a year, which is low and reflects a fundamentally hardy little dog. Arrange insurance in the first weeks anyway, before any back, knee or skin note is on a clinical record to be written back as an exclusion. None of this replaces your own vet's assessment of your own dog.

Housing and space in Singapore

The Norfolk Terrier is named on HDB's published list of approved breeds for flats, which runs to 61 named breeds plus a cross of any two of them. Confirm the current position there before you commit, since HDB maintains and updates the list.

Ownership limits come from AVS rather than HDB. Under AVS's rules, an HDB flat may keep a maximum of one dog of an approved small breed plus up to two cats, and no dog on the Specified dogs list; private property may keep up to three cats or dogs in combination. Every dog needs an AVS licence. Licence fees depend on sterilisation status, age and the number of pets. One-time and three-year licences are different options. Check the current AVS fee table before paying.

The flat suits the size and works against the coat, so the indoor setup matters. Give the dog a cool tiled place to lie out of the afternoon sun and think about what the unit does between 11am and 4pm with nobody home, because a double-coated dog in a closed-up flat has nowhere to shed heat.

Then terrier-proof, and back-proof: secure whatever you mind about, put runners on polished tile, and add steps to any furniture the dog is allowed on.

Care and cost in Singapore

On this page's figures: about S$1,200 a year for food, S$1,300 for grooming and S$1,000 for routine veterinary care. A modest, evenly spread total, with the grooming line assuming proper coat work several times a year, which is where the money should go. Run the ten-year picture with the cost calculator.

Getting a Norfolk Terrier: buying and adoption

With no kennel-club scheme to ask for, ask for these: the AVS dog farm licence number, a written veterinary patella assessment for both parents, an eye examination for both parents, a written health guarantee, and direct answers about backs and hearts in the line.

Ask what the breeder does about the coat, because anyone breeding working terriers seriously has a view on stripping and will tell you what your dog will need.

Be clear which breed you are buying. Norfolk and Norwich Terriers are close cousins distinguished mainly by ear carriage, drop for the Norfolk and upright for the Norwich, and they are not always described precisely by sellers. A breeder who cannot discuss the difference fluently is not the right breeder.

Adoption is worth checking. Small terriers and terrier crosses come through SOSD, Causes for Animals and Mercylight, and the usual surrender reason for this type is under-occupation: somebody wanted a small dog and got a working one. That dog is generally sound and needs a household willing to give it a job.

Life stages: puppy to senior

Puppy, to about 12 months. Start grooming handling in week ten, before the adult wiry coat arrives. Set the no-jumping rule and install the steps early, given the back. Begin daily tooth brushing and weekly ear checks. Keep the puppy lean and get insurance in force early.

Adolescent, roughly 9 to 18 months. The adult coat comes through and the stripping question becomes real. Terrier independence peaks and recall gets tested. Watch for a skip or hop behind, or any yelp on being lifted, and report either even if it resolves.

Adult, roughly 2 to 9 years. An easy dog in this phase provided it has work. Coat on schedule, ears weekly, teeth daily, weight held, walks in the cool hours, nose games most days.

Senior, from about 10 years. Lifespan here is 12 to 15 years. Move to twice-yearly vet visits and ask for the heart to be listened to at each. Watch for stiffness, hesitation before jumping, and any change in how the back legs work. Older dogs tolerate heat less, so shorten the walks and keep the indoor games going, because the terrier brain retires long after the legs do.

See dog-friendly cafes and parks in your region → | Run the 10-year cost of a Norfolk Terrier in Singapore →

Tags: terrier, rare, apartment-friendly, low-shedding-ish, drop-eared, active

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