Before the establishment of the perfect dog breed to accompany hunters during fox hunting, it was almost impossible to capture foxes that run back to their lairs. Even the Fox Hounds that are reliable and keen hunting companions were not courageous enough to chase after these preys in to these dark burrows. Because of this concern, the Fox Terrier has been developed and fox hunting since started to be much successful than before.

The Fox Terrier breed is very popular as superb and fearless fox chaser. With its small body, ferocious power and brave spirit, it is able to chase down foxes. Using these intrinsic abilities, the Fox Terrier was able to crawl down to the Fox's burrow and fight there one on one until the prey gives up.

During the late 19th century, Fox Terrier was used to refer to a group of dogs that were bred for hunting. Today, the name Fox Terrier means a breed that represents two varieties called the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. In Australia, however, in order to avoid confusion, they use the name Standard Fox Terrier to refer to variety of the breed.

However, the ancestral line of the Fox Terrier does not end with its two varieties because in other countries where the popularity of the Fox Terrier has reached, different offshoot of it came in to being. There are the Japanese Terrier, Chilean Fox Terrier, Tenterfield Terrier, Brazilian Terrier and more. Moreover, there are now smaller versions of the Fox Terrier varieties and they are the Miniature Fox Terrier and Toy Fox Terrier.

The Fox Terriers are well-known to be quiet yet possess rather admirable qualities. They are called the jumpy dogs because they love to jump on surfaces and in to people's arms because they have a liking for being carried around and hugged. They are known to be hardheaded but they are also gentle and sociable to other dog breeds and other animals.

The Fox Terriers are also known for being excessively playful, loving, and enthusiastic. They are always in a sunny mood, are brave and highly docile since they can learn tricks pretty fast. Looking at them, they show off an elegant, stylish and intelligent aura.

The Smooth Fox Terrier has a smooth, flat, tough and dense coat while the Wire Fox Terrier possesses a rough, dense and fuzzy coat. These two are almost alike such as in terms of temperament if not for their differing coat textures. Both are superb fox hunters and own innate strong jaws, well-developed teeth, powerful strength and fearless spirit.

This breed ranges from 13 to 16 inches in height and 13 to 20 pounds in weight. Commonly, the coat colors are in shades of tan, black and tan, black and white, and all may have markings of white. The first listed Fox Terrier is a dog called Foiler in 1875 for the Kennel Club.