Historical Notes: Why Weight?

Wondering why Manchesters are weighed and not measured, as most other terriers are? The answer speaks directly to the original development of the breed almost 200 years ago.

Today's use of weight versus height is primarily a reflection of purpose. Interested readers can trace the progressive importance of weight in the CMTC Reading Room as well as through a variety of on-line resources. Very early historical references make no mention of weight and, in fact, very little reference to size at all. As the sport of pit ratting became more popular in the 1830s-1850s and black and tan competitors became more successful, however, weight became a common accompaniment to descriptions.

Breeds that were bred to go to ground were measured for height in order to ensure that they could fit into the den. The Manchester, however, played an active role in the rat pit where the dog's weight was important because it was often tied directly to the competition. In addition to straight matches where dogs were matched against the clock or against a set number of rats, proprietors often had matches where they handicapped dogs according to their weight. Weight handicaps were particularly popular in later years when finding enough rats became difficult.

The basic premise of a weight handicap is that the heavier the dog was, the more rats it had to kill. This make sense, as a 5 pound dog killing 20 rats is a far greater feat than an 18 pound dog doing the same thing. Sometimes the handicap was a rat for every 3 pounds more a dog weighed, sometimes it was a rat for every one pound. The fastest dog killing their alottment was the winner.

According to one description "it was frequent to arrange a handicap where each dog had to kill as many rats as there were pounds in his weight, the dog disposing of his quota the quickest being the winner. For instance, a ten pound dog would only have to kill ten rats while Billy [who weighed 27 pounds] killed 27. This put rather a premium on small dogs and breeds were developed specially for this sport. The little smooth black-and-tan terriers of Manchester and the rough Yorkshire terriers were particularly good for this sport and a friend of mine owns a picture of three famous terriers ranging in weight from 5 ¼ lbs to 7 lbs." (see illustration at right "Three of the Right Sort Ratters, 1851").

Once established, the use of weight continued right through to modern day. Though the desired size range has changed over the years by a few pounds one way or another, the method of determining size has not. As for the current weight limit, I'm still looking but have not yet found the reason 22 pounds was selected. Historic breed standards have varied from a low of 18 pounds to a high of 25 pounds. Efficiency in the rat pit does not appear to be the issue as one of the most celebrated competitors in the history of the sport weighed in at 27 pounds, however anything is possible. Documentation from this era in history is scattered at best, so we'll keep looking and perhaps one day we'll have an answer!

Submitted by: Amanda Kelly

*http://www.staffordmall.com/stoutheart-rats.htm.
Scale illustration from The Complete Toy Manchester Terrier (Dempsey).