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Breed

Japanese Terrier

The Japanese Terrier is a foundation stock service breed from Japan, standing 8–13 in at the withers, weighing 5–10 lb. Recorded lifespan is 12–15 yrs.

A photograph of the Japanese Terrier
Breed group
Foundation Stock Service
Origin
Japan
Height
8–13 in
Weight
5–10 lb
Lifespan
12–15 yrs

Among the 500 breeds here with recorded measurements, the Japanese Terrier is taller than 5% of the measured breeds, heavier than 2%, one of 64 in the Foundation Stock Service group, one of 10 from Japan.

Compare the Japanese Terrier with another breed

Living with the Japanese Terrier

Two breed references score every breed they cover from 1 to 5 on the things an owner lives with day to day. These are the Japanese Terrier’s, with what a 1 and a 5 mean on each row.

What they will ask of you
Energy
3 of 51 couch potato · 5 busy all day

Rated 1 to 5 by the American Kennel Club, and read from their breed pages in 2022. Nobody at Woof & Beyond has met this breed — these are the publishers’ judgments, not ours.Japanese Terrier on AKC

Breeds that look like the Japanese Terrier

A neural network trained to tell breeds apart by sight read all 510 photographs in this reference, and these are the 6 it placed closest to the Japanese Terrier.

Side by side

Height 0–38 in

  1. Japanese Terrier
    8–13 in
  2. Boston Terrier
    9–15 in
  3. American Staffordshire Terrier
    17–19 in
  4. Jack Russell Terrier
    8–15 in
  5. Kerry Beagle
    22–24 in
  6. Dogue Brasileiro
    21–24 in
  7. McNab Shepherd
    18–25 in

Weight 0–220 lb

  1. Japanese Terrier
    5–10 lb
  2. Boston Terrier
    6–25 lb
  3. American Staffordshire Terrier
    50–80 lb
  4. Jack Russell Terrier
    14–18 lb
  5. Kerry Beagle
    110–132 lb
  6. Dogue Brasileiro
    64–95 lb
  7. McNab Shepherd
    35–65 lb

Lifespan 0–20 yrs

  1. Japanese Terrier
    12–15 yrs
  2. Boston Terrier
    11–13 yrs
  3. American Staffordshire Terrier
    12–16 yrs
  4. Jack Russell Terrier
    12–14 yrs
  5. Kerry Beagle
    10–14 yrs
  6. Dogue Brasileiro
    ~13 yrs
  7. McNab Shepherd
    13–15 yrs

Nothing here was grouped by hand. The ranking is an opinion about appearance, not about ancestry, which is why it sometimes puts together breeds no kennel club would — and why it is worth looking at the photographs rather than taking the order on trust.

See the Japanese Terrier on the breed mapRead about the Japanese Terrier on Wikipedia
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Straight answers about living with a dog, written one question at a time.

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