The English Toy Terrier (ETT) 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 5 ¹⁄₂ pounds (2.5 kg), 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 the 1920s when they were split into two breeds, the larger Manchester Terrier and the smaller Black and Tan Terrier (Miniature).
The name English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) was adopted in 1962.
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 English Toy Terrier (ETT) 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 5 ¹⁄₂ pounds (2.5 kg), 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 the 1920s when they were split into two breeds, the larger Manchester Terrier and the smaller Black and Tan Terrier (Miniature). The name English Toy Terrier (Black and Tan) was adopted in 1962. 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.
English Toy Terrier (Black & Tan)