Most Fox Terriers love to play with children. Many experiences are great and the FT will love the attention they get playing and talking for hours on end. However, the Fox Terrier will “play rough” and for that reason we don’t recommend them for families with young ones.

Children over seven years can understand how to “play nice” and have the stamina to keep up with the Fox Terrier. Toddlers and the pre-school ages tend to not understand that hitting and screaming and running are going to excite the dog and encourage aggressive behavior. It’s not that the dog or child are “wrong,” it’s just that they often don’t mix.

Moreover, the dog can see screaming or running children (and other animals) as “prey,” a behavior bred into the breed. They were historically trained to hunt and kill small animals and unintentional bites happen. Children that are loud, rambunctious or rough, and many can be, may further agitate the Fox Terrier.

FTs, as other breeds, are also very territorial and tend not to back down from a challenge. A Fox Terrier will rarely aggressively go after any human, adult or child, but they will hold their own. They will protect their toys, food and other elements in a situation, behaviors that are perhaps impossible to train out of FT. Mixing a young child – who is still learning what personal boundaries are all about – with an FT can result in a fracas – or a good old-fashioned “dog fight!”