The Teddy Roosevelt Terrier is a small to medium-sized American hunting terrier. It is lower-set, with shorter legs, and is more muscular with heavier bone density than the related American Rat Terrier. Much diversity exists in the history of the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier breed, and it shares a common early history with the American Rat Terrier, Fox Paulistinha, and Tenterfield Terrier. The Rat Terrier's background is said to stem from the terriers or other dogs that were brought over by early English and other working-class immigrants. Since the breed was a farm, hunting, and utility dog, little to no planned breeding was used other than breeding dogs with agreeable traits to each other to produce the desired work ethic in the dog. The Feist (dog), Bull Terrier, Smooth Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier, Whippet, Italian Greyhound, the now extinct English White Terrier, Turnspit Dog, and Wry-legged Terrier all share in the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier's ancestry. These early ratting terriers were then most likely bred to the Beagle or Beagle crossbred dogs (for increased scenting ability) and other dogs. Maximizing the influences from these various breeds provides the modern Teddy Roosevelt Terrier with a keen sense of awareness and prey drive, an acute sense of smell. and a very high intellect. Although they tend to be aloof with strangers, they are devoted companion dogs with a strong desire to please and be near their owners at all times. The current UKC standard calls for a Teddy Roosevelt Terrier to be in height, with weight proportionate to height. Teddy Roosevelt Terriers weighing as much as or as little as are not uncommon. Breed history Early American history shows that the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, like the Rat Terrier, were often referred to as Feist or just plain terrier mixes - in the case of the Teddy Roosevelt Terrier, "bench-legged feist". Since the breed was primarily a farm and hunting dog, crossing Rat Terriers to other breeds was common. One such early cross was with the Beagle, and this cross possibly reinforced the bench leg, since the Bench-legged Beagle was a common hunting companion. Separating the long-legged phenotype from the short-legged phenotype in most cases did not occur, litters born from parents of either or both phenotypes commonly displayed a variety of leg and body length, yet all were still considered and labeled merely as Rat Terriers. In the middle 1990s, efforts to segregate the