How to Span a Terrier


  This terrier’s chest circumferenceJust happens to be the same as the circumference of the 2 litter soft drink bottle.


The spanning process is always the same

Face the terrier away from you.

Gently left terrier’s front end off the table.

Terrier’s back feet MUST ALWAYS be touching the table or the ground.

Make sure your middle fingers are touching underneath the terrier’s chest.

Now check to see where your thumbs are.

Do your thumbs

  • touch
  • not touch and by how much
  • overlap and by how much
Now you have a visual approximation of the chest size to compare this to the next terrier’s chest you span.

Compress very slightly on the chest to see how much flexibility the chest has.



Back Next

© 2004, Liz McKinney.
You are welcome to use this material for educational, non-profit purposes, but you must ask and receive written permission from the author to use contents. The material must be used WITH proper acknowledgment of its source including the URL for this website, and the name of the author of this document.

Many thanks to Donna Motter for her help with photos and her support in putting this spanning guide together. Donna was a true terrier woman, worked her terriers in the hunt field and encouraged others to do the same.