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Rat Terriers, also known as “Ratties,” can barely contain their huge hearts in their tiny bodies. Unlike the name suggests, these dogs are social, affectionate pups who love being around people. They crave your companionship and will be happy in any situation as long as you’re together. Full-grown, they typically weigh 8-25 pounds and stand 10-18 inches tall.

Rat Terriers are generally excellent with children of all ages. In fact, Rat Terriers love sleeping with people, especially kids. This breed is pack-oriented, so they enjoy the companionship of kids, adults, and other pets as long as they’re raised together. They're moderate barkers — they'll alert you when something's up but aren't excessive.

Rat Terriers thrive on activity and will be destructive if they get bored. Keep your Rattie busy with walks, runs, playtime, training, food puzzles, or sports. These dogs are particularly good at agility, rally, flyball, and tracking. Overall, their exercise needs are high.

Rat Terriers have short coats with a “pied” pattern (large patches of one or more colors with white). You may find Ratties with black, brown, tan, red, apricot, fawn, blue, white, or lemon coloring. Their coats tend to be low maintenance. Grooming-wise, this breed is low-maintenance.

Rat Terriers are best suited for apartments and smaller homes. Ratties need to live indoors and be surrounded by people. They are highly trainable and eager to learn.