The standard is not a
set of arbitrary requirements formulated to satisfy the whims of any particular group or
to fit the changing mode of fashion. Rather it was written and has been maintained to
preserve and perfect a particular type of dog, bred for a very definite purpose: namely,
to go to earth. There are definite reasons for every line of the standard.
Edwin Megargee |
To fully understand the structure and temperament of
the Scottish Terrier, one must first understand what he was bred to do. This Scottish
Terrier "job description" written in 1934 by Dr. William Bruette describes the
grim life's work of early earth dogs:
"There the cairns in which the despoilers of the flocks
take refuge are mountains of tumbled rock sometimes a quarter of a mile in circumference.
The terrier that enters these labyrinths of granite leaves hope of human aid behind. He
must wind his way through miles of clefts and crevices, the walls of which will not yield
to tooth or claw. The battle is his alone.
He must, unaided,
drive his prey into the open or fight the battle underground without hope of help from
human hands. It is well that his hide be tough and clothed with a cushion of bristling
hair; his muscles strong and his frame elastic; for, as he follows his prey among the
crevices, there is always the danger of the narrow cleft through which he crushes with
shoulders and ribs only to feel the deadly grip of relentless rock.
He can no longer go forward; he cannot pull back. His voice is lost
in the winding caverns that is destined for his tomb. His only hope is that hunger and
thirst will reduce his sturdy frame and set him free before he is too weak to win his way
to the open. It can be truly said that there is not a cairn in all the hills of Scotland
that has not its tale to tell of these canine tragedies."
|
While structural faults are no longer life and death matters, it is
essential to remember all elements of the Scottie standard are related to the work he was
bred to do, except eye and coat color.
|
The Scot must retain his size in order to maintain type, and pray let us keep
Scottish Terrier type as our main consideration.
Winnie Barber
|
From the 1993 STCA Standard: The Scottish Terrier
should have a thick body and heavy bone. The principal objective must be symmetry and
balance without exaggeration. Equal consideration shall be given to height, weight, length
of back, and length of head. Height at withers for either sex should be about 10 inches.
The length of back from withers to set-on of tail should be approximately 11 inches.
Generally, a well-balanced Scottish Terrier dog should weigh from 19 to 22 pounds and a
bitch from 18 to 21 pounds.
Pictured above is Tickle 'Em Jock, BIS at Westminster 1911
The first Standard, written in England in 1880 called for a dog of
about 9 1/2 inches high, with a body of moderate length, and weighing sixteen to seventeen pounds for dogs, and two pounds less for bitches. |
Eng. Ch. Ems Cosmetic, considered the "ideal
Scottie" in the first decade of this century.
Interestingly, when the STC of England formally adopted a standard, just
8 years later, great latitude was given in height: from 9 to 12 inches. Eighteen pounds
was considered ideal for a male and 16 pounds for a bitch, with a range of 15-20 allowed.
These heights and weights remained unchanged in England until 1933, and these were the
standards adopted in 1900 by the Scottish Terrier Club of America in its first standard.
|
Eng. Ch. Albourne Barty (L) & Eng. Ch. Heather Necessity (R)
In England, size crept upward. The 1933 English standard, while making no
height recommendation, called for a dog "of a size to get to ground," weighing
from seventeen to twenty-one pounds.
The 1930's saw a huge jump in the popularity of the Scottish Terrier.
American fanciers were paying thousands of dollars for imported Scottish Terriers during
the Depression and English breeders were unable to resist the lure of so much money. They
began to breed away from the old type of Scottish Terrier and developed, almost overnight,
the modern Scottish Terrier. The new type, with its shorter body and profuse furnishings,
was more popular with the public and with show judges. The two dogs pictured above were
the most influential sires of that era, and are credited by most authors with being the
foundation of the modern Scottish Terrier.
|
|