Head

[Page1] [Page 2] Page 3 [Page 4] [Page 5] [Page 6] [Page 7]

[Home] [Size, Proportion, Substance] [Head] [Body and Neck] [Fore and Hindquarters] [Coat] [Gait]

The muzzle should be well filled-in in front of the eyes, and taper very gradually towards the nose. This tapering effect is very slight, and leads up to a particularly characteristic feature of the breed, and one that should never be lost. This is the projection of the nose over the mouth.

Dorothy Caspersz


Like the skull, the muzzle should also not be narrow or snipey. Viewed from above, there is a very slight taper from muzzle to nose. Viewed from the side, the muzzle should be fairly deep, so that there is sufficient room in the jaw for the Scottie's very large teeth. The Standard says the muzzle should "fill an average man's hand." The dog below has a correct muzzle.

Goodmuzzle.jpg (7943 bytes)     

 

The nose is large and black, regardless of coat color. There are wheaten colored Scottish Terriers whose nose pigment fades, sometimes in the winter, sometimes all year round. This "snow nose," as it is sometimes called, does not seem to be linked to the amount of color in the wheaten coat. I've seen a nearly pure red wheaten with a snow nose and I've seen a nearly pure white wheaten with absolutely black pigment all year round. This fading pigment is an undesirable trait but is sometimes more heavily penalized by judges than it might warrant.

One essential feature that has come to be rather obscured with the breeding of full face whiskers is the projection of the nose over the mouth. This is an attribute not seen in the other highland terriers and is, therefore, unique to the Scottie. The Scottie must NOT have a blunt muzzle like the Westie.

Except for the absence of face furnishings, this is a an excellent representation of a Scottie head. Note the parallel planes, the full, deep muzzle with plenty of fill under the eye, and the large, black nose projecting over the mouth.

noseproj.jpg (26037 bytes)

Next Page

Chapter 2