The Scottish Terrier is of peculiar build, a build all his own, and his breadth of chest, pronounced brisket, well-laid-back shoulder-blades, with his short, straight, sturdy legs, are some of his most essential characteristics. Dorothy Caspersz |
The forelegs must be big and muscular. When the leg is grasped, the bone should feel round, not flat. Scottie feet are designed for digging. They should be big, with firm, moderately arched toes. Judges should not expect Scottie feet to be well-knuckled up like racing hounds or "cat" feet like Fox Terriers. Scottie paws should be more like bear paws. The toes should be moderately arched. The Scottish Terrier stands on the whole foot, not up on his toes. Thin, flat, or splayed feet are incorrect. Nails should be strong and black, except in the case of wheatens who may have light-colored nails. Nails should be kept reasonably short, but a digging breed need not have its nails cut nearly to the quick as is done with many other show dogs. The picture below illustrates excellent forequarters from a side view. This dog has all the necessary elements: layback of shoulder, correct angulation, correct ratio of length between shoulder blade and scapula, and correct forechest extending in front of the dog. Notice, particularly, the placement of the forelegs. In the correctly made dog, the forelegs are set back under the withers. In many of today's dogs, the forelegs are set almost under the ears.
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[The] only possible formation of the forehand is a slanting shoulder-blade, rather prominently placed, set into a humerus which, again, is set at an acute angle with the forearm, and the pastern has a slight outward bend with the foot turned the least bit outwards. W. L. McCandlish |
When the standard says the the forelegs may be "straight or slightly bent," it means that a slight toeing out is allowed. This has been a point of controversy for many years. Early Scottie breeders decried the development of straight forelegs in the Scottish Terrier and blamed uninformed judges, particularly those whose background was in the long-legged terrier breeds, for insisting on this. Most modern experts on canine structure agree with the old-time breeders who insisted that a very slight outward bend of pastern was necessary to keep the shoulder and front leg assembly in balance. Although the drawings below (from McDowell Lyon's The Dog In Action) do not include a Scottie, the engineering principles of balance still apply. In order for a dog to be in balance, the inner edge of the heel must stand under the vertical center of the shoulder blade. In the German Shepherd Dog, the set of the shoulder blade (viewed from the front) is almost vertical, while the Pointer's has more slope. The Dachshund, and the Scottie, have a much more decided slope to the shoulder blade. The result is that some modification must be made in order for the dog to stay in balance. In the Dachshund, this is obtained by a slight bend in the forearm. In the Scottie, it is often achieved by a slight bend in the pastern resulting in a slight toeing out in front.
Source: McDowell Lyon's The Dog In Action |
