Scottish terrier

Origin

Scottish Terrier The Scottish Terrier was developed in Scotland in the 1700s. The breed was first called the Aberdeen Terrier, after the Scottish town of Aberdeen. George, the fourth Earl of Dumbarton nicknamed the dogs "little diehard" in the 19th century. Scotties first arrived in the USA in the 1890 s. Scotties were used to hunt den animals, such as rabbit, otter, fox, and badger. The Scottish Terrier was recognized by the AKC in 1885.

The Scottish Terrier is a sturdy little dog with short legs and the way they are groomed can make them look even shorter. The head is long in proportion to the rest of the dog. The skull is long, slightly domed and medium in width. The almond shaped eyes are small, set well apart. The erect, pointed ears are pricked, set well up on the head. The muzzle is about the same length as the skull with a small stop, tapering slightly to the nose. Teeth meet in a scissors or level bite. The topline of the back is level. The tail is thicker at the base, medium in length and covered with short, hard hair, carried straight or slightly curved. The front feet are larger than the back feet and round in shape. Dewclaws may be removed. The compact, course, wiry coat is as hard as bristles with a soft protective undercoat. The coat has a distinctive profile with longer hair on the beard, eyebrows, legs and lower part of the body. Colors come in black, wheaten, or brindle. There may be a little bit of white on the chest.

Temperament

Brave and alert, the Scottie is hardy and lovable. They are charming and full of character. Playful and friendly as a puppy, he matures into a dignified adult. The Scottish Terrier makes a very good watchdog. It is inclined to be stubborn, however, and needs firm, but gentle handling from an early age or it will dominate the household. Socialize well. This breed is sensitive to correction, therefore if you are firm and confident, the dog should respond to you. However, if you do not mean it when you tell him, "No" he will know it, and will not listen. Obedience training must be consistent but persuasive. Never hit a dog and do not play aggressive games with a terrier such as the Scottie, like wrestling and tug-of-war. He can challenge family members who have not established leadership over him. Lively, proud, and intelligent, it has a reliable temperament. Likes to dig, enjoys walks, loves to play ball games, and is thoroughly sporty, home loving and independent. It has been described as the dog that can go anywhere and do anything - a big dog in a small dogs body. It is very sensitive to criticism and praise and therefore should be trained gently. These dogs make good house pets. Do not allow this dog to developed Small Dog Syndrome, human induced behaviors where the dog believes he is pack leader to humans. This will cause varying degrees of behavior issues including, but not limited to, moody, snappish, stubborn, protectiveness and obsessive barking. These are not Scottie traits, but traits brought on by the way the human treats the dog. Children need to be taught how to display leadership over the dog or the dog will not be good with them. They are usually not recommended for homes with younger children simply because most owners do not display enough authority over them, and the dogs take over the home. All of the negative behaviors can be reversed if the human changes the way they deal with the dog. The dog needs to clearly know the rules of the home. They need all members of the family to be firm, confident, and consistent in their approach. The dogs need to be provided with a daily pack walk to reinforce leadership and burn both mental and physical energy.
Height: 10-11 inches (25-28 cm.)
Weight: 19-23 pounds (8˝-10˝kg.)

Care

Regular brushing of the harsh wiry coat is important and extra care should be taken when the dog is shedding. Bathe or dry shampoo as necessary. The dog should be professionally trimmed twice a year. The hair on the body is left long, like a skirt, while the hair on the face is lightly trimmed and brushed forward. This breed sheds little to no hair.

 

Grooming

A Scottish Terrier has one of the easiest coats to keep looking top-notch show quality at home. It can be done provided you are willing to establish good grooming practices from a puppys early age. The dogs coat is about two inches long, and the coarse, wiry topcoat has a soft, dense under-coat. Some variation between dogs should be taken into consideration. The time you invest in training your dog to remain still and to enjoy his grooming will be time saved later. In a pinch, you can achieve a temporary show look with clippers using a #7 on his back and #10 on face and ears following the same patterns as described below.

Equipment to Groom a Scottish Terrier
  • clipper and #8 1/2 blade
  • thinning and straight scissors
  • stripping knife
  • grooming powder
  • slicker Brush and/or palm brush
  • nail trimmers

It is essential to thoroughly brush out the coat before beginning a successful grooming job. Once you have removed any tangles and loosened the free hair with a vigorous brushing, you can add a grooming powder, starting at the withers, to aid in the plucking procedure to follow.

How to Hand Pluck the Scottish Terriers Coat

Hand plucking is the best way to achieve the most natural and pleasing look to your Scottish Terrier. Stripping knives are used more often than not for a bare resemblance, in half the time, to the hand plucked version. Using your index finger and thumb start pulling the dead or loosened hairs following the direction the hair grows. Hold the skin above the area you are going to strip out so the skin has little give. Pull straight out and down. If you turn your hand, especially while using a knife, you will create a curly coat. If you keep the skin taut, the hair to be pulled will lift and it will be easier to spot the hairs to remove. Add more powder as needed as you progress along the body. Follow an imaginary line from the breast bone to the pelvic bone below the rectum, blending smoothly from the neck down the shoulders and to the tip of the tail and over to the sides, gradually blending with the longer coat of the ribs and legs. Once you have stripped below the tail where you will see the cowlick, you can precede to the sides. Clean up any straggly hairs around the rectum with scissors.rku.

SCOTTISH TERRIER standart FCI (FÉDÉRATION CYNOLOGIQUE INTERNATIONALE)

Standard FCI number. 73 / 02.02.1998

Origin: England

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 24.06.1987

VYUŽITÍ: teriér

CLASSIFICATION F.C.I. : Group 3 Terriers, section 2 Small-sized Terriers, without working trial..

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Thick-set, of suitable size to go to ground, short-legged, alert in carriage and suggestive of great power and activity in small compass. Head gives impresssion of being long for size of dog. Very agile and active in spite of short legs.

BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT : Loyal and faithful. Dignified, indépendent and reserved, but courageous and highly intelligent. Bold, but never aggressive.

HEAD: Long without being out of proportion to size of dog..

CRANIAL REGION :

Skull:: Length of skull enabling it to be fairly wide and yet retain narrow appearance, nearly flat. Stop:: Slight but distinct between skull and foreface just in front of eye. .

FACIAL REGION :

Nose: and, in profile, line from nose towards chin appears to slope backwards.

Muzzle: Foreface strongly constructed and deep throughout. Skull and foreface of equal length.

Jaws/Teeth:: Teeth large with perfect and regular scissor bite, i. e. upper teeth closely overlapping the lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

Cheeks:: Cheek bones not protruding.

Eyes:: Almond-shaped, dark brown, fairly wide apart, set deeply under eyebrows with keen, intelligent expression.

Ears:: Neat, fine texture, pointed, erect and set on top of skull but not too close together. Large, wide-based ears highly undesirable.

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NECK:Muscular and of moderate length.

BODY:Topline of body straight and level.

Back: Proportionately short and very muscular. Loin: Muscular and deep. Chest: Well rounded ribs flattening to deep chest and carried well back. Powerful coupling ribs to hindquarters. TAIL:Moderate length giving general balance to dog, thick at root and tapering towards tip. Set on with upright carriage or slight bend.

LIMBS:.

FOREQUARTERS: Head carried on muscular neck of moderate length showing quality, set into sloping shoulders. Chest fairly broad and hung between forelegs. Brisket well in front of straight, well boned forelegs.

Elbows: Must not be out nor placed under body.

Pastern: Straight.

HINDQUARTERS:: Remarkably powerful for size of dog. Big, wide buttocks. Thigh:: Deep.

Stifle:: Well bent.

Hocks:: Short, strong, turning neither in nor out.

FEET:Good size, well padded, toes well arched and close-knit, forefeet slightly larger than hindfeet.

GAIT / MOVEMENT : Smooth and free, straight both back and front with drive from behind and level gait throughout.

COAT

HAIR: Close-lying, double coat ; undercoat short, dense and soft ; outer coat harsh, dense and wiry, together making a weather-resisting covering.

COLOUR: Black, wheaten or brindle of any shade.

SIZE AND WEIGHT :Height at withers 25,4-28 cm ( 10-11 ins) ; weight 8,6-10,4 kg ( 19-23 lbs).

FAULTS: Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog..

Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioural abnormalities shall be disqualified.
NOTE: Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.