Origin
The Scottish Terrier is a delightful dog and although feisty, they make wonderful companions and family pets. Their coats are typically black, but brindle and wheaten is also acceptable under their breed standard. Scotties are small dogs with short legs and lots of feathering around their muzzles and on their legs which adds to their charming looks. Often called Aberdeenies, they have found their way into the hearts and homes of many people not only in the UK, but elsewhere in the world too.
There is some belief that Scottish Terriers may be closely related to the West Highland Terrier, although their exact origins are a little unclear since no records of the breed were kept. With this said, they are thought to be an ancient breed and one that dates back to 55 BC when similar dogs were described by a Roman philosopher by the name of Pliny the Elder. Roman invaders named these dogs "terrarii" which translated means "workers of the earth".
It is also thought that the Old Scotch Terrier is the foundation breed of all terrier breeds we see today and although these dogs no longer exist, they were highly prized for being strong, courageous and reliable more especially when they went about the job they were bred to do. Old Scotch Terriers had black or sand coloured coats with short legs and long hair and they boasted having half pricked ears, much like Scottish Terriers.
Another similar dog was described in a book called A History of Scotland which was published in 1436. However, by the beginning of the 18th century, there were many descriptions of two distinct terrier breeds with the rough coated Scottish Terrier being one of them and the smooth coated English Terrier being the other. During the 17th century, James I of England offered a few terriers to the King of France and it's thought these dogs would well be the foundation breed for the Scottish Terriers we see today. Thanks to the King's love of the breed, their popularity continued to grow.
There were many terrier breeds found in Scotland during the following century, but by the end of the 1800's, two distinct breeds emerged namely the Dandie Dinmont and the Skye Terrier. These two breeds were classed as Skye Terriers and were exhibited as such right up until the late 1800's. A breed standard was drawn up for the Scottish Terrier around the same time and Skye Terriers were eventually classed as four separate breeds being the Scottish Terrier, the Skye Terrier, the West Highland White Terrier and lastly, the Cairn Terrier. Today, the Scottish Terrier remains a popular choice both as a companion and family pet thanks to their charming looks and their kind, albeit feisty natures.
