Breed Group
The Skye Terrier was immortalised when a stature was erected of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh. This little dog mourned his owners’ passing for 14 years by lying at his graveside. They are small dogs with short legs being longer in the body than they are tall. Sadly, breed numbers have fallen over recent times which means they have been placed on The Kennel Club's list of vulnerable native breeds. Anyone wishing to share their homes with a Skye Terrier would need to register their interest with breeders for the pleasure of doing so because so few well-bred puppies are registered with The Kennel Club every year.
The actual origins of the Skye Terrier remain a bit of a mystery with various versions on how the breed first came about. Some people believe they came about when a Spanish ship went aground along the coast of the Isle of Skye and that Maltese dogs survived the shipwreck. These dogs were crossed with local terrier breeds and the result was the foundation stock for the Skye Terriers we see today. However, there are records of similar dogs existing way before the shipwreck occurred. What is for sure is that the Maltese did play a part in the development of the Skye Terrier along with other breeds like the Welsh Corgi.
The dogs seen today have not changed that much from the dogs of days long past when the breed was known as the Clydesdale Terrier, the Fancy Skye Terrier, the Silky Skye Terrier, the Glasgow Terrier and the Paisley Terrier. Queen Victoria was a big fan of the breed having bred them for many years in her kennel. This saw these charming dogs becoming a popular choice throughout her reign.
Skye Terriers were bred to hunt vermin and to go "to ground" in the pursuit of their quarry, a job these little dogs proved to be excellent at. The breed was finally recognised by The Kennel Club in 1993, but their numbers have remained low which has seen the Skye Terrier being placed on The Kennel Club's list of vulnerable native breeds. As such anyone wishing to share their homes with a Skye Terrier would need to register their interest with breeders for the pleasure of doing so.
