"Once
a Scottie, always a Scottie", the old saying goes. Those
who once let a Scottish Terrier into their home and heart
stay as loyal admirers of this breed for their entire
lives, and often end up owning two Scotties! This is the
basis of another old riddle: "What is more beautiful than
a Scottie?", where the answer is: "Two Scotties!"
Without
a doubt, it is sometimes hard to have a dog and give up
travel to exotic countries and suchlike, but dogs bring
us so much enjoyment that they are hard to compare to
anything else.
This
is the second text that I write about this wonderful breed,
led this time by a goal to share this love of Scottish
Terriers with you and to bring closer to you these wonderful
creatures with which I share so much of my free time and
enjoyment. This is a story about dogs whose past is not
entirely certain. However, it is known that they have
a long and exciting past, and the resulting dogs can be
regarded as antiquities in modern cynology.
Let's
start the way many tales do… Once upon a time, there
was a dog, described as very similar to the modern
Scottish Terrier. Since then, 120 years have passed. It
happened in Scotland, a poor land of hills and fields,
where there was often not even enough food for the inhabitants,
who were wary of strangers, hard working and somewhat
eccentric.
One
rainy day, when the sky joined the earth, a man in a kilt
and a raincoat wondered the hills, his breath condensing
on the chilly spring morning. Behind him, one on each
side, walked two small dogs, muscular and short-haired,
one black and one brindle. Their sharp eyes tracked every
move in the forest as they faithfully followed their master.
Their highly raised ears carefully listened to the life
of nature.
Suddenly,
there was a rustling noise - a grey rabbit started the
run of its life! Both terriers rushed after him, to a
hole which the rabbit entered with lightning speed. The
bitch entered after him, and under the earth there was
a muted noise of a fight, then a scream and then… silence.
Shortly afterwards, the bitch, completely muddy, came
backwards out of the hole, dragging the rabbit in her
mouth to put before her owner. The man gratefully took
the catch, and a smile like the flow of a mountain stream
graced his face. Today, his family would not go hungry.
Without a word he stroked the bitch and patted her head.
In silence, the company slowly returned home…
Early breeding in the United Kingdom
The
first written records about Scottish Terriers date from
1436, when Don Leslie described them in his book "The
History of Scotland 1436-1561". One example that this
breed was loved by all, from peasants to royalty, is given
by king James VI of Scotland (later to become James I
of England), who in the 17th century sent six such terriers
to France as a royal gift.
From
the records of some betting agencies in 1809 it can be
seen that a very popular pastime was to bet on the speed
with which terriers, including our Scottie, could kill
rats. Hence, a Scottie named Billy is recorded, who in
just five minutes killed one hundred rats. In his book
"A History of British Quadrupeds" from 1837, Thomas Bell
informs us that there are two sorts of terriers in the
world: English and Scottish. English Terriers are long-legged
and black, while Scottish Terriers are short-legged and
come in several colours. In 1861 the breed was officially
shown in an exhibition for the first time, while in 1873
J A Adamsan from Aberdeen left a record of the breed in
Scotland, for which the breed was named "Aberdeen Terrier".
Shortly afterwards, in 1879, Scotties were for the first
time exhibited at Alexander Palace in England, while the
following year they were classified in the same way as
we do today. Jame B Morrison in 1880 gives the first standards
of the breed in the "Livestock Journal", to be used by
breeders, exhibitors and judges.
The
"Scottish Terrier Club of England", founded in 1881, was
the first club dedicated to the breed. The club secretary,
H J Ludlow, greatly popularises the breed in the southern
parts of Great Britain, while the "Scottish Terrier Club
of Scotland" is founded only in 1888. This was followed
by years of differences and arguments over the standards
of the breed between the clubs in England and Scotland,
which were finally settled by a revised standard in 1930,
which was subsequently recognised by Kennel Club UK.
The
first famous kennels appeared after World War I, consisting
of names such as "Ems", "Bapton" and "Albourne". Special
mention goes to Miss Betty Penn-Bull, a truly unique person
on the cynological scene, who dedicated her whole life
to Scottish Terriers, until her death in 2001. During
World War II there was a general hiatus in the breeding
of dogs, including Scottish Terriers, and of dog exhibitions.
The priorities during the war were obtaining food and
the evacuation of dogs, while breeding was very much on
the sidelines. After the war, few breeding dogs survived:
from a pre-war annual record of 5000 registered Scotties,
the number fell to less than 1000, but that was enough
to make a new beginning. This period gave rise to kennels
such as "Reanda", which gave 31 champions, "Gaywyn" owned
by Muriel Owen, some of whose descendants are now in Croatia,
"Brio", "Stuan", "Tamzin", "Mayson" and many others.
In Croatia
The
breeding of Scottish Terriers in Croatia also has a tradition,
started by Prof. Josip Skavic and his kennel "Melscot"
in 1979. His endless love and enthusiasm for this breed
led him to pioneer this breed in Croatian cynology, to
introduce and popularise these dogs in Croatia and to
write an excellent review article in the "Terijer" magazine
in 1994, which included an excellent description of the
standards of the breed.
His
kennel was initially comprised of dogs imported from the
UK, e.g. Ambassador and Anne-Marie from the kennel "Gaywyn",
Hallmark from the kennel "Rannoch", a pair of males from
the kennel "Mayson", and finally Rinaldo from Dan Ericson,
the owner of the prestigious Swedish kennel "Raglan".
These sired a large number of puppies in 68 matings, which
had a number of successes at exhibitions in Croatia and
throughout the world. Of these, the pride of the owners
were Melscot Ares Kir (world champion), Melscot Alfred
(Fred, European champion) and Melscot Tip Top (young world
vice-champion). Since then, love of Scotties has become
deeply rooted in Croatia (e.g. "Hilscot" kennel of Mrs.
Matijevic).
The war years in Croatia also lowered the once imposing
number of Scotties seen at exhibitions to just a few imported
representatives of the breed. After the war, the popularity
of the breed again increased. Notable among these are
the international champion Halifax Rich of Honour, owned
by Mrs. Petres, and his numerous children, who are now
champions of Croatia, Slovenia (Apolon) and Yugoslavia
(Jilly). Very promising is also a young brindle bitch,
Hocus Pocus of Black Power, the young champion of Croatia
and the Mediterranean champion, as well as Lilly Marlen
Invisible Touch.
Choosing
a Scottish Terrier
The
decision to get a Scottish Terrier must be made by the
whole family, because all of them will have to take care
of the new member of the household. Whether it will be
male or female, black or brindle or wheaten, is unimportant
if it's the only dog in your house.
If
you already have a different breed, it is best to take
a dog of the same sex and you will have a pair which understand
each other really well and have great fun together.
The
male Scottish Terrier is gentle towards females and ignorant
towards puppies, although he can be dominant towards other
males. As a father, he isn't attentive, unlike the female.
The bitch is more devoted and gentle. If you already have
one, I'd like you to enable her to at least once have
puppies, since this is a special experience that should
not be avoided by early sterilisation. The broods of small
dog breeds are smaller, they are difficult to fertilise
and even harder to give birth, which often happens by
Caesarean section. All this makes their prices higher
than those of large dogs. However, when choosing a puppy
its sex should be the last thing you ask about. If you
want a good Scottish Terrier, make sure the family trees
of the parents are good and ask the breeder about the
health and behaviour of its ancestors. Examine the puppies
well and only take one that is healthy and happy, and
you will find a new dimension in your life.
This
pocket Hercules is an ideal choice for people with a happy
and balanced nature, with a good bit of patience and a
lot of tolerance, who can understand his personality and
accept his nature. Many statistics say that this is the
most beautiful breed in the world, but with a high cost.
This is the dog of the upper classes and the high society.
Once you come to love him, that love will last until the
end of his or your life.
