PAST PERCEPTIONS: DO THEY STILL FIT TODAY’S SCOTTISH TERRIER?
by MERLE TAYLOR
W hen Carolyn and I brought home our first Scottie puppy, it began our quest for more information. Neither of us came from show dog families; yes, we had dogs, mixed breeds, but not Scottish Terri- ers. Being teachers, we began pursu- ing “books”—books filled with infor- mation about Scottish Terriers, from the simple “owners’ manuals” to the in-depth studies of the breed by noted American and English breeders. There was always a “war” as who got to read “The Bagpiper” first. That was then, 1969. When I became involved with the Standards Review Committee, I felt a need to go back to that time, bringing to the forefront some factual informa- tion that could be valuable to me in my charge of guiding a committee in devel- oping a good standard for our breed. Information I wanted to share with our membership. If the reader has not read about my beginnings in the breed previously
printed in The Bagpiper , I may, later, share that part of my involvement again as it is not unlike anyone getting started today. I certainly did not enter the world of Scottish Terriers with any degree of knowledge about the breed. All I have done is pass through the school of “hard knocks” and consumed all I could from my wonderful all-breed and Scottie mentors and friends I have made through the years. The portion of this writing shares information about type and size from the origins of the breed. At this point, I chose only to use books written prior to the standard revision in 1993. While I am using drawings from some of my sources; I am also using a few draw- ings from two of the “illustrated” stan- dards prepared by the Scottish Terrier Club of America— Clarification and Amplification of the Scottish Terrier Standard (1980) later referred to as the “Red Book” and A Study of the Scottish Terrier (1999) referred to as the “Plaid Book”. There are excellent current
breed books that will be mentioned in a later part of my article plus the third illustrated standard booklet recently published by the Scottish Terrier Club of America.
BITS AND PIECES FROM THE PAST
Foraging back in time, I found that Scotties in the early years were smaller, leggier dogs than the Scotties of today. I would ask the reader to take note of the year referenced in the following. Dr. William Bruette in his book, The Scottish Terrier , published in 1934, states that the Scottie was originally a long bodied dog. “There is a tendency at this time to breed them shorter than is desirable despite the fact that the American standard says only moderate- ly short and well ribbed up with strong loin, deep flanks and muscular hind- quarters” (Bruette, 1934, p. 88). Bruette continues by referring to the “Morrison Standard, published in 1880, drawn by men who were familiar with
Illustration 2: Edwin Megargee’s vision of correct Scottish Terrier type. In Edwin Megargee’s pictorial conception (Bruette, 1934, p. 95) of what in his mind is the ideal Scottie, he comments, “The body, ‘Moderately short and well ribbed’ bodies are more often too long than too short, but they can be too short. Megargee continues, “A nice balance between body and head is what is desired. While no hard and fast rules as to the proportion can be laid down, one and three quarters to two head lengths from the point of the shoulder to the rear end, is a desirable body length (Bruette, 1934, p.101).
Illustration 1. Dundee: A noted Scottish Terrier of his day (1880s).
S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , J ULY 2018 • 219
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