Dorothy Caspersz, one of the finest writers on the subject of the
Scottish Terrier, was skeptical of the new type and described the great Necessity as
"Falstaffian." Her American counterpart, Dr. Fayette Ewing, wrote this about the
new Scottie of the 30's:
| "It was evident that in his placements, Mr. Reeves learned toward
the working type, the dog that the founders had in mind when they made the Standard, a dog
just a little more active and rangy than the one that has come to be the ideal of the most
successful breeders of our day. For this he is to be commended; it is what this writer has
long advocated for the salvation of the breed: a dog active enough to get over ground;
game enough to fight a varmint; small enough to be a handy house-pet and at the same time
go to ground and do the business for which he was created. But this fight that I have made
so long I realize is a losing fight. For good or ill, the Scottish Terrier is to become a
show picture, something different from the rest of the Terrier tribe, a distinct
personality but withal unworkable though admirable, lovable, and attractive. This writer
will continue to advocate moderation..." |
|
| The purists lost the fight in England. In1950,
the English Kennel Club again revised the standard to allow for a bigger dog. Weight was
increased to a range of nineteen to twenty-three pounds and the height-at-shoulder
measurement was changed to " ten to eleven inches." |
The Scottish Terrier Club of England objected vigorously and in writing
but to no avail. This plea appeared in the 1949 Scottish Terrier Club of England Handbook:
| It is a mistake to tamper too much with fundamental things, and the
Standard of a breed is fundamental. The Standards of our British breeds were drawn up by
wise men, and aided and abetted by succeeding generations of breeders, the Scottish
terrier became a power in the land, not only in the British Isles but in many parts of the
world to which his popularity had carried him. He is world renowned, so why tamper with
the basic rules laid down? If the weight were raised now, to suit those who wish to cross
the T's and dot the I's, mark my words, in five years there will be bigger--but I much
doubt better--Scottish terriers. Then it will be "up she goes again" and the
grand little Diehard will no longer be a handy-sized terrier, but an awkward misfit, who
will no longer be eligible to enter the category of low-legged Terriers, and may be
dangerously near getting pushed into the long-legged section!! The Scot must retain his
size in order to maintain type, and pray let us keep Scottish Terrier type as our main
consideration. |
|
| The principal objective must be symmetry and balance without exaggeration.
STCA Breed Standard (1993) |
 Ch. Tiree, the first American Scottish
Terrier Champion
The first American Scottish Terrier standard was written in 1900 and adopted the height
and weight recommendations of the then-current Scottish and English
Standards . Interestingly, Americans have been significantly more conservative than the
British about increasing size. |
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Chapter 1
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