All Dog Breeds >>History of Scottish Terrier
Initial grouping of several of the highland terriers (including the Scottie) under the generic name Skye terriers caused some confusion in the breed’s lineage. There is disagreement over whether the Skye terriers mentioned in early 16th century records actually descended from forerunners of the Scottie or vice versa. It is certain, however, that Scotties and West Highland White Terriers are closely related — both their forefathers originated from the Blackmount region of Perthshire and the Moor of Rannoch. Scotties were originally bred to hunt and kill vermin on farms and to hunt badgers and foxes in the Highlands of Scotland.
The actual origin of a breed as old as the Scottish Terrier is obscure and undocumented. The first written records about a dog of similar description to the Scottish Terrier dates from 1436, when Don Leslie described them in his book The History of Scotland 1436-1561. Two hundred years later, Sir Joshua Reynolds painted a portrait of a young girl caressing a dog similar in appearance to the modern-day Scottie. King James VI of Scotland was an important historical figure featuring in the Scottish Terrier's history. In the 17th century, when King James VI became James I of England, he sent six terriers — thought to be forerunners of the Scottish terrier — to a French monarch as a gift.
His love and adoration for the breed increased their popularity throughout the world. Many dog writers after the early 19th century seem to agree that there were two varieties of terrier existing in Britain at the time — a rough-haired so-called Scotch Terrier and a smooth-haired English Terrier. Thomas Brown, in his Biological Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs (1829), states that "the Scotch terrier is certainly the purest in point of breed and the (smooth) English seems to have been produced by a cross from him". Brown went on to describe the Scotch Terrier as "low in stature, with a strong muscular body, short stout legs, a head large in proportion to the body" and was "generally of a sandy colour or black" with a "long, matted and hard" coat.
Although the Scotch Terrier described here is more generic than specific to a breed, it asserts the existence of a small, hard, rough-coated terrier developed for hunting small game in the Scottish Highlands in the early 19th century; a description that shares characteristics with what was once known as the Aberdeen Terrier and is today known as the Scottish Terrier.
In addition, the paintings of Sir Edwin Landseer and an 1835 lithograph entitled "Scottish Terriers at Work on a Cairn in the West Highlands" both depict Scottie type terriers very similar to those described in the first Scottish Terrier Standard