PetCare Breed Information

Other names/Nicknames:

• Aberdeen Terrier
• Scottie
  

Country/Date of origin:

• Scotland
• 1800’s

Height:

• 10 to 11 inches

Weight:

• 19 to 23 pounds

Personality:

• Independent and self-assured characters.
• Dour and stubborn.
• Trying to train a Scottie can be a real contest of wills.
• Tend to be one-person dogs.

History:

The Scottie is one of the oldest purebred terriers native to the British Isles.  For generations it was bred as an earth dog to roust foxes and other vermin out of under ground dens.  The word terrier stems from the Latin word terra, meaning earth, and reflects the early work of the little tykes.  Type was standardized in the 1880’s.  The Scottie was immensely popular as a working ratter in the United States.  It was one of the founding breeds of the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Body Type:

• A short-legged terrier with an elongated head decorated by long eyebrows and lavish whiskers.
• Should give the impression of great power in a compact body.
• Thick tail, carried erect with a slight curve, is not altered
• Erect ears are not altered.

Coat:

• Hard, wiry, double coat.
• Must be professionally groomed.
• Contrary to public opinion, the Scottie is not always black.  There are ten acceptable colors including brindle, gray, sandy, and wheaten.

Health and Wellness:

• Autoimmune thyroid disease.
• Cranio-mandibular osteopathy.
• Scotty cramp.
• von Willebrand’s disease.
• Congenital deafness.
• Atopy.
• Demodicosis.
• Chronic hepatitis.
• Melanoma.
• Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD).
• Lymphoma.
• Bladder tumors.

What you should know:

• Known to be diggers.
• Scotties can be excessive barkers.
• The most famous Scottie in America was Fala, the beloved pet of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
• Rudyard Kipling immortalized the Aberdeen Terrier (Scottie) in his writings.  Look for Thy Servant a Dog or His Apologies for good reading about the breed.