
Official Standard of the Scottish Terrier
General Appearance: The Scottish Terrier is a small, compact, short-legged, sturdily-built dog of good bone and substance. His head is long in proportion to his size. He has a hard, wiry, weather-resistant coat and a thick-set, cobby body which is hung between short, heavy legs. These characteristics, joined with his very special keen, piercing, “varminty” expression, and his erect ears and tail are salient features of the breed. The Scottish Terrier’s bold, confident, dignified aspect exemplifies power in a small package.
Size, Proportion, Substance: The Scottish Terrier should have a thick body and heavy bone. The principal objective must be symmetry and balance without exaggeration. Equal consideration shall be given to height, weight, length of back and length of head. Height at withers for either sex should be about 10 inches. The length of back from withers to set-on of tail should be approximately 11 inches. Generally, a well-balanced Scottish Terrier dog should weigh from 19 to 22 pounds and a bitch from 18 to 21 pounds.
Head: The head should be long in proportion to the overall length and size of the dog. In profile, the skull and muzzle should give the appearance of two parallel planes. The skull should be long and of medium width, slightly domed and covered with short, hard hair. In profile, the skull should appear flat. There should be a slight but definite stop between the skull and muzzle at eye level, allowing the eyes to be set in under the brow, contributing to proper Scottish Terrier expression. The skull should be smooth with no prominences or depressions and the cheeks should be flat and clean. The muzzle should be approximately equal to the length of skull with only a slight taper to the nose. The muzzle should be well filled in under the eye, with no evidence of snippiness. A correct Scottish Terrier muzzle should fill an average man’s hand. The nose should be black, regardless of coat color, and of good size, projecting somewhat over the mouth and giving the impression that the upper jaw is longer than the lower. The teeth should be large and evenly spaced, having either a scissor or level bite, the former preferred. The jaw should be square, level and powerful. Undershot or overshot bites should be penalized. The eyes should be set wide apart and well in under the brow. They should be small, bright and piercing, and almond-shaped not round. The color should be dark brown or nearly black, the darker the better. The ears should be small, prick, set well up on the skull and pointed, but never cut. They should be covered with short velvety hair. From the front, the outer edge of the ear should form a straight line up from the side of the skull. The use, size, shape and placement of the ear and its erect carriage are major elements of the keen, alert, intelligent Scottish Terrier expression.
Neck, Topline, Body: The neck should be moderately short, strong, thick and muscular, blending smoothly into well laid back shoulders. The neck must never be so short as to appear clumsy. The body should be moderately short with ribs extending well back into a short, strong loin, deep flanks and very muscular hindquarters. The ribs should be well sprung out from the spine, forming a broad, strong back, then curving down and inward to form a deep body that would be nearly heart-shaped if viewed in cross-section. The topline of the back should be firm and level. The chest should be broad, very deep and well let down between the forelegs. The forechest should extend well in front of the legs and drop well down into the brisket. The chest should not be flat or concave, and the brisket should nicely fill an average man’s slightly-cupped hand. The lowest point of the brisket should be such that an average man’s fist would fit under it with little or no overhead clearance. The tail should be about seven inches long and never cut. It should be set on high and carried erectly, either vertical or with a slight curve forward, but not over the back. The tail should be thick at the base, tapering gradually to a point and covered with short, hard hair.
Forequarters: The shoulders should be well laid back and moderately well knit at the withers. The forelegs should be very heavy in bone, straight or slightly bent with elbows close to the body, and set in under the shoulder blade with a definite forechest in front of them. Scottish Terriers should not be out at the elbows. The forefeet should be larger than the hind feet, round, thick and compact with strong nails. The front feet should point straight ahead, but a slight “toeing out” is acceptable. Dew claws may be removed.
Hindquarters: The thighs should be very muscular and powerful for the size of the dog with the stifles well bent and the legs straight from hock to heel. Hocks should be well let down and parallel to each other.
Coat: The Scottish Terrier should have a broken coat. It is a hard, wiry outer coat with a soft, dense undercoat. The coat should be trimmed and blended into the furnishings to give a distinct Scottish Terrier outline. The dog should be presented with sufficient coat so that the texture and density may be determined. The longer coat on the beard, legs and lower body may be slightly softer than the body coat but should not be or appear fluffy.
Color: Black, wheaten or brindle of any color. Many black and brindle dogs have sprinklings of white or silver hairs in their coats which are normal and not to be penalized. White can be allowed only on the chest and chin and that to a slight extent only.
Gait: The gait of the Scottish Terrier is very characteristic of the breed. It is not the square trot or walk desirable in the long-legged breeds. The forelegs do not move in exact parallel planes; rather, in reaching out, the forelegs incline slightly inward because of the deep broad forechest. Movement should be free, agile and coordinated with powerful drive from the rear and good reach in front. The action of the rear legs should be square and true and, at the trot, both the hocks and stifles should be flexed with a vigorous motion. When the dog is in motion, the back should remain firm and level.
Temperament: The Scottish Terrier should be alert and spirited but also stable and steady- going. He is a determined and thoughtful dog whose “heads up, tails up” attitude in the ring should convey both fire and control. The Scottish Terrier, while loving and gentle with people, can be aggressive with other dogs. He should exude ruggedness and power, living up to his nickname, the “Diehard.”
Penalties: Soft coat; curly coat; round, protruding or light eyes; overshot or undershot jaws; obviously oversize or undersize; shyness or timidity; upright shoulders; lack of reach in front or drive in rear; stiff or stilted movement; movement too wide or too close in rear; too narrow in front or rear; out at the elbow; lack of bone and substance; low set tail; lack of pigment in the nose; coarse head; and failure to show with head and tail up are faults to be penalized. No judge should put to Winners or Best of Breed any Scottish Terrier not showing real terrier character in the ring.
Scale of Points
Skull |
5 |
Muzzle | 5 |
Eyes | 5 |
Ears | 10 |
Neck | 5 |
Chest | 5 |
Body | 15 |
Legs and Feet | 10 |
Tail | 5 |
Coat | 15 |
Size | 10 |
General Appearance | 10 |
Total | 100 |
A list of all the dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club:
A
- Affenpinscher
- Afghan hound
- Airedale terrier
- Akita
- Alaskan malamute
- American English coonhound
- American eskimo dog
- American foxhound
- American hairless terrier
- American leopard hound
- American Staffordshire terrier
- American water spaniel
- Anatolian shepherd dog
- Appenzeller sennenhunde
- Australian cattle dog
- Australian shepherd
- Australian terrier
- Azawakh
B
- Barbet
- Basenji
- Basset fauve de Bretagne
- Basset hound
- Beagle
- Bearded collie
- Beauceron
- Bedlington terrier
- Belgian malinois
- Belgian shepherd
- Belgian tervuren
- Bergamasco
- Berger picard
- Bernese mountain dog
- Bichon frise
- Biewer terrier
- Black and tan coonhound
- Black Russian terrier
- Bloodhound
- Bluetick coonhound
- Boerboel
- Bolognese
- Border collie
- Border terrier
- Borzoi
- Boston terrier
- Bouvier des Flandres
- Boxer
- Boykin spaniel
- Bracco italiano
- Braque du Bourbonnais
- Braque Francais Pyrenean
- Briard
- Brittany
- Broholmer
- Brussels griffon
- Bull terrier
- Bulldog
- Bullmastiff
C
- Cairn Terrier
- Canaan dog
- Cane Corso
- Cardigan welsh corgi
- Catahoula leopard dog
- Caucasian ovcharka
- Cavalier king Charles spaniel
- Central Asian shepherd dog
- Cesky terrier
- Chesapeake bay retriever
- Chihuahua
- Chinese crested
- Chinese shar-pei
- Chinook
- Chow chow
- Cirneco dell’etna
- Clumber spaniel
- Cocker spaniel
- Collie
- Coton de Tulear
- Curly-coated retriever
- Czechoslovakian vlcak
D
- Dachshund
- Dalmatian
- Dandie dinmont terrier
- Danish-swedish farmdog
- Deutscher wachtelhund
- Doberman pinscher
- Dogo argentino
- Dogue de bordeaux
- Drentsche patrijshond
- Drever
- Dutch shepherd
E
- English cocker spaniel
- English foxhound
- English setter
- English springer spaniel
- English toy spaniel
- Entlebucher mountain dog
- Estrela mountain dog
- Eurasier
F
G
- German longhaired pointer
- German pinscher
- German shepherd
- German shorthaired pointer
- German spitz
- German wirehaired pointer
- Giant schnauzer
- Glen of imaal terrier
- Golden retriever
- Gordon setter
- Grand bassett griffon vendeen
- Great dane
- Great pyrenees
- Greater swiss mountain dog
- Greyhound
H
I
- Ibizan hound
- Icelandic sheepdog
- Irish red and white setter
- Irish setter
- Irish water spaniel
- Irish wolfhound
- Italian greyhound
J
K
L
- Labrador retriever
- Lagotto Romagnolo
- Lakeland terrier
- Lancashire heeler
- Leonberger
- Lhasa apso
- Lowchen
M
- Maltese
- Manchester terrier
- Mastiff
- Miniature American shepherd
- Miniature bull terrier
- Miniature pinscher
- Miniature schanuzer
- Mudi
N
- Neapolitan mastiff
- Nederlandse kooikerhondje
- Newfoundland
- Norfolk terrier
- Norrbottenspets
- Norwegian buhund
- Norwegian elkhound
- Norwegian lundehund
- Norwich terrier
- Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever
O
P
- Papillon
- Parson russell terrier
- Pekingese
- Pembroke Welsh corgi
- Perro de presa canario
- Peruvian inch orchid
- Petit bassett griffon vendeen
- Pharoah hound
- Plott
- Pointer
- Polish lowland sheepdog
- Pomeranian
- Poodle
- Portuguese podengo
- Portuguese pointer
- Portuguese sheepdog
- Portuguese water dog
- Pudelpointer
- Pug
- Puli
- Pumi
- Pyrenean mastiff
- Pyrenean shepherd
R
- Rafeiro do alentejo
- Rat terrier
- Redbone coonhound
- Rhodesian ridgeback
- Rottweiler
- (Jack) Russell terrier
- Russian toy
- Russian tsvetnaya bolonka
S
- Saluki
- Samoyed
- Schapendoes
- Schipperke
- Scottish deerhound
- Scottish terrier
- Sealyham terrier
- Shetland sheepdog
- Shiba inu
- Shih tzu
- Shikoku
- Siberian husky
- Silky terrier
- Skye terrier
- Sloughi
- Slovensky cuvac
- Slovensky kopov
- Small munsterlander pointer
- Smooth fox terrier
- Soft-coated wheaten terrier
- Spanish mastiff
- Spanish water dog
- Spinone Italiano
- St. Bernard
- Stabyhoun
- Staffordshire bull terrier
- Standard schnauzer
- Sussex spaniel
- Swedish lapphund
- Swedish vallhund
T
- Teddy Roosevelt terrier
- Tibetan mastiff
- Tibetan spaniel
- Tibetan terrier
- Tornjak
- Tosa
- Toy fox terrier
- Transylvanian hound
- Treeing Tennessee brindle
- Treeing walker coonhound
V
W
- Weimaraner
- Welsh springer spaniel
- Welsh terrier
- West highland white terrier
- Whippet
- Wire fox terrier
- Wirehaired pointing griffon
- Wirehaired vizsla
- Working kelpie
X
Y
-4L
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