THE SKYE TERRIER 261 



The controversy was centred upon three types of Scottish 

 terriers : those which claimed to be pure Skye Terriers, a dog 

 described briefly as Scotch, and a third, which for a time was 

 miscalled the Aberdeen. To those who had studied the 

 varieties, the distinctions were clear ; but the question at 

 issue was to which of the three rightly belonged the title 

 of Scottish Terrier ? The dog which the Scots enthusiasts 

 were trying to get established under this classification was 

 the Cairn Terrier of the Highlands, known in some localities 

 as the short-coated, working Skye, and in others as the Fox- 

 terrier, or Tod-hunter. A sub-division of this breed was the 

 more leggy " Aberdeen " variety. 



The present-day Skye is without doubt one of the most 

 beautiful terriers in existence. He is a dog of medium size, 

 with a weight not exceeding 25 lb., and not less than 18 Ib. 

 he is long in proportion to his height, with a very level back, a 

 powerful jaw with perfectly fitting teeth, a small hazel eye, 

 and a long hard coat just reaching the ground. In the prick- 

 eared variety the ears are carried erect, with very fine ear 

 feathering, and the face fringe is long and thick. The ear 

 feathering and face fall are finer in quality than the coat, which 

 is exceedingly hard and weather-resisting. And here it is 

 well to point out that the Skye has two distinct coats : the 

 under coat, somewhat soft and woolly, and the upper, hard and 

 rain-proof. This upper coat should be as straight as possible, 

 without any tendency to wave or curl. The tail is not very 

 long, and should be nicely feathered, and in repose never 

 raised above the level of the back. 



The same description applies to the drop-eared type, except 

 that the ears in repose, instead of being carried erect, fall 

 evenly on each side of the head. When, however, the dog is 

 excited, the ears are pricked forward, in exactly the same 

 fashion as those of the Airedale Terrier. This is an important 

 point, a houndy carriage of ear being a decided defect. The 

 drop-eared variety is usually the heavier and larger dog of the 

 two ; and for some reason does not show the quality and breed- 



