Tsuki Skye Terriers

 

The Skye Terrier breed comes originally from the Isle of Skye although it was also found on the Isle's of Lewis, Oronsay, Colonsay and others of the Hebrides and indeed on the mainland of Scotland and is thought to date back to the 1600’s. Bred for hunting small vermin and ‘going to ground’ it was imperative that these little dogs were short in height with long and lithe bodies, ample face fringes to fend of an attack to their eyes and possessed of unlimited ‘pluck and dash’. At this point the Skye existed in many different colours from pure white to fawn, brown, blue-grey and black with the lighter dogs having black muzzles, ears and tails. The Skye’s of this time were considerably different to the ones today; modern day Skye’s are larger all round with particular increases to skull size and body length and profuseness of coat and fringes.

The Skye’s existed in relative quietness until about 1860 when they began to become more popular among fanciers south of the Scottish border. Queen Victoria admired the breed from 1842 onwards and she was consistently in possession of a Skye; Sir Edwin Landeer’s paintings also worked to introduce the decorative and useful aspects of the Skye to the general public. Skye’s appeared in the first volume of the Kennel Club Stud Book with the best among the earlier dogs being Mr. Pratt’s Gillie and Dunvegan, Mr. John Bowman’s Dandie and Mr. Macdonald’s Rook which were mostly of the drop eared variety and deliberately bred small.

The breeding of the Skye Terrier while long, has not been as intense as the breeding of some of its Scottish relatives: a mere 30 Skye puppies were registered with the Kennel Club in 2005. It is this that has afforded the Skye’s inclusion on the Vulnerable Breeds Register along with some of its cousins.

Skye Terriers today are undoubtedly one of the most elegant and beautiful terriers in existence; it is rare that a Skye can take a walk on a public field without people stopping their owners and asking questions about the majestic dog. Skye’s are classified as ‘medium sized’ dogs, with an ideal height of 25-26cms (10 ins) and a length from tip of the nose to tip of the tail of 105cms (41 ½ ins) – the bitches are slightly smaller but in the same proportions of approximately twice as long as high. The watchwords for the Skye’s of today are ‘long, low and level’ having level backs and appearing as uncommonly long animals. Their coat is long and profuse, lighter coloured dogs having slightly thicker and coarser hair and the coat is a double one: the ‘top’ coat is thick and coarse while the ‘undercoat’ is softer with a more downy quality. The face and ears are highly fringed, veiling the forehead and eyes and mingling with the side coat that falls to floor-length. The tail can either be held pendulous with the lower half kicked up in a smooth curve or raised no higher than the line of the back and is, again highly feathered. The movement of these terriers is termed by the Kennel Club as ‘free, active and effortless’ with the dog appearing to glide gracefully over the floor. The ears can either stand erect (prick) or hang closely by the head (drop).

In temperament the Skye is strong, loyal, sensitive but never submissive. In contrast to the more highly bred breeds the Skye needs to respect his owner, who he will endlessly please but respect cannot to won by shouting or excessive affection. A light but firm approach will always win the heart of a Skye. In my own experience, strong, clear commands illicit the desired reaction in almost no time at all whilst weak, nervous commands will only result in the dog playing the fool! Skye’s are intelligent and have a great desire to work and ‘get it right’ for their owners but they can become easily bored with long laborious training sessions and yet if you can capture their attention they can give any Collie a run for their money. Skye’s are very affectionate with their families but tend to be reserved and aloof with strangers and have attained a reputation as being ‘one man’ dogs. Due to this, it is important that young Skye’s are well socialized with both people and places.

Skye’s are achondroplastic dogs, a big dog on short legs and young Skye’s can suffer from what is know as Puppy Limp. This is due to the premature closure of the distal radial growth plates and is often caused by over-exercising or jumping up and down from sofas or stairs. Often this is a condition that will clear up with age and it is very rare to need any medical treatment but it is just as well to monitor the activity of a young Skye and try and limit the amount of boisterous play for the first 8-10 months. Aside from this, Skye’s are quite healthy dogs and their average life span is 12-15 years.

Although the Skye is not as popular today, there have been some famous owners in the past and it is through these that many of the Skye’s good traits have been brought to public attention.

Mary Queen of Scots, after being imprisoned for nineteen years was beheaded on the 8th February 1587. While her clothes were removed after the execution her faithful Skye Terrier crept from under her skirt and lay beside her head. Although the dog was removed and bathed it refused to eat and eventually died of a broken heart.

Nearly three hundred years later, during the Indian Massacre of Cawnpore in 1857 it was reported by witnesses that sepoys stole guns, rupees, gold watches and Skye Terriers. It seems incredible that Skye’s should have ventured as far as India but many soldiers and their families from Edinburgh were involved in the mutiny and the Skye was at its peak of popularity.

Undoubtedly the most famous Skye Terrier of them all is Greyfriars Bobby who, when his owner John Gray passed away in 1858 sat vigil over the grave until his own death fourteen years later. It is reported that people would stand at the entrance to the graveyard waiting for the one o’clock gun which signalled the appearance of Bobby as he left the grave for his midday meal.

During the 1850’s there was a great deal of poverty in the city of Edinburgh and many Skye’s found themselves homeless. Despite efforts by Dr John Brown, a physician in the city, many Skye’s had to resort to living on the streets however, not all tales were as sad. One lucky Skye found a happy home with Thomas Stevenson who named him Colin. Stevenson’s son was only seven at the time but would grow up to be one of the greatest adventure authors of all time, Robert Louis Stevenson. Years later Louis and wife Fanny owned a black Skye by the name of Wattie who accompanied Louis on his many overseas trips to Switzerland.

W H Naismith, founder of the Scottish Mountaineering Club describes his meeting with a Skye in 1896: after a 220-mile bicycle ride from Edinburgh to Glencoe he and his companion were greeted rather nosily by a Skye and two Collies. They only made their peace with the dogs by inviting them to share dinner with them.