Tsuki Skye Terriers

In 2003 the UK Kennel Club compiled the Native Vulnerable Breeds list. The list contained breeds native to the UK whose puppy registrations were consistently below 300 per year. Registration figures for Skye Terriers over the last decade are:

As can be seen above the breed registrations are still in decline despite the Kennel Club and the (recently disbanded) Vulnerable Native Breeds Trust efforts to promote the breeds. For Skyes in particular there is a real danger that years of low registrations (27-50 pups) could see more dogs dying than are being born. The last six years have been particularly troubling and a three year cycle of breeding-non-breeding can be seen: bitches are being bred between the ages of 2-3 years and so the intervening years see lower registration statistics.

Skye Terriers have often been labelled ‘the most vulnerable’ breed in the UK and this is not far from the truth. While registration statistics will always fluctuate one should remember that not all 27 individuals born in 2008, for example, will go on to breed. Indeed, conservative estimates predict only ¼ of Skyes born will be given the chance to breed. Even if we take a high registration, such as 84 pups in 2006, only 21 of these may get the chance to breed and perhaps only 10 of these will actually produce puppies.

Another confounding variable to the breeding equation is the tendency to breed only from top-winning sires. Only a small number of individual Skyes are successful in the show ring and gain their Championship titles and it stands to reason that those who achieve this are exceptional examples of the breed. The impetus to breed with Champions is strong and valid, however, they represent only a small proportion of the overall Skye population. When a few top-winning dogs are producing the majority of puppies registered a problem arises: the inbreeding of close relatives is now prohibited by the Kennel Club as it does increase the occurrence of genetic disease and abnormality. If the majority of pups born share a parent, none of these pups can be legitimately bred to one another – we will have a generation of dogs which cannot be bred. In a breed which averages only 56 puppies born per year the practice of breeding only with top-winning dogs, or line breeding, makes the gene pool smaller and smaller. It is difficult at present to find two entirely distinct bloodlines within the UK – many kennels share common ancestors from 3-5 generations ago.

There have been instances of importing new stock from Europe; most notably from Northern Europe and these dogs have done well in the UK show ring. It is imperative that imports such as these be maintained in order to increase the diversity of the gene pool. Without this the breed will face a losing battle to survive. The UK import laws, however, make it difficult to import: the only options being six months in quarantine for a young pup or the European breeder running on a dog until they have had their rabies inoculation (usually at 10 months old) and then shipping it to the UK. Nobody would want to see a pup undergo quarantine and the latter option runs the risk of the dog, which will have already closely bonded to the breeder, being so stressed by the relocation that it affects their physical and mental health.

The above information illustrates the difficulty in which the Skye breed finds itself: it is only just maintaining its scarce population within the UK and it is difficult to bring in new stock from outside of the UK. Three things must happen in order for the Skye to survive:–

1. People must want to own a Skye
2. Healthy litters must continue to be bred
3. New stock from outside of the UK must continue to be integrated into the gene pool

Without people wanting to own a Skye the breed will run into real difficulty and it is the aim of this website to try and provide a wealth of information to promote and conserve this wonderful breed.