Terriers of Scotland
The Terriers of Scotland developed from the long bodied short legged now extinct Scotch Terrier. For simplicity, we shall consider Scotland consisting of the Highlands and the Lowlands. The modern Scottish Terrier originated in the Lowlands while the Cairn Terrier and West Highland White Terriers originated in the Highlands. The Skye Terrier of course originated on the Isle of Skye.
The breeds we shall consider in this section are
- The Cairn and West Highland White Terrier
- The Scottish Terrier
- The Skye Terrier
The Dandie Dinmont is considered by some people as a Terrier of Scotland. But because of its obvious connection to the Bedlington Terrier and the other Terriers of the Border Region, we shall consider it there.
Cairn and West Highland White Terriers
The Cairn Terrier and the West Highland White Terriers are considered together here because in the 1800’s these two terriers were the same breed. They were rough coated working terriers that were used to hunt all sorts of vermin that lived in the rocky highlands or Cairns of Scotland. At that time they came in a variety of colours, including both red and white.