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A SHORT HISTORY of the TERRIER
HISTORY of the ScottishTERRIER
The Skye Terrier (more commonly called the Cairn Terrier) is the oldest of the Terrier breeds in Britain. It gets it name from the Cairns it was supposed to keep clear of vermin. The cairns were used as repositories of cold cured or frozen meat, placed in there during the winter and allowed to freeze in order to preserve them (there were no fridge’s or freezers then). The meat was placed in amongst a pile of stones and then a pyramid or cairn of stones was built up around it .The foxes badgers and rats would make some inroads into the stored meat but the dogs were bred to protect the food and were excellent vermin hunters.
During the late 16th century one Farquhar of Drumfearn is known to have kept several packs of hounds and he also kept terriers as working dogs. The practice in those days was for the white haired terriers to be drowned at birth, as it was believed that they were of uncertain courage and that they would stand out against the hillsides and thus reveal the hunters to the prey. Fortunately Farquhar did not subscribe to this idea and insisted on having at least one dog in each pack of terriers that was white. From these white haired dogs came the West Highland Terriers.
Two centuries later the oldest accredited breed of Cairn Terriers appeared. Bred by a Captain Macleod of Drynoch they were oldest of three Kennels in Skye, the other two being the Waternish owned by Macdonald's and the Mackinnon's of Kilbride. In earlier times they (the dogs) were known as Drynoch, Monkstadt, and Camusunary terriers but this really refers to the estates on which they were found.
The Drynoch strain were dominated by the silver colouring, the Waternish by the dark greys through to brindles and the Mackinnons of Kilbride by the cream through to nearly black. Many years of feuding, fighting and reiving (stealing of cattle) lead to many a dog being stolen from its rightful master and used for breeding or fighting. At present the purest strain of dog on the island of Skye is the Waternish strain.
There are 25 recognized breeds of terriers in the world, and they all trace their ancestry back to Britain. Mostly bred from a Scottish terrier and a local dog, the terrier genes proved dominant. Some breeds of terrier have become extinct One such was the Clydesdale or Paisley Terrier which played an important part in the development of the Yorkshire Terrier and also played a part in the production of the Black and Tan (or as it is also known, the Manchester Terrier). It is also known that William IV (1830-1837) had a small Yorkshire Terrier.
The first volume of the Kennel Club Stud Book dated 1874 notes that "the Yorkshire Terrier is also known as the Broken Haired Scotch Terrier".
See pic of a pretty white skye terrier.
Skye Terrier Dog Photographs - Photo gallery of Sky dogs
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History of the Cairn Terrier :
The Cairn Terrier is believed to be one of the oldest breeds of terrier north of the border. It is also rumoured to be an ancestor to all Scottish terriers, although there are no reliable records. Originally known as the 'short-haired Skye terrier,' it is native to the Isle of Skye situated off the North-West coast of Scotland. However, in 1910 the name was changed to 'cairn terrier' in order to distinguish it from the 'Skye terrier,' which was obviously native to the same small island.
It is believed to be the work of the Dryknock and MacDonald family that kept the short-haired Skye alive. Captain Martin MacLoed of Dryknock was a great Highland sportsmen, as well as a keen otter hunter, and he maintained a pack of silver grey short-haired Skye terriers for forty years before emigrating to Canada at the end of the 19th Century. It was John MacDonald who continued the breeding, and the terriers were able to carry on making their mark for a further seventy years.
In 1912, thanks to a pair of persevering women named Mrs Alistair Cambell and Mary Hawke, the Cairn terrier, as we know it today, was recognised by the British Kennel Club to be a breed in it's own right.
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