Part I – by Larry D. Harvey
Apparently, there are folks throughout the Skyedom for whom the answer to this question is unclear: including me. So, after being asked to consider delving into the subject, I decided to see if an answer can be uncovered. Unfortunately, as a result of few contemporary records, few verifiable historical “facts,” and the many “theories” propagated by just as many “authorities,” what I found is that wrestling out a consistent narrative is much more complicated and elusive than I anticipated. For one thing, despite the fact that there is a vast number of authoritative publications, early authorities seemed to repeat themselves in their successive publications and copy each other’s published works without citing from where and from whom those works came. Regardless, the one element that can be verified is that the Skye terrier was absolutely and intimately involved in the Clydesdale terrier’s creation.
Before navigating the morass of speculations, assumptions, and disjointed facts about the Clydesdale, I want to go way back in time to see if it is possible to know where, when, how, and why all terriers of Scotland came into being.
The earliest known remains of dogs in Great Britain were discovered at the Star Carr archaeological site in North Yorkshire, England, and date to approximately 11,000 years ago. It is likely these large dogs – similar in size and physical structure to the wolf from which they were domesticated – were hunting partners and guardians for their hunter-gatherer owners.
Fast forward to 4000 years ago when there were dogs of slightly smaller stature than the European gray wolf but which exhibited similar features. In 1901, during excavations of the Cuween Hill burial site in the Orkney islands, an archipelago off Scotland’s northeastern coast, 24 dog skulls were found as part of the
burial. These so-called “Cuween dogs” were likely used by these Neolithic people as dogs are today: as pets, as guardians, and as sheep and cattle herders. In this
case, they were also animals of ceremonial significance.(1)
So, throughout those first several thousand years, British dogs physically remained essentially the same: relatively large and powerful and wolf-like. Perhaps this is due to the fact that their functions continued to be constant throughout that period: as hunting partners, guardians, herders, and, possibly, as a food source.
But about 3200 years ago, Celtic people from Europe arrived in Britain with their own farm animals – cattle, pigs, sheep – and their dogs. These dogs were “Curs” which are defined as working dogs as opposed to sporting and pet dogs. These Curs began to be morphologically diversified and specialized according to the people’s economic needs and the terrains and climates within which the people’s communities existed. Primarily, these Curs were large, non-wolf-like dogs which, like their wolf-like contemporaries, were utilized as hunters, guardians, and herders.(2)
For several hundred years throughout Scotland there also existed a dog that was a contrast in size to the wolf-like dogs, Curs, and other large dogs of human history. This “Scotch terrier” eventually led to the genesis of the terrier show-dogs and pets that we today love and admire. It is believed by some that the original stock that went into creating the Scotch terrier was brought to Scotland by the Norsemen from northern Europe: They invaded and began settling the region starting in the 8th century. However, there appears to be archaeological evidence that a terrier-like dog was brought by Roman soldiers to the region of Hadrian’s wall as early as the 2nd century A.D.(4)(5) These, according to some, may have been taken by tribal Celtic Britons to breed for their own purposes: to go into burrows to either kill their quarry or drag it to the surface for the stew pot.(6) Regardless of the origins of this original stock which may never finally be ascertained – it is generally accepted that the exclusive birthplace of the “terrier” was the British Isles.
As time passed, each region began developing varieties of the Scotch terrier to meet their owners’ peculiar needs. Authorities throughout the 19th century variously described the Scotch terrier, but most seem to agree that there were three main types with many variations within each. British naturalist, Thomas Brown, in 1829 encapsulated the majority of these descriptions: “The Scotch terrier is generally low in stature, seldom more than twelve or fourteen inches in height, with a strong, muscular body, and short, stout legs; his ears small, and half-pricked; his head is rather large in proportion to the size of his body, and the muzzle considerably pointed; his scent is extremely acute, so that he can trace the footsteps of all other animals with certainty; he is generally of a sandy color or black. . . . The hair of the terrier is long, matted, and hard, over almost every part of his body. His bite is extremely keen. There are three distinct varieties of the Scotch terrier, viz.: The one above described. Another, about the same size and form, but with hair much longer, and somewhat flowing, which gives his legs the appearance of being very short. This is the prevailing breed of the Western Islands of Scotland. [The Skye terrier?] The third variety is much larger than the former two, being generally fifteen to eighteen inches in height, with the hair very hard and wiry, and much shorter than that of the others.”(7)
In 1921, S. Edwin Megargee, a famous American dog painter and illustrator and author of books about dogs, wrote about the Scottish Terrier: “There is no definite information obtainable on the origin of the Scottish Terrier. The western part of the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides Islands are the localities which gave it birth. In these rugged and inaccessible regions a small, rough coated, short-legged terrier [the Scotch terrier] has been known to exist for generations. In early times each district had its official ‘tod-hunter’ whose duty it was to see that otter, badger, fox and weazel did not grow too numerous, nor poach too heavily upon the barnyards of the neighborhood, or become too free with the Laird’s grouse, in short to wage a war of extermination on all vermin. Sometimes they were supported by the community and sometimes by the aforesaid Laird. The Todhunter was of necessity accompanied by his ‘tyke,’ a small rugged terrier, active enough to keep on the move all day over the roughest country, courageous enough to follow fox or otter into its den and game enough to kill or drive the quarry out. Cherished as these terriers were for their splendid working qualities and bred with that alone in view, no record of lineage was maintained and the sole criterion of type was adaptability to the work in hand. Nevertheless, because of the nature of the work and because the smallest, gamest, and doughtiest dogs were bred from, a type did evolve. By reason of the inaccessibility of the region there was little opportunity for infusion of foreign blood and thus the type became fixed. It is true that personal preference for certain traits and the varying tastes of different localities produced certain modifications of type and to this we owe the Cairn, the White West Highland and the Skye terrier. All of these, however, had a common origin.”(8)
So when did the next revolution in terrier cultivation and type clarification begin? It presumably was a time when people needed to refine their terriers to meet newly refined wants and needs. Perhaps it was when large-scale agriculture and animal husbandry took hold beginning during the reign of King Henry VIII (during the first half of the 16th century). It accelerated from that point, through an agricultural boom during the mid-1600s, and beyond through the 1700s and into the 1800s when hundreds of thousands of people moved from the countryside into the cities looking for work. It was during this three-century period that the eradication of food thieving and destroying vermin on farms may have become especially vital: hence the need for smaller and more specialized dogs. And for urban dwellers, especially the poorer urbanites, small “ratter-type” dogs that could easily and cheaply fit into small apartment dwellings became a near necessity.(6) This was also a time when some small dogs, including non-terriers, were designed as pets and others as household working dogs. The most infamous example of dogs being used as labor within the home was the Turnspit, a small dog (15 to 20 pounds) with a long, stout body and short, crooked legs. These unfortunate creatures were cruelly forced to run for ceaseless hours inside a drum that turned a spit holding meat over an open fire. The Turnspit was finally allowed to go extinct in the late 1800s as mechanical means of spit turning spread.
The history of dog shows represents the final revolution in terrier – as well as non-terrier – engineering. The first recognized dog show (though it played second fiddle to a bunch of chickens and other birds), which allowed only pointers and setters to participate, was held in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England in 1859. “The first show to include non-sporting breeds was held in Birmingham later in 1859 and was such a success that a year later, the Birmingham Dog Show Society ran the first National Dog Show, for which there were 267 entries, with 30 breeds, judged in 42 classes. . . . By the end of the 1860s, the National Dog Show was attracting over 700 dogs and 20,000 paying visitors.”(10) This was the beginning of a national and then international passion on the part of dog-fanciers to breed their dogs to exact specifications and then exhibit them to the world for prize, pride, and prestige. The Kennel Club (of the United Kingdom) was established in London in 1873 to regularize shows and to take possession of breed standards that had previously been formulated by these early dog-fanciers. Additionally, rules of conduct were established and enforced. These initial standards and organizations later led to the pedigreed breeds, dog clubs, and regulatory groups we enjoy today. We also have seen a diversification of competitions from the original conformation contests (designed to judge breeding stock) to obedience and agility and to sports like flyball and coursing.
Regarding terrier show dogs specifically, the regional breeding of Scotch terriers to produce regionally relevant varieties led to those varieties eventually becoming so individual that they were recognizably distinct breeds. However much this was true, well into the 1800s all terrier dogs originating in Scotland continued to be lumped together under the name “Scotch terriers.” Even the first 19th century dog shows had all terriers from Scotland, regardless of their dissimilar physical characteristics, classed under this label, within which they were forced to compete. Eventually, after much dissension within the ranks of exhibitors and breeders, the Scotch terrier was divided into the Dandie Dinmont and the Skye terriers. Later the Skye group was divided into the Skye and the Hard-haired terriers. Eventually, the Scottish, Cairn, and West Highland White terriers came out of the Hardhaired terrier classification. With that final breakup, each terrier breed of Scotland was at long last allowed to
be defined by its own exacting standard.
So, is it possible to know where, when, how and why all terriers of Scotland came into being? The answer seems to be “yes” in general terms but “no” in specifics. It is likely that many varieties of dogs, originating in many places, were bred over many centuries to create new types of dogs to accommodate the needs of their owners: People who hunted and raised large animals for food needed dogs that were very different from ones required by farmers and city-dwellers who needed varmint-killers, pets, and laborers. But the exact details of these breeding activities are lost and are most likely irretrievable from history. Eventually, the haphazard and undocumented selective breeding of dogs in the attempt to accommodate the specific needs of their owners has evolved so that today we have breeds that are genetically stable, that are exactly described with established standards, and whose ancestries can be traced. Sadly, the Clydesdale terrier was not one of them.
Part II of this essay will concentrate on the visualization, creation, and eventual demise of the Clydesdale terrier.
(1) Riordan, Conor. “Face of 4,000-year-old Neolithic dog reconstructed for first time after tomb discovery,” The Independent, Saturday, 13 April 2019.
(2) The History of the Cur Breeds. www.BlackMouthCur.com http://www.blackmouthcur.com/History.htm
(3) Bewick, Thomas. A General History of Quadrupeds. Newcastle Upon Tyne: Hodgson, Beilby & Bewick, 1791, page 301.
(4) Bennett, Deb and Robert Timm. “The Dogs of Roman Vindolanda, Part II: Timestratigraphic occurrence, ethnographic comparisons, and biotype reconstruction.” Archaeofauna, International Journal of Archaeozoology, vol. 25. 2016, page 116.
(5) Burns, Patrick. American Working Terriers. Morrisville, North Carolina: Lulu Press, Inc, 2006, page 4.
(6) http://www.easypetmd.com/doginfo/paisley-terrier
(7) Brown, Thomas. Biographical Sketches and Authentic Anecdotes of Dogs. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1829, pages 329-330.
(8) Megargee, S. Edwin. “The Scottie,” The Field Illustrated and System on the Farm, (Home and Field, vol. 31). New York: The Advanced Agricultural Publishing Co., October 1921, pages 747 and 776.
(9) Butler, Francis. Breeding, Training, Management, Diseases, Etc. Of Dogs. New York: Francis Butler, 1860, page 196.
(10) Pemberton, Neil and Michael Worboys. “The surprising history of Victorian dog shows.” HistoryExtra (The official website for BBC History Magazine), June 2009. https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/the-surprising-history-of-victorian-dog-shows/
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