Scottish Terrier Origins-- Scotland's Definitive Export

Joseph Harvill, Ph.D., Publisher of Great Scots Magazine

It is a common observation that over time owners and their dogs grow to look alike. However, I believe this notion is true in a far deeper sense than superficial features. There is a mirroring also of temperament, mood, and spirit between dogs and their people.

I believe this is strikingly true in the case of Scotland and her definitive export, the Scottish Terrier. I say definitive export because in manifest ways the Scottie reflects the wonder of Scotland herself.

Scotland was my home for seven years from 1969-1976. Two of my children were born there, and, more than two decades later, some of my heart is still in the idyllic countryside of Ayrshire near the village of Kilmaurs.

During my Scotland years I developed an enduring admiration for the Scottish spirit and for the Terrier that to my mind embodies the ethos of the Land of Caledonia. In important ways my life with Scotties has informed and deepened my appreciation of the virtues of their homeland. Reflexively, my awareness of Scotland's history has informed and deepened my understanding of the Scotties I love.

As Scottie lovers, our dogs are familiar enough but the story of the Motherland which brought them forth is not. It is my conviction, however, that one cannot fully appreciate Scotties and their spirit unless one sees them against the background of their Scottish origins.

I find at least four definitive parallels between Scotland and her famous terrier, parallels that are keys to appreciating the ethos common to them both. In their mutual size, affection-displays, courage, and independence, one can find mirror-images of reciprocal virtues.

Size Is An Attitude

Scotties, like Scotland itself, give the lie to the notion that 'bigger is better.' Both are small yet remarkably 'large.' By our standards Scotland is tiny. In terms of land mass, it's the size of Maine. You could put four Scotlands in my state of New Mexico! And in the canine world Scotties are little guys, standing but 11 inches at the shoulder and weighing around 20 pounds. But Scotties don't know that. Full of 'piss and vinegar' Scotties have no trace of inferiority. Like their homeland, they are what Aristotle once called 'large-souled' beings, in whom size is an attitude and they are second to none.

That's not surprising when you know that their homeland is a place of 'large-souled' people who routinely accomplish great things with little. It is said that in the late 18th century there was more genius on the streets of Edinburgh than could be encountered anywhere on earth. Scotland has produced more than its share of the great thinkers of the Western world: the ideas of David Hume, Thomas Reid, and John Knox, influence philosophy and religion to this day. And Adam Smith, the father of economics, and James Watt, harnesser of steam power, were arguably the prime shapers of Western industrial culture, inside and out. And Scotland is `big' in other important ways, too. Scotland was the first country to have a national system of education (1696), and she has universities older than Columbus' discovery of America: Saint Andrews (1411), Glasgow (1451).

Just like the Scotties I've come to know and love, Scotland is truly big despite its size. And the Scottish Terrier embodies that paradox perfectly.

Loyalty Is Job #1

Second, the Scottish Terrier embodies the loyalty-in-relationships I admire about the Scottish people. Neither Scots nor the terriers that bear their name are generic lovers; they're selective with their affections, and bonding for them is a profound commitment reserved for their special inner circle.

Scotland, of course, has always been the epicenter of clans and clan loyalty. Fierce attachment to one's clan is bred into the soul of Scotland as self-defense against an almost unbroken history of external exploitation. General Wade's description of Highlanders, written to King George I in 1724, is not only a cameo of the Scottish spirit but also an apposite portrait of the soul of the Scottish Terrier: "... their strong friendships, and adherence to those of their own name, tribe and family . . . and the little regard they have ever paid to the laws of the Kingdom . . .The chiefs of some of these tribes never fail to give countenance and protection to those of their own clan."

The Scots, like Scotties, do not 'put on airs,' or affect friendship with strangers. At first, they appear reserved, and some would say, cold. I found it truer to say, the Scottish people are neither affected nor superficial, and never fake affection before it's real.

I remember the American visitors to the church where I pastored in Glasgow, who were often bewildered by the Scots' non-response to their typical Texas-style "Howdy, my name is _____," accompanied by vigorous handshakes and gestures. Our folksy American style is to smile, posture, and gush during first encounters. Scots don't.

But it's wrong to conclude that Scots are unaffectionate, or cold. They are warm and fiercely loyal folks; they simply refuse to trivialize friendship by feining it before it's real. Once formed, however, Scottish relations are profound and deep and lasting.

Such a behavioral description as the above reads like a breed profile to anyone familiar with Scotties: they are generally cordial souls, but frugal with affections to all but their inner circle. But I have found that within the Scottie's primary relational circle there is a depth of bonding that goes beyond what is typically experienced in the pet world. When Scotties love, just like the Scottish people, they love with their whole heart and soul. It's no accident, therefore, that life with Scottish Terriers mirrors Scottish relationships, since Scotties are Scotland's definitive export. Indeed, to feel the heart-beat of the Highland Scot is to recognize the pulse of the Scotties we love.

Courageous To A Fault

Courage is a second-name for Scotties. Often referred to as `the die-hard,' Scotties can be courageous to a fault against all odds.

Where does this come from? Why are Scotties so self-assertive, so territorial, so ready to challenge outsiders?

To know Scottish history is to know important clues. And this is the third key reason why Scotties are Scotland's definitive export.

The story of Scotland is the story of David and Goliath, told over and over again. The `Goliaths' changed over time, but the story of the underdog opposing superior outside forces of domination and exploitation, is the same. The saga begins with early invasions of ferocious Norsemen, and Hadrian's conqering Roman legions, and covers the relentless pressure of English domination from south of Scotland's border, from the 14th century to the present day. In the 19th century, during precisely the period of the Scottie's modern evolution (late 18th and early 19th centuries), there were the infamous Highland "clearances," the violent removal by wealthy land barons of poor Highlanders from their homelands to make room for profitable sheep grazing. Homes were burnt and tens of thousands of men, women, and children were forced to leave at the point of a sword or musket, carrying little or nothing as they were herded to a life of poverty and hunger. Today, since 1970, the story continues in the exploitation of Scotland's resources by foreign interests in the control of North Sea oil.

Unfortunately, Scotland's `David and Goliath' tale does not share the miraculous ending of the biblical story. Too often Scotland's story is the sad tale of the little guy paying in blood the price for resisting superior force.

But resist they always have. Against all odds, despite outcomes, the Scots have always been the original `die-hards.' Today when you visit the border country between England and Scotland you can still see vestiges of Hadrian's Wall (A.D. c. 120) marking the northern-most border of the ancient Roman Empire. The invaders from Italy conquered England, but gave up on subduing Scotland and built a wall which today serves as a testament to the fiercely courageous Scots.

And that's my point with reference to Scotties. Anyone who has ever been owned by a Scottie knows well this same courageous spirit. But my point is Scotties were not first bred in a vacuum, and their character is not an accident of Nature. These traits we prize in our Scotties didn't just happen, they are the product of human engineering and choice, and the Highlanders who were the original architects of our breed left marks of their own spirit embedded in the breed they created. Therefore, once again, to know intimately the Scottie temperament is to trace close and small the history of courage that is Scotland.

Virtue of Independence

The fourth manifestation of Scotties as Scotland's definitive export is our breed's inveterate independence. Scotties, like their Scots creators, are stubbornly self-directed. I'm tempted to say, they are `free thinkers.'

If you've ever known a Scottie intimately, you know I'm right. Some breeds can be banned from the couch, and they accept it as off limits. A Scottie, however, will think about the ban, and probably ignore it-- at least while you're out of the room. Because to him it makes no sense why a location prized by his Person should be prohibited to him. Scotties are strong-willed, and the success or failure of Scottie companionship is largely a matter of coming to terms with their strong sense of themselves and their stubborn independence, traits which are their joy and their exasperation.

Once again I'm saying this trait of stubborn, `free thinking' independence is best understood against the background of the independent Scots whose spirit is mirrored in the breed they created in the Highlands of Scotland. It's not surprising, therefore, that the quintessential `free thinker' who has had more impact on modern Western philosophy than any other is David Hume (1711-1776), the Scottish Empiricist thinker, echoes of whose voice are overheard today at universities from Berkeley to Oxford. His Treatise of Human Nature and his ideas regarding causality and moral reason will likely continue to define philosophical debate well into the 21st century!

I'm not saying our Scotties are little Scottish philosophers-- although a case might be made for it! What I'm saying is that the cultural ethos and spirit that generated David Hume's independent thinking is the same ethos and spirit that found expression and embodiment in the Scottish Terriers we know and love.

Conclusion

I realize there is a problem anthropomorphizing our dogs, i.e., attributing to them human characteristics. I know Scotties are canines, not human beings, and that they are descendants of the wolf, not `fur-people.' I know all that.

I know also that nothing happens devoid of context, without a `before' and `after,' the understanding of which is essential to any accurate interpretation of meaning. Scotties originated, not out of the blue, but in a particular place at a point in space and time, and I believe that particularity is manifest in their nature. To know the spirit of that time and place is to grasp the character and spirit of the Scottie that emerged there.

So, for me, the Scottish Terrier is more than a wee black dog. The Scottie is Scotland's definitive export because this little Scotsman embodies the 'large-souled' spirit of Scotland herself.

*Reprinted from GSM Vol.1 No.5 (Sep/Oct 1996). ©1996 Tartan Scottie.