Brash and boisterous, the Scottish Terrier has given advice to royalty and Presidents–and everyone else who will listen.
Heritage
Scottish Terriers were once grouped with a number of other small terriers, all of which had in common that they hunted vermin around the barnyards. Eventually they were separated into their own breed, the Aberdeen Terrier, and were later called the Scottish Terrier.
Scotties are one of the most popular iconic breeds ever. Scotty images have been popular as fashion accessories and advertising mascots. They're even one of the pieces on the Monopoly board.
Real life Scotties have shared the White House with three Presidents, as well as sharing their lives with Queen Victoria and countless celebrities.
Fun-loving and independent, Scotties have a nose for trouble and never back down from a challenge. They'll gladly attack toys as though they were vermin–Make sure toys are tough ones.
Upkeep
Some Scotties can develop knee problems. If you see your dog skipping for a step or two, he may have a condition your veterinarian needs to check. He may also eventually develop arthritic changes in his knees. To combat this, add a glucosamine-chondroitin supplement to his diet as soon as he shows any signs of hopping or lameness.
Comb or brush the coat once or twice a week. Technically, the coat should be plucked and stripped, in which dead hairs are pulled out by hand or with a tool. But for pet dogs, it's much easier to have a groomer clip them.
Bathe as needed with a good all-purpose shampoo. You may wish to use a color-enhancing shampoo for black coats. If your dog has itchy skin, choose an oatmeal or avocado oil based shampoo.
Check the ears regularly for dark secretions. Apply an ear cleanser weekly. Such cleansers change the pH of the ear canal to make it less hospitable to fungus and yeast, and also have a bacteria-killing and ear drying effect. Any time you must apply ear medication, use the ear cleanser first to remove thick secretions that would block the medication from reaching the surface of the canal. But never put any cleanser or medication in a severely infected or painful ear because of the possibility of a ruptured ear drum.
Brush the teeth daily.
Clip the nails every two weeks or so using a medium duty dog nail clipper.
Scottish Terriers consider themselves too tough to admit to age-related arthritic pain, so you have to watch for signs. Besides any intervention recommended by your veterinarian, a soft cushion to lie on and glucosamine chondroitin supplements added to the diet can help soothe aching joints, and keep him on his toes.
