Page 282 - ShowSight, November 2020

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BY KATHI BROWN Illustrations by Darle Heck
Science has been described as ever lurch- ing after exactitude, and every time it appears within our grasp it takes another step away toward infinity. In essence, the more closely you examine something, the more you learn about it, but also the more questions emerge. Many years ago, I wrote an article to describe judging my breed. This rewrite has been informed by my own experiences and the pertinent questions of other judges, who are lifelong learners, as they engage in judging the “Diehard.” I have also attempted to add more of the “why” in addition to the “how” of judging the Scottish Terrier.
- Kathi Brown
“His commanding presence, his unflinching gaze, his deep rooted conviction that he is his own man; these are the attributes of the adult Scottish Terrier of a proper type. Once witnessed, this attitude is hard to forget.”
- Evelyn Kirk 1996
The silhouette of the Scottish Terrier is one of the most recog- nizable in dogdom. As a judge, we go well beyond and are able to recognize, compare, and contrast specimens according to the salient features and disposition of the breed. The Scottish Terrier
is in all aspects a small, sturdy dog of serious purpose that will fearlessly go to earth after badger and other prey.
Scottish Terriers should enter the ring with confidence, owning the ground they stand upon. Many are busybodies and may resist the handlers’ efforts to face in the predetermined, proper direction. Each dog should con- vey the belief that he is the best, regardless of your judgment. Stand back and assess each entry. Although many handlers will kneel and stack their dogs, your eye should seek a small, compact, muscular dog of good bone and sub- stance, with a head that is long in proportion to its size. Check for a smooth flow of neck into shoulder, level topline, a pronounced forechest, and rump extending beyond the tail—the tail is NOT the end of a Scottish Terrier! Move to the front of the line looking for a varminty expression and also for the proper width of each dog.
278 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2020