The Skye terrier standard calls for ears that “can be carried prick or drop.”
In all the photos of modern Skyes that I’ve seen, I’ve found only one photograph of one with drop ears,and this is it:
Some of these Skye terriers were kept at Guisachan, and here’s a portrait of Mary Marjoribanks with one of retrievers from the litter from Belle and Nous. A terrier is on the left.
It’s a drop-eared Skye. In fact, the only terriers at Guisachan were Skye terriers (as we know them today) and cairn terriers, which were considered a variety of Skye terrier.
Now, Skye terriers are in a lot of trouble. They were once a fashionable breed of dog. During the Roaring Twenties, it was considered the breed of choice for fashionable women of high economic status. I associate this breed as a fashionable pet of that era. I don’t associate it as a working terrier, although I’m pretty sure it was used as one in its native island before it became a fashionable pet.
But its popularity as a pet fell, and because no one was really working them, they became a dog for just a few fanciers to breed. And now the breed is on the verge of extinction. It is thought that the breed will no longer be viable in 40 years.
But I’ve noticed that the drop-eared dogs that were common in the nineteenth century are almost entirely gone from the Skye terrier gene pool.
I must confess that I’m not sure about this breed’s standard or how it is judged. Did judges stop putting up drop-eared dogs in this breed? If so, when did the shift happen?
If you are a Skye terrier person and just came onto this blog, please understand that I’m very interested in when breeds change, either by a standard revision or through a change in fashion in the show ring.
I don’t know how COMMON they are, but I’ve seen drop eared ones now and again at dog shows nearly every summer. Maybe it’s one person regionally?
I believe my dog is a drop eared sky terrier. I’ve only had him for two days and I honestly don’t know much about dogs, but based on my internet research, he matches almost perfectly to the photos and descriptions of sky terriers that I’ve found on several sites. He fits the description by his temperament, height, length, ears (dropped), coat, coloration, teeth, eyes, paws, etc; . . . all with the exception of his tail. According to the Sky Terrier Club of America, their tails should seldom be raised. My dogs tail is almost always raisied when he is standing. He’s a rescue dog, so I’m sure he must be a mix of some sort but besides his raised tail, I can’t find any signs of another breed.
A Lhasa apso/Scottish terrier mix can look like a Skye terrier.
http://dogs.oodle.com/detail/adopt-kizar-a-lhasa-apso-scottish-terrier-scottie/2069077950-albuquerque-nm/
A skye can have what’s known as a “gay” tail….carried in a raised position. They also carry their tails at a 45 degree angle when they’re happy or excited,
Susan Parsons (skyes since ’76 and owned by seven drops).
THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION . . I ALSO RECENTLY HEARD ABOUT A DNA TEST FOR DOGS . . I HAVE MORE RESEARCH TO DO ON THE ACCURACY AND COST, BUT IT’D BE NICE TO KNOW.
Hang on to that one, Sindy! He’s probably been neutered…more’s the pity. I didn’t know that the skye was facing extinction until recently. To lose such an adorable little dog, what a sin! I’d love to have a drop-eared female, but haven’t found a trace so far. God bless your little guy!
We had three drops in a litter of eight a year ago. VERY hard to find!! If you want, I can put your name on our wait list….cladichskyes@hotmail.com. I’ve been owned by the beasts since ’76 and can not imagine life without one or six.
Please do, although I can’t afford to pay dearly for a companion, I’ll manage someway if I can have a chance to own such a great little dog.
Contact me at my email addy and we’ll talk.
IT IS TRULY A SAD SITUATION. I’M ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH HIM! HE’S SUCH A LOVING, SPIRITED DOG! THANK YOU FOR THE BLESSING. I HOPE YOU FIND YOUR SKYE!
Unrelated question: is there such a thing as a Fox Red Labrador Retriever?
Yes. Originally, virtually all yellow Labradors were dark yellow to very red in color. Part of this may come from flat-coats that carried Irish setter color into the strain or from crosses with golden retrievers. In recent years, the yellow Labrador has become much lighter in color. Historically, it was very dark, almost the color of many golden retrievers.
Today, these dogs are called “fox reds.” They are just on the redder end of the recessive yellow to red coloration.
http://www.littleriverlabs.com/foxred.htm
It’s more common in British field-bred Labradors.
Here’s video of a fox red from British working lines:
Thank you!
Not that this was the question, so please don’t take offense, but it raises a concern I always have when I see “fox red” thrown around–I would caution anyone from buying a Labrador based on color, especially when a breeder/kennel advertises that color over other qualities.
The darker yellow pigment is more complicated to breed for than black/yellow/brown, and IMO if pigment becomes a priority that takes precedence over other qualities I think it’s bound to be a dead end in the long run.
If a breeder/buyer finds the color attractive and it goes with other desired traits, well, nothing wrong with that. :)
I think my dark yellow guy happens to be a very attractive color, but what I really love about him is his personality, temperament, birdiness, desire to retrieve, health, trainability, athleticism, working conformation, etc.–and not coincidentally, those are the traits he was bred for.
Just can’t help myself when the topic comes up…
Well, depth of color is the only coloration issue in golden retrievers.
But I do know that you can’t make fox red Labradors by breeding light yellows to blacks, but you’ll find golden retriever people who believe that the very dark colors in golden retrievers that existed in very high numbers in the early days of the breed came from breeding with black flat-coats!
And it’s still repeated.
“But I do know that you can’t make fox red Labradors by breeding light yellows to blacks, ”
This depends, I think, on what you consider a fox red. The color genetics are just too complicated for me to deal with unless I have some powerful reason to have the charts and graphs in front of me. You can have yellows that are light that will produce darker yellows that are close enough to be called fox red but don’t have that reddish shade, and you can get yellows that are rather light that DO have that reddish shade, and you’ve got really deep fox reds, and everything in between, and then you’ve got the saddling effects in different variations… Why anyone would mess around with making color their first priority, especially when it’s that complicated, is beyond my comprehension.
My Lab’s sire was a fairly light yellow with some slightly darker shadings on his ears and along his back; when bred to black OR yellow, he has produced dogs that can be fairly called fox red, and dogs that are almost white, and everything in between.
My dog’s dam was black; my dog’s sire was a fairly light yellow; my dog is a quite dark yellow, with a reddish hue, and a lot of saddling. He also has a small white spot on his chest, and bolo pads. Just determined to be different, I guess.
As to what happened to drop-eared Skye terriers, I think the answer is pretty simple–the big ears are both novel and adorable, and they’ve been bred for. I do hope that those breeders were considering health and temperament while breeding for that look–which I happen to think is pretty cool, just as looks go. Good thing I don’t breed Skye terriers, I guess.
The gene that causes the yellow to red color (e/e) has nothing to do with the gene that causes black BB. Black is dominant to yellow to red, and yellows to reds with black skin are also black– that is they carry the gene for black. Most golden retrievers are BBee. A few are Bbee, and rarely, rarely are bbee (that’s where your brown skinned yellows and dudley nosed yellows are). A chocolate or liver dog has a recessive gene to the gene that causes black. A homozygous liver or chocolate is bb. If you breed a chocolate or liver dog to a yellow with black skin, you will get black puppies. The dominant black gene is expressed over the chocolate or liver gene, but the liver dog has the dominant gene E, which means that the the Yellow to red gene is not expressed. Thus, you get black.
This is why Labrador people do not often breed yellow to chocolate. When you backcross the black puppies that result from breeding a chocolate to a black skinned yellow, you will get chocolates, blacks, black-skinned yellows, and the yellows with brown skin and maybe even some dudleys. The last two you simply don’t want in your gene pool, and because you have all three colors mixed in, you’ll have a hard time predicting what you’re going to get in a litter. I’ve heard that in Labs, brown skinned yellows and dudleys sometimes develop into very hard to handle dogs and too highly strung to be good working dogs. I’m sure there are a few that work well, but I’ve never seen am AFC or FC with brown skin and a yellow coat.
The reason why you get a variety of shades when you breed one shade of yellow to a black carrying yellow is that the black could be carrying the recessive e/e of another shade.
I’ve got the genetics of the “big three” colors and the skin pigment variations, but the genetics of the yellows specifically–dark, light, tan-hued, red-hued, etcetera and whatever, plus the saddling effects–gets overwhelming to me unless I have a visual. If it floats someone’s boat to breed for fox red, then I’m not one to argue, but it seems to me that a focus on color ALONE would be pretty detrimental to a breeding program.
That said, I know one woman who produces very, very nice working dogs and she aims for (and usually gets) darker yellows and fox reds, so it certainly can be done.
I’ve never heard of brown-skinned yellows and dudleys being hard to handle… though people mostly avoid this anyway… but I’ve heard “if it’s not black, throw it back” a thousand times, if I’ve heard it once. Needless to say, I disagree.
If it’s not black throw it back– that’s the oldest retriever dictum.
All retrievers had to be black in the old days.
Back to the original question … I would suspect that one rarely sees a drop-eared Skye because the breed is damned near extinct. Even in its native Britain/Isle of Skye.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1523105/Skye-Seven-raise-hope-for-breeds-survival.html
Unfortunately, many of the less-popular breeds are seeing the same decline. A “greying” of the club membership with no younger incoming members, restrictions to how many dogs one can own, breeders unable to place puppies, and the list goes on.
I have great empathy for the Skye fanciers … the Lhasa Apso isn’t far behind having seen a whopping 80% decline in registrations over the past decade per AKC statistics.
Namaste …
They are definitely rare. In 40 years, it is estimated that it will no longer be viable.
But most early accounts of the breed are of a drop-eared dog, and the Marjoribankses’ dogs were drop-ears, as was Greyfriars’ Bobby.
When did it become fashionable to have prick-eared Skyes?
And when did they take over that gene pool?
Good questions … and appear to be answered here …
http://www.skyeterrierclub.org.uk/history.htm
[Excerpt] … The Drop Ear Skye Terrier
Dog shows began in about 1860 and from then on it is possible to trace all the winners up to the present day through the official Stud Books. The earliest show dogs came from Scotland, some of them actually from Skye. Drop ears were in the majority until the turn of the century, when exhibitors favoured the prick eared variety. This is still the case today. Despite this preference the drop ear appears occasionally, though on the continent of Europe this seldom occurs because of the strict regulation which came into effect in 1934 forbidding the interbreeding of prick ears to drop ear dogs.
In most countries the drop ear dog is so unusual that it is treated as a novelty, but a great many Skyes have been drop eared, including the Countess of Aberdeen’s Ch. Aberdeen Mike, Lassikin and Monarch of Haddo, Lady Marcia Miles’ Ch. Grey Dusk, Ch. Merrymount Sundown, Sun Chariot and Sungleam, Lady Williamson’s Elizabeth, Mrs. L. Austin’s Ch Glenshiel Duchess, Mrs. J. Bower’s Ch Kirkleyditch Windflower and Miss N. Bowers Ch Kirkleyditch Carbon Copy, Mrs. L. Hames’ Ch Checkbar Dew Drop, Mr & Mrs Goose’s Ch Coruisky Master Robbie, Evans Ch Norwest Wandering Star and the American import Ch Skyecrest Lady of the Evening and more recently McLeod’s Ch. Esgia Cassiopeia. In 1992 the sight of five drop ears at a British show caused quite a stir and hopefully we will see the original type return in numbers.
Some very fine drop ears have risen to the top in America, the outstanding Ch. Milchrista’s Doctor Pem having been a big winner in the sixties. He went on to sire several drops, many of which became Champions, including Ch. Malgrem’s Missus and Ch. Malgrem’s Dr. Pem 111. Ch. Twin Town Sweet William, a cream drop, was the first of this colour to take his title in America and Ch. Teakwood’s Dew Drop, Ch. Dunvegan Cladich Brigadoon, Ch. Skyecrest Rugby and Ch. Skyecrest Lady Mona are all excellent specimens of the American drop ear.
In Sweden and Finland drop ears appear from time to time. Ch. Floriando sired two drops, one of them being Silverprint Goodfellow at Esgia, who was imported into Britain. Ch. Lollipos Good Locomotion and Ch. Fairsky’s Engel in My Heart gained their titles in Sweden and Ch. Suskey’s Butterscotch and Ch. Skyemoor Lucky Love in Finland.
In Australia the drop ear has become fairly common due to inbreeding as the available stock is limited. This has resulted in an above average number of drops, including Ch. Danehill Gay Princess, Ch. Skyehom MacDougal, Ch. Gardonay Silver Melody, Raldoris Howdoee and Ch. Skyeclan Bohemian Rhapsody. Those who have been lucky enough to own a drop ear will tell you that they are different from the prick eared variety. Having a Skye Terrier is a special experience, but having a drop ear defies description!
Well, that answers it.
Thank you for finding this information.
I was just wondering when the shift happened from drop-ears to prick ears.
And that answers it.
I know the Norfolk and Norwich terrier actually split over the ear issue, because prick-eared dogs consistantly won over drop-ears. Eventually the drop-eared fans got fed up and split into their own breed, which is basically identical in every way except ear carriage.
It’s always sad to see a breed nearing extinction. But as much as some show breeders would hate to accept it, without having strong popularity as a pet most breeds would follow a similar route to oblivion. Once a breed gets restricted into a ‘show only’ dog, their years are numbered. Keeping a breed in the public eye and in pet-family homes is important.
With the slow decline in the show fancy as a whole, there just isn’t enough new blood (human-wise) coming in to support a lot of breeds kept purely for the show fancy.
I feel very sorry for them. They were once a very common Scottish terrier that ratted and fought badgers and otters– that’s why they are so big.
Caius wrote of them:
“lap dogs which were brought out of the barbarous borders from the uttermost countryes northward, and they by reason of the length of their heare, make show neither face nor body, and yet these curres forsooth because they are so strange, are greatly set by, esteemed, taken up, and made of, in room of the spaniell gentle, or comforter”.
Now that was over 400 years ago, so this breed was losing its status as a working dog long before the institutionalized fancy.
Lakeland and Welsh terriers are supposed to have split over color.
Goldens anf flat-coats, as I’ve said, split over color.
Skye terriers and Cairns were once separate varieties of the same breed.
Westies were a color variety of Cairn.
The Scottish terrier is the opposite. It came about through melding together the Aberdeen and Highland terriers. The Highland is very similar to Cairn, while the Aberdeen looked more like a modern Scottish terrier.
http://www.messybeast.com/history/1800dogs.htm (Scroll down).
Scotland had a healthier population of otters than Wales and England, so they bred larger terriers to work them.
I don’t know much about the history of the breed, but I do have a drop-eared Syke. It is my first Skye and I hope to get another, as I just love this breed. It is dissapointing to hear that the Skye’s could be facing extinction. I attached a link to a photo…This is my Lucy, 6 years old.
The drop is NOT the exception to the standard BUT the actual standard itself.
The original terrier was a drop ear set skye.
Fashion prevailed and the drop was bred out systematically.
Some countries do not even recognize the drop standard and as they are so few, judges have no clue how to judge them.
And if the ear set is down it is not a drop vs up which makes it a prick.
A DROP EAR shape is more round and bigger. Placed lower on the skull.
That is the sign of a correct true drop ear.
Drop ear skyes are now coming back into breeding. Breeders in the USA specialized in the lines to produce drops and now on the European continent, the drop ear set seems to be coming around more often.
This is due to the fact the gene pool is small and when bred back into itself the drop, which has now become a recessive gene, seems to show up more and more.
To breed a drop, now is a badge of great honor. And a fashion to show and own.
YET it is fashion that took them out of the gene pool to begin with.
It is only awareness and TRUE understanding of the genetics of this marvelous breed that will make us preserve the beauty of it. A beauty that goes far and beyond fashion and certainly, the human ego!!
That’s what I said.
The original dogs from the eighteenth and nineteenth century that I’ve found are all drop-ears.
I guess breeding drop-eared Skyes is like breeding for darker golden retrievers.
I do hope this breed remains viable. Some studies suggest that it could go extinct within 40 years.
I’ve been interested in them for a while.
Now, I have two questions: 1. Is the theory that they are derived from Maltese or Bichon-type dog have any truth? and 2. Weren’t they used to bolt otters from their lairs, which meant that they had to be bigger than other terriers?
Queen Victoria was a big patron of the breed. Her royal kennels bred both prick and drop set skye terriers.
How the prick came into the breed is left best to the genetic scholars but it is believed that the local terrier- hunter of otters and badgers and such, bred with the dogs of the spanish armada, thereby adding the prick ear set to its gene pool.
To human hunters the keen ears raised above the head might have initially signaled better that prey was near.
The drop ear set does NOT move up or down. It is not supposed to if it is a true drop set.
So maybe this was what gained momentum for the ‘use’ of the prick ear set.
But slowly, the drop was bred out.
In Germany, a drop is not given a pedigree if born, unless 3 generations of drop parents are recognized by the kennel club. Given the rarity of the ear set this is next to impossible.
Which is why the drop is not seen around that often…..
It does not exist!!
Change the rules and accept the breed has BOTH ear sets.
It is only then, the importance of the breed will find its place in the canine world and protect itself.
Skye terriers are the OLDEST and ORIGINAL terriers of Scotland.
They are one of the 10 original breeds to be registered in the AKC and show at the 1st Westminster Kennel Club show.
They have been making history since history can itself recall.
Greyfriar’s Bobby was a skye terrier. A drop skye, at that!!
A breed with such a powerful history and such a foundation for other breeds and such a legacy, now sees itself almost go extinct all in the name of human ego and fashion.
Such a big regret.
There is no finer beauty than a skye terrier. There is no equal in all fairness to a skye terrier.
That is the magic of this breed…….
And i thank you all for taking time to discuss the wee terrier.
The Armada theory is the accepted explanation on how the breed evolved.
It is still up for debate.
As far as the skye terrier size goes, they went to ground. Which chasing after otter and badger into holes and such.
They had to be a size that would fit these places comfortably.
The skye up till now has been bred larger and larger. The glamor focused on the show ring requirement. DARN this human ego.
But now the size is so out of contorl that a serious effort is being made to recall what the breed was and what it was for.
in so doing, maybe breeders now see, what the skye TRULY is, and how they are failing it.
The trend is to bring the size down.
YES!! FINALLY!!
I’ve been a breeder and exhibitor of Skye Terriers since 1982. While have have the drop ear gene in my dogs, in all this time I have only had one drop and his bite was off and we couldn’t show him. However, in October of 2007, I bought a male puppy from Sharon Middleton in Houston. Her dogs are from Susan Parsons’ Cladich bloodline. In December of 2008, a mating from Cucuillin Cladich The Jacobite and Marwyn Causin’ Commotion produced 7 puppies, 5 bitches and 2 dogs. The pick puppy is a male and he is a drop ear. I co-own him with Mrs. Middleton and we will be showing him at the Montgomery County Kennel Club National Skye Terrier Club Specialty on Oct. 4, 2009. Many Skye breeders do not like the drops and some can become right down nasty about them. One of these is a breeder in Texas. But, the standard says two ear varieties and that’s what we have. All the old Skyes back 400 years ago, were drops. Including Greyfrier’s Bobby, who lived on his master’s grave for 14 1/2 years. In our opinion DROPS ARE TOPS!!!
Every depiction of them I’ve seen from the nineteenth century are drop-eared, some of which I mistook for Dandie Dinmonts!
Now, about drops, yes, they are the original Skye Terriers, and every Skye carries drops somewhere in their pedigrees, the mode of inheritance is not fully understood yet and is actually under investigation with a researcher in Finland. You can breed two drops with generations of nothing but drops in their pedigrees and come up with a litter of mostly prick eared puppies. You can also breed two prick eared dogs with generations of nothing but prick ears in their pedigrees and come up with a drop or two in that litter. There are a couple of breeders in Canada and the USA that specialize in drops only, Rusalka Kennels and Amble On Kennels. There is also an absolutely stunning drop bitch in Finland who has had offspring imported to the USA, so we will probably be seeing more quality drops coming out within the next few years.
Irregardless of ear set, the Skye Terrier itself is an endangered breed, and we need to look at the bigger picture of maintaining as much genetic diversity and health in this breed as we can. The idea of including a dog in a breeding program simply because it has drop ears, but glaring conformational and structural faults, just in hopes of getting a drop puppy is short sighted and will do more harm than good to the breed in the long run. All breeding Skyes should be required to prove themselves in the show ring and/or the field and in addition, pass the common health tests that are standard in other breeds, and that is where we are most lacking.
Sorry for the thread necromancy, just couldn’t let it go by without comment.
Hi Cheryl,
I have heard insanity on the drop more than i care to repeat. It is a sign to me of how little people TRULY know our heavenly breed. And it is this sadness that hurts me but hurts our beloved breed more than words can say or we can comprehend.
Its damage will continue to unveil itself in the future of course, but thus far it has made drops a novelty.
SADLY i have to remind these folk that drop ear sets are not the exception but the TRUE standard.
Bobby was a drop ear terrier. Very true. But he is not the exception. HE IS THE RULE.
The original skye terrier WAS A DROP!!!
Today we are jumping around giving credit to breeders for breeding drops. WHY?
What is it that merits this reward?
It is breeders who TOOK AWAY the drop gene to begin with. All in the name of fashion.
Certain kennel clubs like GERMANY forbid drops from being given a pedigree unless 3 generations carry drops on both sides. ie all the pedigree is drop.
How can that happen when we fail to accept a drop for itself and demand stupid criteria be met for it to be legitametely a drop ear set?
Where is the FIRST drop to come from to give the 3 generations?
They have no answer at this point.
Let us not even speak of judges who look at drops and try to purk up the ears and get FRUSTRATED the ears will not go up. These are AKC, CKC (canadian) and FCI judges given the honor to judge skyes. Are you kidding me?
Do not expect people to not have stupid comments about a drop ear set.
it is not a reflection on your dog but rather the other’s lack of intelligence.
Treasure your drop and say ‘I am proud to have a true Greyfriar’s Bobby of mine.’
Over time, even if it is fashion that betrayed the drop, it is the same fashion that will bring them back and i hope this time to STAY!!
Atleast i am gonna fight for it!!
I think you are speaking of the young boy James Bret or bret james? Right?
He sounds adorable.
All the best to you and him on his show career!!
[…] I have mentioned here before, drop-eared Skye terriers are very rare today. However, the Marjoribanks family had at least one of these dogs when the first litter of yellow […]
Wondering how much, if any, of Skye Terrier my rescue dog might be, this seems like an expert enough place to ask. “Drop-eared Skye” sounded reasonable according to the descriptions I’ve read, until all of this rareness talk. Picture here: http://hosted.xamai.ca/angus/P1010423.jpg (about 1 year old). Maybe I should just accept the vet assistant’s evaluation of “Scottie x Lhasa Apso”.
Skye terriers are very rare.
He looks a lot like a Scottish terrier, so maybe that’s the correct ID.
I’m not a terrier expert.
So he might be.
Hello Rod. May I ask where your Adopted Skye came from? Did I see his name is Angus? Ask to the Vet Tech, they may or may not be wrong. Skyes in general are rare. We have been blessed with having them in our home since 2001, and we have never been to a vet that has ever had another Skye. Four vets in three cities. I am curious about Angus, because we had been looking to adopt a drop eared Skye Angus last fall…Missouri I think…
Eric: He was a nameless rescue dog from California actually, but his shelter name when he came up to Canada was “Fritz”. We named him Angus on out first impression that he might be part Scottie, and Fritz would be a terrible name for a Scottie (but I suppose not bad for a Dachshund, which is what we thought the other half might be, since refuted by looking up the “Doxie Scot”). I guess it’s pretty improbable that he’s an actual D.E.S., but whatever he’s made of approximates the breed pretty well from what I read.
Also, way more pictures than anyone would ever want of somebody else’s dog here: http://xamai.ca/?dir=/angus … should be enough there for a diagnosis.
Rod, looking at you pictures all I can say is what a good looking fellow. I think you are correct. He looks like he has Skye in him to me. The coat is not quite right…maybe, but other than that…
Would not surprise me about the vet. As I had said in a previous post, I can’t imagine that many vets have ever seen a Skye. Regardless, I hope that you are as happy and thankful as we have always been to have a happy, healthly, companion. Our rescue Skye, adoptee Skye, and rescue Havanese are all perfect!
Excuse me, but ALL skyes are perfect. :)))))
Susan
He might be a little bit Skye, but he got a DNA testing kit for his birthday from some friends (who made sure that Skye Terrier was one of the compared breeds) and he turns out to be ~25% Shih Tzu, ~25% Short-haired Dachshund, and 50% Unknown. I’m amazed he didn’t turn out to be mostly Chicken, considering his treatment of the swab things. I’m still a bit surprised that a mutt of his indeterminacy could be so uniformly colored and maintain the long-dog shape so well; he seemed like he must have been bred to be that way, but it looks like he’s a happy accident.
Happy accidents are the best kind!!!
He gets the long body from the dachsie and the coat from the shih tzu. The rest of him is from a traveling salesdog who met a ready, willing and able bitch. :))’
Doesn’t matter WHAT he is. He’s yours. you’re his and that’s that. Enjoy him.
Hi all. Since Cheryl posted last, she has re-bred Jack and Cameron (James-Bret-the-Puppy’s sire and dam). In this litter there was another drop male, Grant, who has gone to his home with Karen J’Anthony (a fervent drop lover) in Delaware.
Matt Hazelbrook (Sans Peur located in Seattle) and I co-own two drops: Willow and Teal’c, from Australia.
Back in the 80s, I owned Trevyn who did not sire drops but DID have drop decendants (Trev was Jack’s great-great-grandfather). Trev’s daughter, Molly, was bred to her drop uncle and produced one drop bitch in a litter of five pups.
The ear set is unusual today and much prized by quite a few fanciers. You can breed two prick-eared skyes and get a drop or two in the litter (ie Jack and Cameron) or breed two drops (Trevyn and Mona) and get nothing but erect ears. Depends on the genetic makeup. If only one skye carries the drop gene, you will not get any drops. Both parents need to carry it.
Susan Parsons
Cladich, Reg.
My name is Sharon Middleton. I have owned and loved Skye terriers for 13years now. I have 6 in my home,including 2 drops, Ch.Bianca, whom I co-own with Susan Parsons, and Marwyn’s Black Watch Brigadier, our darling James Bret the Puppy. In the 1880’s, there was a genocide of drop eared Skyes. The drop eared puppies were systematically killed because the fashion was prick eared Skyes, which had developed after black and tan terriers were bred with Skyes for that earset. It has taken many years forthe public to remember and relearn to treasure the original earset as well as the later prick eared model. I must admit I get very tired of biased people saying that drop ears are broken. If you wanted to get right down to it, they lack cartilege. Prick ears have cartilege. So, at least theoretically, it would make more sense that the prick ears were the broken ears, not the drop ears!
The drop ear is larger, and is set significantly lower on the head. I can understand why some judges would lift the ears. It can clearly show that the ear is a drop ear, not an incorrect prick ear. If you hold the ears on a drop up, it looks rather like Dumbo,about to fly off! In contrast, prick ears look more like Mickey Mouse.
I personally love both breeds. I look for conformation first, and for correct earset, in either earset. Unfortunately, some hard core opponents of drops will admit they could never put up a drop because they think it is ‘defective’. It is not defective. It is the original earset. It is a double recessive gene, and if both parents carry the gene,there is a 25% chance of producing drops in the litter, and another 25% that prick puppies will pass the gene.
Our breed is rare and very special. It is a travesty to all who went before to cull dogs due to correct earset that a person happens to dislike. Those people really do not like Skyes, they like prick ears, and ought to find a breed that only produces prick ears.
As Susan Parsons said in her post, another Marwyn litter was bred and born March 19, 2010. “Grant” was the only drop ear in a litter of six-4 girls, 2 boys. When Grant was born, I called Susan and said we had another drop. She said it was impossible to tell at just a few hours old, but I could tell by where his little ears were set on his head, compared to his other five siblings. Sure enough, he is a drop and is greatly loved by Karen J’Anthony in Delaware. He will make his debut at the Montgomery Co. Pennsylvania STCA National Specialty. Karen will only show him on Sunday, as he will be barely six months old and Karen thinks all four days would be too much for him. I plan on the final Jack/Cameron litter in spring of 2011. Cameron will be past 6 at that time and she has paid her dues and then some. The puppies from Jack and Cameron are outstanding and they have already produced one champion from the first litter, Ch. Marwyn Whisper My Name, Mr. (Carsyn), who finished at 17 months and 29 days old and another, Marwyn Blackfyre Rebellion is pointed and has a Terrier Group 3, under his belt. Defeating 53 terriers. There were only 3 puppies from the first litter to go to show homes. The other four bitches, while very finishable, are in loving, forever companion homes. The entire second litter went to show homes and will begin their show careers this fall. We plan on specialing Carsyn this fall, winter and next spring. In the fall of 2011, she will be bred to Ch. Grand Ch. Jay-Roy’s Byrne N Hot For You. Byrne was the first Skye Terrier to earn the new AKC Grand Champion award. He is owned and loved by Kelly and Diana Salandro and bred by Robyn Hand.
In June Matt and I had a litter of eight cream babies from two cream parents. We are waiting to see what ear sets we have since both parents are prick ears but have produced drop children (the sire is Bianca’s father). Needless to say we are hoping for drops!!!
Rod – I’ve been breeding skyes since ’76 and I judge them at shows. That pup is NOT a scot x lhasa cross. Not with THAT body!!! He’s a tad leggy and the ear placement is off but he DOES look like a skye. So just tell people he’s a skye and have done with it. And tell the tech she better study her breeds a bit more. :)))
Thanks, Susan. Angus appreciates having a heritage, no matter how made-up it might be. After I told him, it seemed he slept maybe a little more soundly than usual on his fluffy bed. No doubt he dreamed of hunting badgers in the cairns of Skye or Idrigill or whatever, or maybe just of sitting on my grave and getting treats from the neighbors.
I guess my major issue now is when I say “Skye”, people say “Really? Well I guess I can see a bit of Scottie”. I didn’t think the words sounded alike at all. But everybody seems to want an Angus-dog when they meet him. There’s probably a market for Skyes still.
I get that all the time. When you say “skye”, the general public hears “scottie”. I also get “Is that a la hassa apser?” “Can he see?” “Does she have legs?” Sigh.
>>> I also get “Is that a la hassa apser?”
Okay, must admit that’s a new one! Usually I hear “flopsa lopsa” or “lasue apsue.” Personally, if they can’t pronounce it, they shouldn’t own it … but I digress.
hello all!
im hannah and i have had skyes for 6 years, at first i liked prick ears best but after getting involved with the breed i am now in love with drop ear skyes, im the breeder of miss bianca (drop) who lives with sharon in texas and she has 2 other litter sibling who are drops, i also have a dog from cladich (susan) who has drop in its genes, he will soon be breed in hopes for more drop pups!
talking about the changes the breed has gone trough the years, besides the sistematic dismiss of the drops i also notice that the size of the skyes is getting bigger and bigger, from the small research i have had the oportunity to do i know the original skyes were much ligther than what we see today, and if it is true that a heavier set dog is more apealing to the eye it is also true that a dog with such short legs and such long back can not benefit from being bigger. thats why i think a skye shoud be (as it was before) a dog of strong bones, but ligth and medium sized
regards to all,
hannah
FYI
The cream litter born in June of 2010 that Susan mentioned previous (with 2 prick eared parents) produced 3 drop ear puppies out of the 8!! And we are QUITE happy!
And, yes, we kept all three (a dog and two bitches).