Description

This small, good natured breed is often thought of as an elegant looking breed. The Skye Terrier has a sturdy bone structure and hard muscles that surround its body. Twice as long as it is high, the Skye Terrier sits low to the ground, but carries its long fur coat well. The fur around its face helps to both protect the mouth and eyes from outside obstacles, but also creates a feathered look that's both distinctive and graceful.

Generally standing with its head help up high, the Skye Terrier trots along with a steady gait, tail dangling to the ground. The brown eyes are earnest and the darker they are, the better. The coat is well feathered ideally, and has two coats - one undercoat and one outer coat.

This low sitting terrier has a strong muzzle feature as well as a black nose and a jaw that sets the teeth in a scissors bite. The feet should be pointing straight forward, almost as though it were a hare.

Affectionate and well-mannered, the Skye Terrier is a delightful addition to any family, but will require a lot of attention to be happy and satisfied. Playful and genuinely loving, the Skye Terrier is a breed that is suitable in most environment settings and locations.

Coat Description

The coat of the Skye Terrier is doubled and includes a shorter and softer undercoat as well as harder and straighter top coat. The top coat should lie flat against the body, free of waves and curls. Ideally, the coat will be no or less than about five and a half inches. You will also notice a sort of beard appearance of the fur around the mouth and face. The ears will have the fur feathered naturally and it will blend into the rest of the dog's coat.

History

The Skye Terrier's history is one that is widely disputed. Some believe that the Skye Terrier came from the story of a shipwreck. It is thought that in the 1600s, a ship from Spain crashed against the rocks of the island of Skye. When this happened, the survivors included Maltese dogs that then interbred with the local terriers. This new breed even became popular with Queen Victoria in the 1800s.

Others seem to believe that the Skye Terrier is actually a cross between the Celtic terriers and the Swedish Vallhund of the Viking invaders, or perhaps these breeds then mated with the Maltese.

Grooming

The Skye Terrier would seem to be a dog breed that requires a lot of grooming with its longer coat, but the coat is actually designed to be resistant to tangling. However, this does not mean that regular brushing will not benefit their appearance. This long and straight coat can become matted if it's not brushed on a regular basis.

What's also interesting to note is that the puppy coat and the adult coat are completely different from each other. The adult coat can take a few years to grow in, so you can expect to see your puppy change as they age, requiring more care as they get older.

Regular brushing is a necessity for this breed, at least once a week. This will not only help them maintain their appearance, but it will also reduce the amount of fur you find around the house. An average shedder, you can expect to see some traces of the Skye Terrier around your home if you're not careful about removing excess fur.

However, even with the naturally feathered look of the coat, you will want to leave the length as is. Trimming is not necessary until you want to trim the areas in the pads of the feet or around the toes. These areas can sometimes collect dirt and stones when their fur becomes too long.

If you do let your Skye Terrier outside, you will want to check them over for fleas or ticks once they come back inside. The longer fur can often disguise 'travelers' that may have gotten onto the dog's surface.

You will want to bathe your Skye Terrier on occasion, as they can simply pick up dirt and dust from around the house or from the yard when they're running around. If you notice that your dog has any smells after they are bathed, you might want to take them to the vet for evaluation. Often, this can be a sign of a bacterial infection or something else.

The vet will look at their ears, their nose, and their skin to be sure that nothing else is happening.

Exercise

Because of the smaller size of the Skye Terrier, little exercise is required. Simply moving from room to room is a lot of exercise for this particular breed. They can also become tired after being walked for long periods of time, so that's not necessarily a good activity for them.

For people that don't want to have to walk a dog, the Skye Terrier can be a great fit. All is needed for this dog to remain healthy is a space in which they can walk around at their leisure.

Older owners and those with disabilities that simply want a companion, but don't have the capabilities to manage an overly active dog breed will find the Skye Terrier to be a good fit. They simply entertain themselves by moving around, and don't need you to help them at all to remain active.

Training

The Skye Terrier has a high capacity for learning, so they can be trained quite easily with persistence and patience. Because of their loyal nature, they will need to be socialized with other people away from their siblings in order to learn how to handle strangers. This should be done when they are puppies to help them learn how to interact without barking or biting.

The main techniques to use with a Skye Terrier are respect, consistency, and fairness. When they are learning, you want to make sure you are rewarding them consistently or punishing them fairly for the error. They will learn to be obedient, but you will need to continue their training throughout their life in order to see consistent results.

While their problem solving skills are not ranked as highly as their ability to learn, the Skye Terrier is still a breed that will respond to training if you start early and stick with it.

To help prevent their excessive barking tendencies when disturbed or when around strangers, you will want to make sure they feel comfortable. This can begin with introducing the dog slowly to new people and to new situations to see how they react. You can even reward this breed to help reinforce the good behaviors.

However, if you are not consistent with your training, you might find some of the negative behaviors coming out in your Skye Terrier: excessive barking, willfulness, suspiciousness, aggressiveness, etc.

You might want to remember that the Skye Terrier is not a dog breed that will do well in extended training situations. They can become easily bored, so you will want to always change up the training session or intersperse it with other activities that don't require a lot of focus.

Other skills that you can develop with a Skye Terrier include tracking and feats of agility, so this might be a good way to focus their training.

Life :: 12 - 15 years

Litter Size :: 3 - 6 puppies

Group :: Terrier, AKC Terrier

Color :: Blue, Black, gray, fawn, silver, or cream with black muzzle, ears, and tail tip, preferably.

Hair :: Long

Size :: Toy/Small

Shedding :: Moderate Shed

Male Height :: 10 inches (25.5 cm.) - It should be noted that this dog should be twice as long as it is high.

Male Weight :: 25 pounds (11.5 kg.)

Female Height :: 9 inches (23.0 cm.)

Female Weight :: 22.5 pounds (10.35kg.)

Living :: With its high activity level, you would think this was a dog that needed to have a lot of space to run around, but the short legs of the Skye Terrier actually make it a perfect breed for apartment or home living. They will easily get enough exercise just by running from room to room and in taking regular walks with you. A yard isn't necessarily for this particular breed, and if you live in the city, the Skye Terrier will still do quite well with proper care.