- Black, wheaten or brindle of any shade
Small, compact, and sturdy terrier with a distinctive wiry coat, erect ears, beard and eyebrows, and dignified, confident presence
One of Scotland's oldest Highland terrier breeds, developed in the Scottish Highlands for hunting vermin in difficult terrain. Recognized by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1883 and the AKC in 1885.
“Loyal and faithful. Dignified, independent and reserved, but courageous and highly intelligent. Bold, but never aggressive”
Quoted from FCI standard n°73. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: FCI breed standard; Venta et al. 2000, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
The Scottish Terrier standard is published by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the international federation of pedigree-dog clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour and size. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
Close-lying, double coat
undercoat short, dense and soft
outer coat harsh, dense and wiry, together making a weather-resisting covering
Shortened from FCI standard n°73 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health.
Height at the withers (cm)
The same scale for every breed: no source defines size categories by height.
Weight (kg)
Size categories by adult weight, from Montoya et al. 2023.
The standard's words
“Height at the withers: 25 – 28 cm. Weight: 8,5 - 10,5 kg”
Quoted from FCI standard n°73.
An adult's measurements, per the standard. It does not say how big this puppy will be. Quotations from the FCI are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Scottish Terrier in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Scottish Terrier breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
4 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Found in more than about one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened, or described as common in the sources.
An overgrowth of bone in the jaw and skull of young, growing dogs, usually before a year old: the jaw swells and is painful, so the puppy struggles to open its mouth and eat, and it often runs a fever. It usually settles by itself once the skeleton stops growing. In this breed it is linked to an SLC37A2 variant that acts dominantly with incomplete penetrance — one copy raises the risk, but not every carrier is affected. In a screen of 237 Scottish Terriers roughly one in thirteen carried it.
What to ask for
Craniomandibular osteopathy (SLC37A2) DNA test result, on both parents
An overgrowth of bone in the jaw and skull of young, growing dogs, usually before a year old: the jaw swells and is painful, so the puppy struggles to open its mouth and eat, and it often runs a fever. It usually settles by itself once the skeleton stops growing. In this breed it is linked to an SLC37A2 variant that acts dominantly with incomplete penetrance — one copy raises the risk, but not every carrier is affected. In a screen of 237 Scottish Terriers roughly one in thirteen carried it.
What to ask for
Craniomandibular osteopathy (SLC37A2) DNA test result, on both parents
Found in roughly one in a hundred to one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened.
The most severe form of von Willebrand's disease, described in this breed: affected dogs have almost no von Willebrand factor, so they can bleed heavily from the nose or gums, or after surgery or an injury, and it can be fatal. It is recessive. When the DNA test was developed, 15 of 87 Scottish Terriers in a voluntary survey were carriers and 4 were affected; a recent screen found it less often — roughly one in forty of 237 carried it.
What to ask for
Von Willebrand's disease type 3 (VWF, Scottish Terrier type) DNA test result, on both parents
The most severe form of von Willebrand's disease, described in this breed: affected dogs have almost no von Willebrand factor, so they can bleed heavily from the nose or gums, or after surgery or an injury, and it can be fatal. It is recessive. When the DNA test was developed, 15 of 87 Scottish Terriers in a voluntary survey were carriers and 4 were affected; a recent screen found it less often — roughly one in forty of 237 carried it.
What to ask for
Von Willebrand's disease type 3 (VWF, Scottish Terrier type) DNA test result, on both parents
Described in this breed, but found in few or no dogs in recent screening, or only ever in one dog or one family. They are here so a test result makes sense if a breeder mentions one.
The chromosome-12 FGF4 insertion makes the spinal discs degenerate early, which raises the risk of a disc rupture that can cause pain or paralysis, and one copy is enough to raise it. The Scottish Terrier's short legs come from a different FGF4 insertion, on chromosome 18, which is not considered a high risk for disc disease, and the chromosome-12 insertion behind this risk looks very rare in the breed — one of 12 Scottish Terriers in a US study carried it, and none of 235 in a large screen.
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents
An inherited shortage of working plasminogen, a protein that clears away clots, so thick, woody layers of fibrin build up on the linings of the eyelids, gums and airways. In the related Scottish Terriers described, treatment did not help and the dogs died or were put to sleep. It is recessive. It has been described only in related dogs of this breed, and none of 237 Scottish Terriers in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Ligneous membranitis (PLG, Scottish Terrier type) DNA test result, on both parents
The chromosome-12 FGF4 insertion makes the spinal discs degenerate early, which raises the risk of a disc rupture that can cause pain or paralysis, and one copy is enough to raise it. The Scottish Terrier's short legs come from a different FGF4 insertion, on chromosome 18, which is not considered a high risk for disc disease, and the chromosome-12 insertion behind this risk looks very rare in the breed — one of 12 Scottish Terriers in a US study carried it, and none of 235 in a large screen.
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents
Median survival 12.7 years
95% confidence interval 12.5–12.9 years, from 869 recorded deaths among 1,736 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.84 (0.79, 0.9) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
An inherited shortage of working plasminogen, a protein that clears away clots, so thick, woody layers of fibrin build up on the linings of the eyelids, gums and airways. In the related Scottish Terriers described, treatment did not help and the dogs died or were put to sleep. It is recessive. It has been described only in related dogs of this breed, and none of 237 Scottish Terriers in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Ligneous membranitis (PLG, Scottish Terrier type) DNA test result, on both parents