Scotties fall out of favor in their homeland as Frenchies invade UK, Kennel Club says
When you start losing the hometown crowd, what are you gonna do?
The Kennel Club in the United Kingdom has placed the “iconic” Scottish terrier on a watch list for the first time, warning that this poor pup is falling out of fashion in the UK, according to a statement from the dog welfare group posted Monday.
The Scottie dog is “one of the most celebrated dog breeds in Britain,” according to the Daily Record, a Scottish tabloid.
The “at watch” designation comes “after a 38 percent decline in Scottish terrier puppies getting pedigree recognition over the last five years,” the Express, a British tabloid, reports. “Only 438 puppies were entered on the Kennel Club’s register last year, putting a question mark over the breed’s future along with a worrying number of other famous British dogs.”
The national club is also worried about other “native” breeds — the Old English Sheepdog, Bearded Collie and Irish Wolfhound among them — reflecting how “more British dog breeds are at risk than ever before,” the club says.
The club has issued a “sombre warning about the shifting profile of traditional domestic pedigree dogs winning our nation of animal lovers’ hearts,” writes the Express.
The home team is being shoved aside by the chi-chi French bulldog — “surpassing the Labrador after nearly 30 years as Britain’s top dog,” according to the Express.
Just a decade ago, “there were just 24 vulnerable breeds and seven at watch,” Kennel Club secretary Caroline Kisko said in the club’s statement.
“There are now another six breeds either vulnerable or At Watch and we could lose even more of our most iconic and historic native dog breeds if people don’t look beyond the most obvious choices — such as the increasingly popular French Bulldog — and start to explore the huge diversity of breeds we’re lucky enough to have in this country.”
To champion more local breeds, the Kennel Club has launched a campaign using the hashtag #Savebritishdogbreeds.
“With many people adopting dog breeds for their popularity on Instagram, it’s dogs like the Scottish Terrier that are being left without a home,” writes the British version of Country Living magazine. “The Kennel Club are urging people to save our beloved British breeds and to consider them when adopting a dog.”
The Scottish terrier is instantly recognized by anyone who has ever played the board game Monopoly. The Scottie dog game piece was popular enough to survive getting thrown off the board in 2017 when the public voted on adding new pieces and dumping old ones, CNN reported at the time.
Scottish terriers have even lived in the White House — Miss Beazley and Barney during the George W. Bush years, according to the online Presidential Pet Museum.
Confident, independent and spirited is how the American Kennel Club describes the breed. In the United States, the Scottie dog ranks 58th out of 193 breeds in popularity, according to the AKC website.
The French bulldog, though, beats it on this side of the pond, too, as the sixth-most popular breed in the United States, the AKC says.
“It is so sad to see this wonderful and well-recognised breed, which is affectionate, loyal and intelligent, steadily decline in popularity as more fashionable choices take over,” Til Tovey, secretary of the Scottish Terrier Club of England, said in the Kennel Club’s statement.
“The Scottish Terrier is a great breed for those who want a small companion dog with plenty of character and an independent streak, and have time to train them consistently. Scotties are brimming with personality so sometimes can be a little stubborn,” Tovey said in the statement.
This story was originally published February 25, 2019 at 4:06 PM.