Eyes

The eyes should be wide apart, large, round, moderately full, very clear, bright, and expressive of great intelligence, set low, and well in front of forehead; colour, a rich brown or hazel, yellowness being a great fault. Frequently there is a dark ring round the eye, the hair of which is rather short and of a downy nature. This dark shade, together with that (already referred to) down the centre of the nose, contrasts beautifully with the bright silvery top-knot, and imparts to the breed that gipsy and game appearance which is an essential characteristic of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier.

Ears

The ears should be large and pendulous, from 3|in. to 4m. long, set far apart, well back, and rather low on the skull, hanging close to the cheeks, like a hound's, but a little more pointed or almond-shaped - i.e. broad at the base, and tapering to a small, rounded point. The taper should be all, or nearly all, on the back edge, the front edge hanging nearly straight down from its junction with the head to the tip. They ought to show a little shoulder at the base, which causes the tips of the ears to point a little forwards towards the jaw. They should be moderately thick and leathery, and covered with a short, soft, darker and brighter sort of hair than on the body, having a smooth, velvety appearance, showing no lint or silky hair, excepting in some cases a thin feather of lighter hair starting about an inch or so from the tip, and of the same colour and texture as the top-knot; this gives the top of the ear the appearance of a distinct point.

Neck

The neck should be rather short, and very muscular, well developed, and strong, showing great power by being well set into the shoulder. The length of neck should average about one-third of its girth.

Body

The body should be very long and flexible, measuring, from top of shoulders to root of tail, about an inch or two over one and a half times the height of dog at shoulder. Chest well developed and broad, with brisket round and deep, being well let down between the fore legs. The back should be rather low at the shoulders, and slightly curved down behind them, with a corresponding arch, the rise commencing about 2in. behind the shoulder-blade; over the loins, which should be higher than the shoulders, broad and strong, with a slight gradual droop from the top of loins to root of tail. Ribs well sprung and rounded, back and front, forming a good barrel. Both sides of spine should be well supplied with muscle; in fact, every part of the dog seems to be abundantly supplied with muscle, giving it great compactness.

Tail

The tail (or stern) should be in length a little less than the height of the dog at the shoulder. It should be set on at the bottom of a gentle slope, about 2in. from top of loins, being rather thick at the root, getting very slightly thicker for about 4m., then tapering off to a fine point. It should be covered on the upper side with wiry hair, of darker colour and stronger nature than that on the body, while the under side is lighter and less wiry, with a little nice light feather, commencing about 2 in. from root, and from 1 in. to 2 in. long, getting shorter as it nears the tip, which is pointed. It should be carried gaily, or hound-like, slightly curved upward, but not directly curled over the back. N.B. - When not excited, nearly in a horizontal line, but otherwise hound-like.

Legs

The fore legs should be very short in proportion to the dog's size, very stout, and set wide apart, thick, and straight, with immense muscular development in the fore arm; this, with the ankles being very slightly turned inwards, makes the dog appear somewhat bandy-legged, but the leg bones themselves should be stout and straight, and not curved. The feet should be well framed and broad, but not flat, standing firm, and well under the chest, with very little or no feather on the legs. Hind legs thick and strong, longer than the fore legs, well spread, with a good bend in the hocks, the muscles of the thighs being very thick and well developed. The feet are much smaller, with no feather or dew-claws; the toes rather short, forming rather a round than a hare-foot; the claws black, and very strong. White claws, however, should not be a disqualification.

Height And Weight

Height, from 8in. to I2in. at top of shoulder, but never above 12 in., even for a dog. Weight, of dogs, from 16 1b. to 24 1b.; of bitches, from 141b. to 2olb. The most desirable weights are 20 lb. for dogs and 16 1b. for bitches, but 241b. dogs are very useful to give bone, muscle, and stamina to the produce of the smaller ones.

Coat And Colour

The coat is a very important feature. The hair (about 2in. long) along the top of the neck and upper part of the body should be a mixture of about two-thirds rather hard (but not wiry) with one-third soft, linty (not silky) hair, which gives a sort of crisp feeling to the hand, and constitutes what old John Stoddart used to term "a pily coat." It becomes lighter in colour and finer in texture as it nears the lower part of the body and legs. The head is covered with hair of a longer, lighter, and much more silky texture, giving it a silvery appearance, but not so long as to hang completely over the eyes, like a Skye or a Poodle. The lighter in colour and softer, the better. The colour is either mustard or pepper, and their mixtures. Mustard is a reddish or sandy brown of various shades. Pepper is a bluish grey, either dark in shade, ranging from a dark bluish black to slaty grey, or even a much paler or silvery grey; sometimes a combination of both, in which case the back is grey, while the legs, inside of ears, chest, and under side of tail are mustard, verging on a pale red or fawn colour. No other colours admitted, and any white, even on chest, is considered objectionable.

In the excellent advice given by the late Mr. Thomson Gray, and printed elsewhere, the novice will find described most of the faults that he must avoid in either purchasing or breeding. Little therefore remains to be said. The silky top-knot that is considered so characteristic of the modern dog has been condemned by the older admirers of sporting Terriers as a useless sort of appendage to a dog that at one time had to face any kind of vermin. Sometimes the two colours of the Dandie are combined, and needless to say that such specimens are useless for exhibition. Dogs showing such a colour combination are known as "Saddlebacks." Mr. Cook states that when two or three years old the "Saddleback" sometimes turns into a spurious "Mustard," the Pepper "Saddle" gradually dying out." In the puppy stage Dandie Dinmont Terriers differ materially from the adult. The Peppers are born black, often with a white patch on chest, that remains, and sometimes with tan legs. When born black, the tan on the legs soon asserts itself. At first the coat is short and smooth, but gradually it changes and becomes harder. Mustards are born rather lighter than Peppers, but they also have a good deal of black hair. In fact, those having much black down the back generally turn out the best for colour. Mr. Charles Cook in his excellent monograph thus writes of the Mustards as puppies. They are "whelped practically all tan colour (some being darker and others lighter in shade), there being little difference noticeable between the body colour and that on the legs excepting that the hairs on the back and tail are usually more or less tipped with black. The ears, tail, and muzzle in Mustard pups are also often quite black, and if with this the crown of the head is a deep golden colour the pup will usually grow into a fine Mustard." Attention has already been directed to light-eyed specimens. This, of course, applies to adults. When born, Dandie Dinmont Terriers have blue-grey eyes. These, however, gradually change, and the darker they become the better. Then, the topknot is not in evidence for many months, and cases are on record where this coveted crown has not been produced until three years had elapsed.

To keep the Dandie Dinmont Terrier in good coat when required simply as a companion and sporting dog is no great task; but in the past to "prepare" him for the show-bench has been quite a different matter. Being low upon the leg and carrying a fairly good coat, naturally the Dandie Dinmont Terrier licks up a lot of mud in dirty weather; but he is so smart a little fellow indoors that no one who really loves dogs should begrudge the time that the extra attention to his coat on such an occasion involves.

The Dandie Dinmont Terrier is not lacking in Clubs to watch over its interests, no less than four being in existence in the United Kingdom. The parent society, however, is the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club, founded as long ago as November 17, 1875, thus being the oldest specialist dog club in existence. The late Mr. Hugh Dalziel was its first Secretary.