Speed is not so much necessary with the Skye as strength. The chief end of his existence is to go to ground, and power to grapple with his subterranean foe is the first consideration. That power must, however, be in a body small enough to enable him to reach the enemy in its stronghold; and it follows that the particular build or shape by which the greatest amount of strength can most easily get into a small hole is the shape best suited for the purpose. All animals intended by Nature to hunt their prey in holes - such as the weasel, stoat, marten, etc. - are very long in the body and short on the leg, and it is safe to assume that this form is the most suitable for that purpose. The Skye is the longest and lowest of all Terriers, and is therefore better adapted to do the work of a Terrier than any other. The proportion of length to height, even in the longest Skye, falls far short of what it is in animals of the weasel kind; yet objections are sometimes made to the Skye because of the shortness of his legs. The advantage in going to ground which a short-legged dog has over a longer-legged one must be apparent to every one, as the former can do his work in a natural position, while the latter must crouch, and so lose power. Again, if there is burrowing to do, the short-legged one has also the advantage of the other, as it is impossible to use long legs properly in a hole. The shortest-legged of all burrowing animals is the mole, and it is credited with being able to make a new hole for itself in less time than any other animal can.

In general appearance the Skye Terrier is a long, low dog, with a large head, a very long, flat-lying, straight coat, and a sharp, intelligent look. The head is long from the occipital bone to the eyes, it is also broad, and has the appearance of being broader above the eyes than between the ears. This is owing to the position of the ears, which are set on high. The skull is flat, not domed like that of the Dandie. The muzzle is long and broad, the jaws are strong, and the teeth very large. It is a much greater objection to the mouth of a Skye to be undershot than overshot.

The perfect mouth is, of course, level, or, as many breeders prefer to have it, with the upper teeth fitting closely over the under ones. The eyes are dark brown or hazel in colour, of medium size, and are not prominent. There should not be much falling away under the eye; and there is almost no hollow or stop between the forehead and the muzzle. The ears should not be large, and, if pendent, should hang straight down, and lie close to the side of the head; if erect, they should be set on high, and carried without any outward inclination. The hair on the ear should hang gracefully down, and mingle with that on the cheek, which should also be plentiful. The long hair on the face and ears has been called superfluous, but if those who think it so had ever seen one protected in this way go to ground in a sandy bank, they would be satisfied of its great advantage to the dog in keeping the sand out of his eyes and ears. The neck is long, slightly crested, and very muscular. The shoulders and fore legs feel as if they had been intended for a much larger dog. The chest is deep and somewhat wide, but not too much so. The back is very long, and nearly level. Breeders have a great abhorrence of a roach - or, as they call it, a 'Dandie' back. The ribs are well sprung, the barrel round and well ribbed home. No Skye Terrier should be flat-sided or tucked up in the flank. The loins are broad, and, like the quarters, well clothed with muscle. The thighs are strong and well developed, the second thighs prominent, and reaching almost to the hock. Allowance is sometimes made for the fore legs being a little bandy, but they certainly ought to be straight. The elbows and stifles should not incline either inwards or outwards, as the Skye should stand as fair and square on his legs as a Foxhound, and both the fore and hind feet should always point straight in front. The tail should be carried low, with a very slight curve. When the dog is not excited, the proper position of the tail is a little below the level of his back. The feather of it should be long but thin. The coat, which has been already referred to, is composed of two distinct qualities or kinds of hair - an under coat of short, soft, woolly hair, and an outer coat, which is long and hard in texture. It should lie close to the dog, and be free from either wave or curl. A soft-coated dog looks larger than he really is. One of the best ways of judging a Skye is to wet him, and if he is made as he ought to be, and has a correct coat upon him, he will look nearly as large when wet as when dry, whereas if he wants substance, or has a bunchy or soft coat, he will not appear half the size.

Fig. 102. - The Skye Terrier Wolverley Duchess.

The usual colours of Skyes are a slate-blue, and all the intermediate shades between light silver-grey and black. Fawns still crop up occasionally, but as they are not general favourites, they are gradually becoming scarcer. Whatever the colour of the dog, the muzzle, ears, and tip of tail should be black, and the head and legs should always be as dark as the body. A lightish grey, with black points, is, perhaps, the colour most fancied by the public, but breeders prefer the darker colours, as there is a tendency with Skyes to throw stock lighter than themselves."

Before giving the points of the modern SkyeTerrier (Fig. 102), we may very well glance at what the late Mr. Thomson Gray had to say in an article that he contributed upon the breed in 1895: -

"As its name implies, the Skye Terrier is a native of our western islands, although it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a dog of the type of, say, Champion Laird Duncan in any part of the island. The Terrier of the island to which the term Skye is applied in the same way as we might call a Dandie Dinmont Terrier a Border Terrier, as he is most plentiful there, is the Scottish Terrier, and a dog something between a Scottish and a Skye, with sometimes prick and sometimes drop ears. These (what are called working Skyes) are much smaller than the show Skye, which would be of no use for the work to which these dogs are put on the island - hunting the fox from the cairns. Besides being smaller, they have a shorter and harder coat, are not so long in body or so level in the back - they being somewhat arched over the loin - as our best show dogs, but otherwise there is very little difference. Any difference there may be is chiefly in size and length of coat. The usual show-goer, who knows little of such dogs and their work, would call them 'weedy.' By and-by it will be very difficult to tell what is the genuine article in any breed of dog, as all are more or less changing - 'improving,' it is popularly termed.