Bounding back into pet lovers’ homes ... the endangered ‘Dougal’ dog rarer than a panda
... and the other breeds in with a barking chance
THE Skye terrier, one of Britain’s most endangered dogs and rarer than the wild panda, is bounding back with a mini breeding boom.
In the first three months of the year 11 Skye puppies were registered with the Kennel Club, compared with one in the same period last year.
But there are now little more than 3,000 of the breed in the world and fewer than 400 in Britain. Experts claim about 300 a year need to be born to save the breed from extinction.
Meanwhile the total number of wild pandas is 4,000 worldwide.
Skye terrier lovers believe children’s TV character Dougal in the The Magic Roundabout was a drop-eared example of the pet.
The dog’s revival is being credited to the triumph at Crufts last year of Lampard, a prickeared specimen which appeared in the Best In Show final seven.
Lampard’s owner Sue Breeze, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, said: ‘The latest figures from the Kennel Club show we are succeeding in making the breed more popular.’
She hoped more people would consider a Skye terrier as a pet. She said: ‘A puppy costs about £650 and when you think people are paying over £1,000 for designer dogs they are reasonably priced.’
The Skye terrier is one of the oldest native breeds, dating to the 14th Century. It is generally accepted the breed originated with a local terrier mating with dogs which survived the sinking of a man-of-war from the Spanish Armada. The best-known Skye terrier is Greyfriars Bobby, famous in 19th Century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his police constable master, John Gray. Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have hidden one under her skirt when she was beheaded.
The Kennel Club is delighted with the terrier’s rise in popularity and hopes it will encourage dog lovers to take an interest in other endangered native breeds such as the Cardigan Welsh corgi, the Dandie Dinmont terrier and the English setter. A spokesman said: ‘While this is positive news for a vulnerable breed we’ve noticed that foreign breeds and small handbag dogs popularised by celebrities are gaining in popularity.’