THE ABERDEEN TERRIER


When I look at Angee I see the original Aberdeen Terrier. Slim, agile, very high energy and really not thinking about anything she isn't looking at. Smart as a whip with no 'off' button'. Never have I seen any dog with such a drive to dig in the earth. Walking her down a trail is a constant matter of her running to the end of the retractable leash and beginning to dig. Then she will begin a second hole on the other side of the trail. By the time I reach her, she runs ahead and begins more holes. I have seen her do this continually throughout a six mile hike. Many times she will drive her nose into earth without using her paws. It has been a task trying to keep the skin on her nose intact and her paws reasonably clean.

My wife gave me a book about Scottish Terriers that was originally published in the early 1900s. The photographs in the book show an amazing resemblance to Angee, not only in general stature and hair patterns, but in the fact that most of the photographs show dogs with dirt on their noses. The people who took those photographs must have gotten tired of trying to wash away the dirt. And just like the photographs, Angee's coat is a coarse fur that is actually a brindle with gray. It seems to do a great job in protecting her from the brambles. One of her favorite hunting technique is to just launch straight into any cluster of bushes or tall grasses. Despite all she has encountered, I have never seen her react to blackberry vines or stinging nettle, she just plows right on through.

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