Dozens of Dandie Dinmonts meet up for three day long celebration of rare Scottish breed

OVER 60 Dandie Dinmont terriers and their owners met over the weekend for a three day long celebration of the rare Scottish dog breed.

The pooches and their owners from all over the UK and including visitors from Canada, the USA and Germany, visited the various ancestral homes associated with the famous but endangered terriers throughout the Scottish Borders.

The event acted as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club (DDTC) in Selkirk in 1875, the second oldest dog club in the world.

This coincided with the 10th anniversary of the Dandie Derby terrier races at The Haining Estate in Selkirk and was the first event to be held at the historical ground since it closed for its £3m restoration.

The overall winner was two year old Dylan from North Wales running in his first Dandie Derby. 

He and owner Victoria Little took home a silver cup to keep until next year.

Other events over the weekend included, on Friday afternoon, a walk of the Old Ginger Trail at the nearby Bowhill House and a display and talk about some of the Duke of Buccleuch’s Dandie paintings. 

On Friday evening there was the launch of Dandie Dinmont Gin, an exclusive, small batch crafted gin from Selkirk Distillers.

On Saturday, Dandies and owners walked from the Old Ginger statue in The Haining to the site of the first ever Dandie Dinmont Terrier Show in 1875 at the Volunteer Hall, now The Baptist Church, in Back Row. 

From there the dogs were piped along to The Fleece, where the club itself was founded in 1875. 

The breed also had a stall on the Farmers Market in the Market Square and both post boxes had toppers with a dandie theme. 

A dinner was then hosted by the DDTC in the brand new annexe at The Haining on Saturday evening.

The action moved to Abbotsford House on Sunday for the DDTC AGM, after which there was a laid back, relaxed fun dog show which included classes such as the biggest Dandie Nose, Sweetest Dandie eyes and Mr and Miss Congeniality. 

Things wrapped up with the “Dandietathlon”, an agility course which included jumps low enough for Dandie legs to tackle.

The best in show was 10 year old Abbie Skitt from South Tyneside with her pooch Wilbur. 

The show was judged by the president of the Canadian Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club, Mike Macbeth, who is in the UK to judge at the Caledonian Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club’s show next weekend. 

Finally, the sixth and penultimate board in the Dandie Dinmont Heritage Trail, which marks key places associated with Dandie Dinmont terriers, was unveiled at the Dryburgh Abbey Hotel in Melrose on Monday. 

The Dryburgh is a favourite hotel amongst Dandie owners and is located right next to the resting place of Sir Walter Scott, who named the breed in his 1815 novel Guy Mannering. 

The three breed clubs associated with the dogs, The Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club, The Southern Dandie Dinmont Terrier Club and the Caledonian Terrier Club are working together with plans to bring the breed to greater prominence in the eyes of the public and to increase numbers which are running dangerously low. 

The breed currently faces serious problems, having been listed on the UK Kennel Club’s vulnerable native breeds list for 20 years.

Last year in particular marked the lowest numbers since records began of Dandie puppies born in the UK at just 66, while only around 300 are born annually worldwide.

The DDTC is now encouraging any dog lovers interested in owning a Dandie and getting involved in the breed to get in touch with their nearest club or by contacting [email protected].

Dandie Dinmonts will next be on show at the Border Union Show’s Terrier Day at Kelso, Scottish Borders on 14 June, where the Caledonian Dandie Dinmont Championship Show takes place.