JUSCOT Duke Of Argyle - Argyle

JUSCOT Knight of Snowdoun - Monteith

Argyle and Monteith are offsprings from our first litter from Skye. They both had a very different destiny. Whilst Argyle was the "pick of the litter" and was destined for the show ring, Monteith had a less easy path in life.

This was also the first time we had male Scotties in our house, along with two girls and we experienced a whole new dynamics within the clan. Judy once told us "she will bite his head off" and we soon got an idea of what she meant. No dramas, just a display that the boy thinks he is the boss when in reality the girls are.

"Argyle and Monteith, you are definitively the clowns who brought some delightful fun into the family each in your own way, little spider-monkey and my boubou" - Christine

THE BEGINNINGS

There were 8 puppies in the litter. Seven weighed between 230 and 260 grams, one was 215 grams; that was Monteith. Whilst the other puppies fed and grew normally, we noticed that the little one was losing weight and struggled feeding. It looked like he couldn't latch on properly, so we fed him a bottle every 2 hours. Although he started putting on a bit of weight, he was definitively not thriving like the others. We took him to the vets 4 times, and it is only at the 4th visit that they found that he had a cleft in the soft palate at the back of his throat. We carried on our bottle and syringe feeding for another two months until he was old enough to have surgery at three months old. This was successful and with time he could feed himself.

Monteith's cleft palate

Monteith's content after a bottle feed

Argyle, on the other hand, had a normal growing phase. From a very young age he was constantly trying to be the boss, which often led him into trouble with his mum and Isla.

The "boys" gradually gained independence and developed their own little characters. Argyle needed to always be centre-stage; Isla became his best mate and she taught him the good and not so good, as in digging up the carcass of a dead chicken or fish, or visiting a bushy area on the property and coming back covered in weeds and full of mud.

Monteith (left) and Argyle (right) at 1 month old

Monteith (left) and Argyle (right) at 5 month old

Monteith (left) and Argyle (right) at 5 month old. Mum Skye in the middle

And this is when Paul started to go down to their level and let them crawl all over him.

Monteith (Monty)

After his surgery, Monteith grew normally and caught up in height and weight with his litter-mate. He also developed weird behaviours such as standing up on his hind legs and leaping forward with the front legs, which earned him the nickname of spider-monkey. He became also increasingly head-shy (aka he didn't want to be touched on the head), developed behaviour not dissimilar from autism (yes, it exists in dogs too), seemed to have visual troubles and finally, at the age of 9 months had his first seizure. After a month of extensive testing the diagnosis came as "blind in one eye, almost blind in the other, and epilepsy".

Seizures in dogs are terrifying for us humans. They thrash their head violently for 30 to 60 seconds, this then subsides and for roughly 30 to 45 minutes they are in an awake but non-conscious state. It then stops suddenly, and they resume their live as if nothing happened whilst you are still pretty shaken.

Many people would perhaps have put him down at this stage. We decided to fight on as long as he had quality of life. The medication to control the epilepsy made him very sleepy; gradually he slept more and more. He also started to loose weight by mid-2024, whilst also starting to develop other unpleasant traits, such as eating his own poop. By December 2024, I made the comment to Paul that we should let Monty go. Paul wasn't ready for it; Monty only accepted him for cuddles and they had a deep bond. He wasn't getting any better though, so when Paul passed away, I decided to send Monty along with him. Our little special doggy now rests in the arms of his beloved dad.

Monty 5 months old

Argyle licking his brother after a seizure

Monty 5 months old

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Rest in peace, together, Paul and Monty.

Argyle

Argyle was Judy's pick of the litter but because we were unsure if Monteith would make it, Judy let us keep Argyle. And for that, I decided to do what she would have done: show him. This was a whole new world for me, with everything to learn. Our first show, when he was 6 months old, I turned up at a show with a brush and that was it. Fortunately Judy was there. Argyle was to compete against his aunty, the famous JUSCOT Ninja Rose (sister of our Skye). Two professionals and two real beginners, guess who won.
Over the following 2 years, Judy became my mentor and provided invaluable help about breeding and showing. Whenever we were at the same show, Rosie won every time, except once.

Argyle was a junior, 14 months old, when he won his first significant title: best junior in group. And not once, but 3 times on the same weekend. A few months later, he became Best in Terriers Group, a title he obtained 5 times, as well as Reserve Best of Group once. At 16 months, he won his highest title: Best Junior in Show (and we missed the photo session!!!).

Since early 2024, when I became seriously ill, I haven't been able to show him, but my excellent friend Lisa used Argyle several times to learn showing; he knew what was expected of him, which made it easier for Lisa to concentrate on handling.

Argyle will be back in the ring soon. And hopefully win again, but he will have competition: his "wife" Nellie, and daughters Lorna and Dee. There will be more scotties in the ring again in New Zealand.

Albannach