The Scottish Terrier is an alert-looking pooch with a "heads-up, tails-up" attitude – the pointy ears and long muzzle make this one of the most recognizable doggie silhouettes around. Even though when I think of these pups I recall the black ones, they are also allowable in wheaten or brindle of any color. Scotties are small dogs usually weighing around 20 pounds – but what they lack in size, they certainly make up in spirit! According to the AKC breed standard [1], these trademark terrier characteristics are joined with a very special "varminty" expression. What the heck is varminty? Find out when you .

This word is commonly used in the dog world to describe a piercing expression that should also be very bright and keen – unsurprisingly, many terrier breeds should have these feisty characteristics. Very popular with US presidents, my research has dug up [2] that several former presidents have owned these dogs, including Eisenhower, Reagan, and both Roosevelts! Oh, and don't forget these two cutie pies – they may look familiar [3] as it's our current "First Dog" Barney meeting Miss Beazley when she joined the Bush family at the White House in 2005.

Source [4]