The Dog of the Highlands: West Highland White Terrier

At around 1700s, the Isle of Skye & other highlands in Scotland were already producing lots of small terriers. Scottish breeds were separated in to two: the Skye terriers & the Dandie Dinmont terriers.

The Dandie Dinmonts were categorized as a separate breed. The Skyes included the Scotties, the Cairns & the West highland white terriers or the Westies.

Another remarkable story is about a Westie that stopped a brother from constantly yelling at her daughter. Every time the brother would yell at her teenage daughter, the Westie would attack the brother. The aggression of the dog got worse over the years that resulted in the mother’s complete inability to scold her teenager.

It was also noted that these terriers were the hybrids among the crossed Cairns, Scottish, & Dandies terriers. One could assume that the hybrid would be loyal & its hunting instincts could not be belittled. In fact, lots of royalties in Scotland owned terriers that were similar to the Westies of today.

It turned out that the girl was actually rewarding the dog for his protection by calming & soothing him down after every “threat” from her brother. Lots of would perceive that the daughter was able to help her brother to change her ways when in fact he was helping herself by rewarding the dog for its behavior.

The following are a quantity of the basic facts breeders would love to know about Westies:

Section: Terrier
Living Environment: indoors (highly recommended); outdoors (fenced yard)

Coat: about two-inch coarse & wiry outer coat & soft, dense, & furry undercoat
Color: white

Height: between 10 & 12 inches

Weight: between 13 & 22 pounds

Naturally,

Temperament:

•    they like to bark & dig
•    they are not as willful like most terriers
•    they love companionship

When properly trained

•    they can become friendly towards strangers
•    they create close affinity with behaved babies
•    they love to chase felines but they do not hurt them
•    they can become a lovely watch dog
•    they can become lively

Breeders should note of the following health issues:

Care & Exercise:

•      Chronic skin problems
•     Perthe’s disease (hip problems)
•     Jawbone calcification
•     Cranio mandibular osteopathy (lion jaw)
•     Patella luxation, a disorder in the kneecap
•     Liver ailments
•     Deafness
•     Congenital heart disease

Origin/History:

•    Their coat should be brushed regularly using a brush with stiff bristles.
•    They should bathe only when necessary.
•    Their whole coat should be stripped at least two times a year & trimmed every two months.
•    The fur on the eyes & ears should be trimmed using blunt-nose mirrors.
•    They will surely be more agile & healthy after regular sessions of play and/or walk.

Following are some items in the history that show the Westies’ reputation of being owners’ favorite companion canines.

As noted, they share the same lineage with Cairns & Scotties (from Skye terriers), & even with the Dandies. This trio was developed in the Isle of Skye, which was one of the highlands in Scotland. It was noted that white whelps were chosen from the wiry-coated Cairns, Scotties, & Dandies to produce the variety that were known as Poltalloch terriers.

In the 19th century, terriers that were similar to the Westies were known as Roseneath terriers in honor of Duke of Argyll’s interest & patronage of this breed. Roseneath was the name of his estate at Dumbartonshire.

Records in the history mentioned that around 1620, King James 1 of England requested some small white canines from Argyleshire in Scotland. Colonel Malcolm, who was considered as the originator of Poltalloch terriers, that are similar to the Westies of today, accidentally shot his terrier (a dark one). From then on they vowed to have only white terriers.

During the mid-1900s, breeders of the Cairns in Argyll, Scotland chosen white puppies from the stock & interbreed some to get white Cairns. However, in 1917, the American Kennel Club ruled that Cairns could be listed if they have the Westies’ lineage.

They can say the history repeats itself for this delightful terrier is now mostly a favorite companion dog of lots of households.

In the first-ever dog show that were organized in the late 1800s, the Westies were called as White Scottish terriers. In 1904, they were classified under the name West Highland White terriers.