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WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER

WEIMARANER
WELSH CORGIS
WELSH SPRINGER SPANIEL
WELSH TERRIER
WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER
WEST RUSSIAN COURSING HOUNDS
WESTPHALIAN DACHSBRACKE
WETTERHOUN
WHIPPET
WIREHAIRED POINTING GRIFFON

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COUNTRY: Great Britain
WEIGHT: 15-22 pounds
HEIGHT: 10-11 inches
COAT: Rough, wiry
COLOR: White
REGISTRY: FCI, AKC, UKC, TKC, CKC
GROUP: Terrier
WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER


From the general rough-coated terrier stock of Scotland, white whelps were selected to form this breed. Colored pups were culled, just as the whites were given away or destroyed when creating the purebred Cairn and Scottish Terrier. Like all the other terriers, the Westie was used for vermin control.
These white dogs were easy to distinguish from their surroundings and the wildlife. Thus, white terriers have run the Scottish Highlands for over 300 years. Records show that King James I, a Stuart who ruled England in the 1620s, requested some game "little white earth dogges" out of Argyleshire—possibly Westies.

Colonel Malcolm of Polltalloch, Argyleshire, Scotland, accidentally shot and killed his favorite terrier (a dark-colored one) on an 1860 hunting excursion, and determined to have only white dogs from then on. The Malcolms may have been the originators of the Highland Terrier—as game white terriers were kept by this family since the 18th century or before. At that early time, they were often called Polltalloch Terriers.
Others in this shire also fostered the breed. The Duke of Argyll's estate at Dumbartonshire (Scotland) was called Roseneath. In the 19th
century, Westies became generally known as Roseneath Terriers, indicating the Duke's patronage and interest. The breed was also known as the White Scottish Terrier in the first organized dog shows in the late 1800s. In 1904, they were first classified under the name of West Highland White Terrier, Westies first charmed Westminster spectators in 1906.
The breed has survived fads exaggerating certain breed points, such as the straight short forelegs, and returned to the sensible structure of today. Its shaggy white coat, small erect ears and black button nose give the Highland Terrier a cute and cuddly image. But it is all terrier with too much energy and spirit for much of that "cuddling nonsense"!

The Westie resembles a Cairn more than the Scottie. Modern show dogs have taken on a clip that accentuates the head. The hard-textured hair causes mud to just fall off when dry. They clean up with a few strokes of the brush, so keeping the coat white is not a major problem.
The breed is hardy, devoted and happy-go-lucky, exhibiting typical terrier tendencies: stur-diness, alarm barks, digging, cock-of-the-walk strutting and one-upmanship with other dogs (especially males). But this dog is not as volatile as some of the others in his group. In fact, the Westie standard warns against excessive pugnacity. Inclement weather is no deterrent to his energetic personality, and he makes a fine family pet.