West Highland White Terrier Originally Scotland Dogs Breeds

The West Highland White Terrier comes from the Western Highlands of Scotland and they are white in color. This area is described as hard rock formations bisected by valleys known as "glens" or "straths." The
highlands are in the shadow of the Grampian Mountains. Though this land is not good for agricultural crops, it is inhabited by many crofts (small farms), which raise sheep able to survive by grazing amongst the rocks. Also living amongst the rocks are many vermin, such as the fox, rabbit, and rodents.

The breed was originally named the Poltalloch terrier, after the estate in the Argyll region of western Scotland where they were developed by Colonel Edward Donald Malcolm (1837–1930) and his family. It is said that the breed gained its white coat after the Colonel's red terrier was mistaken for a fox and shot: the dog was to be white in colour so as to help distinguish it from its quarry. The Westie came to the United States in the early 1900s, originally called Roseneath Terrior. The name was changed to reflect the breed's origins more clearly. Some dog breeders and fanciers also believe that Westies developed with contributions from white dogs in the litters of Cairn Terriers. Others believe that there are contributions from similar dogs developed by the 8th Duke of Argyll.

These vermin can ruin the limited crops grown in this area. Therefore, the farmers from this area developed a breed of dog that would both help control the vermin population and save their crops. This special breed is today's Westie. Native food supplies for this breed would have been the crofts' mutton and poultry stock, with potatoes and a limited amount of barley and rye. The dogs also would have eaten the vermin they hunted.

For the West Highland White Terrier I recommend foods that provide meat protein from poultry and lamb, the carbohydrates from potato, barley, and wheat, and the fats from their poultry meat source. I also recommend you avoid feeding a commercial food that contains soy, white rice, yellow corn, beef, or horse meat to this breed.

This West Highland White Terrier breed is a dog which sheds moderately. As they develop into adults, their coarse outer coat is normally removed by either 'hand-stripping', especially for dog-showing, or otherwise clipping. Their coarse coat is easily pulled out as it was designed to do so when the dogs would hunt vermin in underground bramble to prevent them from getting caught.

They West Highland White Terrier also have deep chests, muscular limbs, a huge skull, a large black nose, a short and a closely fitted jaw with "scissors" bite. The American breed standard states that a level bite is equally acceptable. Their teeth generally appear quite large for the size of the dog. Westies have a very strong bone structure for their size.

Weight Standards: m/f - 15 to 18 lbs.
Height Standards: m - 11 inches, f - 10 inches
Coat: double, hard textured, straight and always white in color
Common Ailments: coat pigmentation, kidney and liver failure

Posted in: Planet Dogs