Of 33 breeds and with ancestors who were a game and hardy lot of tenacious terriers most often used for ratting (hunting vermin), today»s West Highland White Terrier is as spunky and spirited, but has an additional characteristic specific only to its kind.
This special West Highland White Terrier trait is found in its white coat. And it was intentionally, selectively bred for this very characteristic. Terriers of Scotland stock»the Cairn, the Dandie Dinmont, the Scottish»were bred and raised to hunt otter, badger, fox, and vermin that threatened the crops and livestock. But these breeds were usually brown, tan, grey, or a mix of these colors, and could be mistaken for the pests they were trained to hunt. So to create a terrier breed with more visibility, people bred the West Highland White Terrier.
People most well known for developing this special dog were the 18th and 19th century Malcolms of Poltalloch, with Colonel E.D. Malcolm (of the early 1900»s credited today for developing what once called the Poltalloch Terrier and is now known as the modern Westie.
But the white coat of this typically compact, 10 to 11-inch, 15 to 20-pound West Highland White Terrier is the only departure. It is, like its kin, intelligent, devoted, obedient, and active, taking from its heritage the hunting and chasing spirit that terriers are best known for being best at.
And while the West Highland White Terrier has great energy, agility, and speed (and expresses such indoors, so be prepared), it also is just as content to dig as run, so it needs a considerable amount of exercise, to burn off some of the pent up energy»especially if it is kept in a city dwelling. At the same time, this breed is not so manic that it yips at anything that moves, and so selective and attentive, it makes a fine watchdog.
In general, flexible as it is in its requirements and needs»whether it lives in the country or in the city»it requires some substantial grooming. In the same respect that is was bred with a special coat, a double coat»straight, rough, outer and short and soft under»it needs a certain amount of attention to that coat. For the most part, grooming needs to be done by hand, with hand-stripping to prevent the dead hair (which doesn»t shed) from matting and clumping, with brushing, and with combing.
And the West Highland White doesn»t need the attention a lap dog does, as it is fairly independent-minded and amiable»even with children (well-behaved children, that is). What this breed needs most of all is direction, care, and a place to dig.
