Crammed full of Scottish hardiness, loyalty, and independence, Westies love the outdoors, are excellent intelligent hunters, and love curling up by the family hearth.

The West Highland White Terrier’s fashionable tidy white coat and chic appearance belies his "of course wearing white after Labor Day s okay” independence. For these free-spirited and iconoclastic terriers, some rules were made to be broken. They may look pure and angelic, but they far from froufrou dogs willing to sit around and sip Earl Grey from Wedgwood china.

Is A Westie for You?

The West Highland White Terrier Club of America (WHWTCA) site’s questionnaire may help you decide.

Strong for their size, these terriers require fenced yards with reinforced bases: they’re formidable problem-solvers and diggers possessing Houdini-like escape abilities. Living, breathing security systems, they bark when they deem necessary, making your doorbell obsolete.

They like to please, but if their humans don’t take charge, they will. Bored lonely Westies can be destructive; balance between work and relaxation keep them content. Although not recommended for families with children under the age of six, Westies can mesh well with older children.

So how do you find one?

Although well-bred Westies may cost more, good breeders spend more money on breeding, showing, testing, and general care than they earn from selling the occasional pet. Showing ensures that their dogs conform to the breed standard. They stand behind their dogs and would rather take them back than have them end up in a shelter or rescue. Their reputations depend on it, so they tend toward honesty and caution when placing their dogs. Look for liberal guarantees that cover genetic problems.

The AKC, most regional Westie clubs, and the WHWTCA have breeder referral pages. WHWTCA also has a superb rescue network: you may want to consider this option.

Dog shows are among the best places to make contact with a good breeder. If you see a Westie that strikes your fancy, ask the handler—after he has shown the dog--if he knows of anyone who’s expecting a litter of pups.

Westies date back to the late 1500s, when King James I shipped six little terriers from Scotland to the French king, but clearer historical documentation of the breed began in the early 1800s with the Malcolm clan of Poltalloch in Argyllshire. Colonel Edward Malcolm of Poltalloch bred hardy small hunting terriers well-suited to the rocky terrain of the Western Scottish Highlands.

Among the few who ignored the practice of culling out light dogs because of the unfounded belief of their inferiority, Malcolm bred dark and light ones. However, during a hunt, he mistook his favorite reddish-brown dog for a fox and shot it. He was so devastated that he vowed to keep only the light dogs.

Many believe that today’s Westie may be a Cairn terrier that “took a detour.” Both breeds appear closest in type to the original Scotch terrier, and some opine that the Westie descends from lighter-colored Cairn terriers.

Two other breeders of white terriers figure into the Westie’s development. The Duke of Argyll of Roseneath’s gamekeeper bred a similar strain of terriers, and Dr. Americ Flaxman bred a white Scottish Terrier bitch who, when bred to other white dogs, consistently produced puppies that resembled white Scotties. Inevitably some interbreeding occurred among these three. However, Colonel Malcolm’s type prevailed and remains closest to today’s Westie.

Colonel Malcolm named the breed, helped unify the various factions leading to its standardization, formed the West Highland White Terrier Club of Scotland, and became its first president. The English Club followed and, in the U.S., the AKC formally admitted the breed in 1909.

City Slicker, Suburban Sentinel, or Thank-God-I’m-a-Country-Dog?

Westies can thrive almost anywhere there’s someone to love them and keep them secure. Provide adequate exercise, opportunities to explore parks and green spots, and Westies adapt beautifully to urban life.

Perfect suburban watchdogs, Westies make pathetic guard dogs. No Westie is 100% safe off-leash; a single squirrel darting across a street will ignite its instinct and could result in heartbreak.

Even in rural areas, a fence area is necessary. Watch for predators—not just in the country, either.

Sources

http://www.westieclubamerica.com/

Arnel, Jill, The West Highland White Terrier, (Neptune City, NJ: TFH Publications, 2006).