50 Fun Facts About West Highland White Terrier

The West Highland White Terrier is a breed from which country?

It is a cousin of the Cairn Terrier and was long regarded as a white offshoot of the Scottish and Cairn Terriers.

Which laird is credited with creating the modern breed from his Poltalloch Terrier?

In 1903 he insisted he did not want to be known as the creator and asked for his white terriers to be renamed.

Malcolm reportedly turned to breeding white terriers after one of his reddish-brown dogs was what?

The first generation of Poltallochs still had sandy coats but already showed the prick ears of the modern breed.

The Roseneath Terrier, a white Scottish terrier related to the Westie, was bred by which nobleman?

George Campbell was chief of Clan Campbell; American fanciers first knew the Westie under the Roseneath name.

Dr Americ Flaxman of Fife bred which line of white terriers from a Scottie that kept producing white pups?

After drowning more than 20 white pups he decided whiteness was an ancient Scottie trait trying to reappear, and set out to breed for it.

Which Scottish king ordered a dozen white terriers from Argyll as a gift to France?

White dogs were then thought weak, and sandy or brindle terriers were considered hardier.

Legend says white Spanish dogs reached which Scottish island from an Armada wreck in 1588?

Clan Donald was said to have kept their descendants distinct, and Clan MacLeod chiefs also kept white terriers.

The name 'West Highland White Terrier' first appeared in print in a 1908 book about hunting what?

L.C.R. Cameron's Otters and Otter Hunting gave the breed the name it still carries.

In which year did the Kennel Club recognise the Westie and the breed first appear at Crufts?

The first breed club had been set up in 1904 with the 10th Duke of Argyll as president.

Who imported the first Westies, Ch. Kiltie and Ch. Rumpus Glenmohr, into the United States in 1907–1908?

The AKC recognised the Roseneath Terrier Club in 1908; it became the West Highland White Terrier Club of America the following year.

Until which year were UK Westie pedigrees allowed to include Cairn and Scottish Terriers?

By Malcolm's death in 1930 a stable type had emerged: prick ears, white coat and a short back.

How much does a typical Westie weigh?

Average height is 10–11 inches at the withers, and the body should be shorter than the dog's height at the shoulder.

Why are a Westie's paws slightly turned out?

The breed was built to work small rodents among the rocks and cairns of the Highlands.

What colour are the nose and footpads of a newborn Westie puppy?

The markings slowly turn black as the puppy ages.

How long can a Westie's rough outer coat grow?

Show dogs have the coarse outer coat removed by hand-stripping; pets are usually clipped.

Besides pure white, what slight colour variation is seen in some Westies?

The fur fills out the face to give the breed its characteristic rounded look.

How much daily exercise does a Westie need, according to the breed description?

Bred to hunt rodents on farms, it is energetic and boisterous with a high prey drive.

Among the Scottish terriers, the Westie is described as what?

It is highly social, but rarely tolerates rough handling and can be food- and toy-possessive.

The Westie is tied for 47th place in Stanley Coren's The Intelligence of Dogs with which breed?

That puts it almost exactly in the middle of the list, as 'average working/obedience intelligence'.

A 2024 British study gave the Westie what average life expectancy?

That beats the 12.7-year purebred average; a French study found 12.93 years, and litters run three to five pups.

The nickname 'Westie jaw' refers to which condition, an overgrowth of jaw bone in young dogs?

It is autosomal recessive, usually appears before one year, and often stops progressing by the time the dog turns one.

The jaw-bone overgrowth condition also appears in which unrelated giant breed?

Diagnosis is by X-ray showing thickened jaw bones, sometimes with raised calcium and enzyme levels in the blood.

Roughly what share of surveyed Westies are affected by atopic dermatitis?

It is a heritable chronic allergic skin condition that hits males more than females.

Hyperplastic dermatosis, found only in Westies, is colloquially known as what?

The severe chronic skin disease brings hair loss, thickened darkened skin and odour, and Malassezia yeast makes it worse.

Globoid cell leukodystrophy in Westies is caused by a lack of which enzyme?

Symptoms such as tremors and weakness show by 30 weeks and progress to limb paralysis; Cairns, Beagles and Pomeranians can also be affected.

'White dog shaker syndrome' was linked to coat-colour genes because it appeared mostly in Westies and which breed?

It has since turned up in non-white breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier and Dachshund, disproving the theory.

In white dog shaker syndrome, how long do symptoms typically last in females?

Males, by contrast, can be affected for the rest of their lives; the tremors develop over one to three days.

A 2021 British study found Westies how many times likelier than other dogs to get hepatitis?

They were also 3.87 times more likely to suffer hepatocellular death, and copper storage disease can cause the hepatitis.

The Westie is one of the breeds least likely to suffer which common knee problem?

Legg–Calvé–Perthes hip degeneration does occur, but far less often than in the Australian Shepherd or Miniature Pinscher.

Ch. Morvan, the breed's first show champion in 1905, was registered at the time as what?

He won at seven months old, but lost the title when re-registered under the new breed name.

Which Westie won Best in Show at Westminster in 1942, the breed's first major-show victory?

Constance Winant owned her; Barbara Worcester's Elfinbrook Simon repeated the feat in 1962.

Which Westie took the breed's first Best in Show at Crufts in 1976?

Owned by Kath Newstead and Dorothy Taylor, the win came 14 years after the breed's second Westminster triumph.

Which Westie won Crufts Best in Show in 2016?

Derek Tattersall's Ch. Olac Moon Pilot had won for the breed in 1990.

In 2001 the Westie was the UK's most popular terrier breed with how many Kennel Club registrations?

By 2010 it had slipped to third among terriers with 5,361 puppies registered.

Where did the Westie rank among AKC breeds in 2024?

It has stayed in the top third of US breeds since around 1960, hovering in the 30s through the 2000s.

Which Highland clan is said to have kept the white Armada dogs distinct, including its chiefs' families?

Clan MacLeod chiefs, including 'The Wicked Man' Norman MacLeod, kept white terriers too.

The Westie's first breed club, set up in 1904, had which president?

A second club followed with the Countess of Aberdeen as chairman, and Malcolm succeeded her.

Which country's kennel club recognised the Westie in 1909?

The breed was 'in vogue' in America almost from its arrival, with dogs changing hands for hundreds of guineas.

A famous Scotch whisky label pairs a Westie with which other dog?

James Buchanan conceived the Black & White motif in the 1890s.

What kind of bite should a Westie have?

The lower canines lock in front of the upper canines and the upper incisors over the lower ones.

Westies retain the instincts of what type of working dog?

That means digging, barking and an obsession with chasing balls.

Which Skye chief nicknamed 'The Wicked Man' is reported to have kept white terriers?

His grandson, also Norman, became chief after him and kept them too.

What is the typical litter size for a Westie?

Like many breeds the Westie is predisposed to abdominal hernias, so puppies are usually checked early on.

How are a Westie's eyes usually described?

The dark, deep-set eyes and pointed erect ears sit inside a coat that fills out the face into its famous rounded look.

Which Westie won Best in Show at Crufts in 1990?

Derek Tattersall's dog was the breed's second Crufts winner, and a third followed 26 years later.

By what alternative name was the Westie known in the US when the AKC recognised its breed society in 1908?

It was renamed the West Highland White Terrier Club of America the following year as the breed became 'in vogue' in the US.

Which Westie took Best in Show at Westminster in 1962?

Barbara Worcester's dog repeated the breed's 1942 triumph at America's most famous show.

Who chaired the Westie's second breed club, before Edward Malcolm succeeded her?

Malcolm himself had insisted in 1903 that his white terriers be renamed so he would not be known as the breed's creator.

How is a show Westie's coarse outer coat normally removed as it matures?

Pet dogs are more often simply clipped, which softens the harsh white coat over time.

In the early 20th century, Westies were so popular they changed hands for hundreds of what?

The breed had only gained Kennel Club recognition in 1907, yet demand soared almost immediately on both sides of the Atlantic.