West Highland white terrier - Temperament, Health, History, Famous Westies

A small, muscular terrier developed in Scotland; thick coat of straight white hair; rounded head; short, pointed, erect ears.

West Highland White Terrier
A West Highland White Terrier groomed with "Lion Cut"
Alternative names
Poltalloch Terrier Roseneath Terrier White Roseneath Terrier
Country of origin
Scotland
Common nicknames
Westie (or Westy)
Classification and breed standards
FCI:	Group 3 Section 2 #085	Stds
AKC:	Terrier	Stds
ANKC:	Group 2 (Terriers)	Stds
CKC:	Group 4 - Terriers	Stds
KC (UK):	Terrier	Stds
NZKC:	Terrier	Stds
UKC:	Terriers	Stds

West Highland White Terriers, commonly known as Westies, are a breed of dog known for their spirited personality and brilliant white coat. Like most terriers, they have plenty of attitude (some might say "spirit") for a dog their size.

Their paws are slightly webbed, which one can notice by trying to pass their finger between the dog's toes.

Temperament

This breed, descended from working terriers, has a lot of energy, tenacity, and aggression towards its prey, which was originally the rabbit and other, smaller animals such as squirrels. This history has endowed the Westie with a bold temperament that leads many to call them "big dogs in a little body." If not raised with other cats and dogs from an early age, they may be aggressive towards such animals later in life.

Like all dogs, the Westie responds better to love and gentleness than to cruelty.

Westies are active dogs that need moderate exercise.

Health

Many of these dogs have skin allergies, and as a result they can be troubled by skin and fur disorders. Flea bites can trigger a skin disease which can result in the dog losing fur from the affected area of its body. If the undercoat falls out because of disease then the dog will need a dog coat to keep it warm. Like most other dogs, these terriers generally require 13 hours of sleep out of every 24.

History

Westies are descended from Cairn Terriers, who occasionally whelped white puppies naturally, and Scottish Terriers;

Originally the breed was known as Poltalloch Terriers (after the name of Malcolm's home), although they were also known as Roseneath Terriers (after the name of Argyll's home;

Famous Westies

Idefix, the dog of Obelix, friend of Asterix, . The cinema film featured a westie with black ear tips Doggy, pet of the fictional Souphanousinphone family on King of the Hill Happy Camden, a Westie mix from the TV drama 7th Heaven McDuff, main character in a series of illustrated children's books by author Rosemary Wells Towser, from a UK animated children's TV series Wee Jock, faithful companion of Marion Chesney's fictional Highland policeman Hamish Macbeth Cesar, poster boy and mascot for Cesar brand dog food Gus, Russel's pet dog from the animated children series King.