West Highland White Terrier
The hardy West Highland White Terrier, more commonly
known as the "Westie," is known for its friendly,
strong-willed personality and a remarkably bright white
coat. Said to be "all terrier," this breed possesses a
large amount of spunk, determination and devotion
stuffed into a compact little body. The confident Westie
excels in a variety of AKC events, from conformation to
agility to obedience.
A Look Back
The West Highland White Terrier is said to originate
from Poltalloch, Scotland, and due to this, was
originally known as the Poltalloch Terrier. He was also
sometimes referred to as the Roseneath Terrier, after
the Duke of Argyll’s estate. The Westie was first shown
in the United States in 1906 under the Roseneath name,
but this was changed in 1909 and he has been known as
the West Highland White Terrier ever since.
Right Breed for You?
The Westie loves people and makes an affectionate
addition to any family. This devoted, happy and faithful
dog also makes a wonderful travel companion due to its
small size. Their dry coats are a combination of a soft
dense undercoat and a rough outer coat. Daily brushing
and regular clipping or stripping of the coat is
necessary.
- Terrier Group; AKC recognized in 1908.
- Ideal height is 10 to 11 inches tall at the
shoulder.
- Vermin hunter, family companion.
© The American Kennel Club, Inc.
West Highland White Terrier Breed Standard
General Appearance
The West Highland White Terrier is a small, game,
well-balanced hardy looking terrier, exhibiting good
showmanship, possessed with no small amount of
self-esteem, strongly built, deep in chest and back
ribs, with a straight back and powerful hindquarters on
muscular legs, and exhibiting in marked degree a great
combination of strength and activity. The coat is about
two inches long, white in color, hard, with plenty of
soft undercoat. The dog should be neatly presented, the
longer coat on the back and sides, trimmed to blend into
the shorter neck and shoulder coat. Considerable hair is
left around the head to act as a frame for the face to
yield a typical Westie expression.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The ideal size is eleven inches at the withers for dogs
and ten inches for bitches. A slight deviation is
acceptable. The Westie is a compact dog, with good
balance and substance. The body between the withers and
the root of the tail is slightly shorter than the height
at the withers. Short-coupled and well boned.
Faults--Over or under height limits.
Fine boned.
Head
Shaped to present a round appearance from the front.
Should be in proportion to the body.
Expression--Piercing, inquisitive, pert.
Eyes--Widely set apart, medium
in size, almond shaped, dark brown in color, deep set,
sharp and intelligent. Looking from under heavy
eyebrows, they give a piercing look. Eye rims are black.
Faults--Small, full or light
colored eyes. Ears--Small,
carried tightly erect, set wide apart, on the top outer
edge of the skull. They terminate in a sharp point, and
must never be cropped. The hair on the ears is trimmed
short and is smooth and velvety, free of fringe at the
tips. Black skin pigmentation is preferred.
Faults--Round-pointed, broad, large, ears
set closely together, not held tightly erect, or placed
too low on the side of the head. Skull--Broad,
slightly longer than the muzzle. not flat on top but
slightly domed between the ears. It gradually tapers to
the eyes. There is a defined stop, eyebrows are heavy.
Faults--Long or narrow skull.
Muzzle--Blunt, slightly
shorter than the skull, powerful and gradually tapering
to the nose, which is large and black. The jaws are
level and powerful. Lip pigment is black.
Faults--Muzzle longer than skull. Nose
color other than black. Bite--The
teeth are large for the size of the dog. There must be
six incisor teeth between the canines of both lower and
upper jaws. An occasional missing premolar is
acceptable. A tight scissors bite with upper incisors
slightly overlapping the lower incisors or level mouth
is equally acceptable. Faults--Teeth
defective or misaligned. Any incisors missing or several
premolars missing. Teeth overshot or undershot.
Neck, Topline, Body
Neck--Muscular and well set on sloping
shoulders. The length of neck should be in proportion to
the remainder of the dog. Faults--Neck
too long or too short. Topline--Flat
and level, both standing and moving. Faults--High
rear, any deviation from above. Body--Compact
and of good substance. Ribs deep and well arched in the
upper half of rib, extending at least to the elbows, and
presenting a flattish side appearance. Back ribs of
considerable depth, and distance from last rib to upper
thigh as short as compatible with free movement of the
body. Chest very deep and extending to the elbows, with
breadth in proportion to the size of the dog. Loin
short, broad and strong. Faults--Back
weak, either too long or too short. Barrel ribs, ribs
above elbows. Tail--Relatively
short, with good substance, and shaped like a carrot.
When standing erect it is never extended above the top
of the skull. It is covered with hard hair without
feather, as straight as possible, carried gaily but not
curled over the back. The tail is set on high enough so
that the spine does not slope down to it. The tail is
never docked. Faults--Set too
low, long, thin, carried at half-mast, or curled over
back.
Forequarters
Angulation, Shoulders--Shoulder blades
are well laid back and well knit at the backbone. The
shoulder blade should attach to an upper arm of moderate
length, and sufficient angle to allow for definite body
overhang. Faults--Steep or
loaded shoulders. Upper arm too short or too straight.
Legs--Forelegs are muscular
and well boned. relatively short, but with sufficient
length to set the dog up so as not to be too close to
the ground. The legs are reasonably straight, and
thickly covered with short hard hair. They are set in
under the shoulder blades with definite body overhang
before them. Height from elbow to withers and elbow to
ground should be approximately the same.
Faults--Out at elbows. Light bone,
fiddle-front. Feet--Forefeet
are larger than the hind ones, are round, proportionate
in size, strong, thickly padded; they may properly be
turned out slightly. Dewclaws may be removed. Black
pigmentation is most desirable on pads of all feet and
nails, although nails may lose coloration in older dogs.
Hindquarters
Angulation--Thighs are very muscular,
well angulated, not set wide apart, with hock well bent,
short, and parallel when viewed from the rear.
Legs--Rear legs are muscular and
relatively short and sinewy. Faults--
Weak hocks, long hocks, lack of angulation. Cowhocks.
Feet--Hind feet are smaller
than front feet, and are thickly padded. Dewclaws may be
removed.
Coat
Very important and seldom seen to perfection. Must be
double-coated. The head is shaped by plucking the hair,
to present the round appearance. The outer coat consists
of straight hard white hair, about two inches long, with
shorter coat on neck and shoulders, properly blended and
trimmed to blend shorter areas into furnishings, which
are longer on stomach and legs. The ideal coat is hard,
straight and white, but a hard straight coat which may
have some wheaten tipping is preferable to a white
fluffy or soft coat. Furnishings may be somewhat softer
and longer but should never give the appearance of
fluff. Faults--Soft coat. Any
silkiness or tendency to curl. Any open or single coat,
or one which is too short.
Color
The color is white, as defined by the breed’s name.
Faults--Any coat color other
than white. Heavy wheaten color.
Gait
Free, straight and easy all around. It is a distinctive
gait, not stilted, but powerful, with reach and drive.
In front the leg is freely extended forward by the
shoulder. When seen from the front the legs do not move
square, but tend to move toward the center of gravity.
The hind movement is free, strong and fairly close. The
hocks are freely flexed and drawn close under the body,
so that when moving off the foot the body is thrown or
pushed forward with some force. Overall ability to move
is usually best evaluated from the side, and topline
remains level. Faults--Lack of
reach in front, and/or drive behind. Stiff, stilted or
too wide movement.
Temperament
Alert, gay, courageous and self-reliant, but friendly.
Faults--Excess timidity or
excess pugnacity.
