Information on AKC West Highland White Terrier
Puppies
AKC MEET THE BREEDS®: 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.
If you are considering purchasing a
West Highland White Terrier
puppy,
learn more here.
- 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.
Approved December 13, 1988
Effective February 1, 1989
