West Highland White Terrier | Can’t Sleep? Meet Scotland’s Tiny Terrier

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Benjamin Boster (0:47)

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep podcast, where I help you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about The West Highland White Terrier.

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Benjamin Boster (1:53)

Thanks to Kate for sponsoring today's episode. Today is her birthday, and she says, My Westy Freddy is the best thing that has ever happened to me. The West Highland White Terrier, commonly shortened to Westy, is a Scottish dog breed with a distinctive white harsh coat, and somewhat soft white undercoat. It is a medium-sized terrier, but has longer legs than other Scottish terriers. It has a white double coat of fur, which fills out its face, giving it a rounded appearance. The Westy is intelligent and quick to learn. It is social and can be good with children, but rarely tolerates rough handling and sometimes prefers solitude. Having been bred to hunt small rodents on farms, it is an energetic and boisterous breed with a high prey drive and thus needs regular exercise of around one hour per day. The modern breed is descended from a number of pre-20th century breeding programs of white terriers in Scotland. Edward Donald Malcolm, 16th Laird of Potulak, is credited with the creation of the modern breed from his Potulak terrier, but did not want to be known as such.

The Westy is a cousin of the Cairn Terrier, and is related to other breeds such as the Rosinus Terrier, bred by George Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyle, and Pidemwim Terrier, bred by Amric Edwin Flaxman. The Westy was given its modern name for the first time in 1908, with recognition by major kennel clubs occurring around the same time. The breed remains very popular in the United Kingdom, with multiple winds at crufts, and has been in the top third of all breeds in the United States since the 1960s.

Westies commonly have bright, deep-set, almond-shaped eyes that are dark in color. Their ears are pointed and erect. Westies typically weigh between 15 and 20 pounds, or 6.8 and 9.1 kilograms, with an average height between 10 to 11 inches, or 25 to 28 centimeters at the withers. The body should be shorter than the height of the dog at the shoulder. Westies have a black nose, deep chest, muscular limbs, and a short closely fitted jaw with scissors bite. Their paws are slightly turned out to give them better grip than flat-footed breeds when they climb on rocky surfaces. Young puppies have pink markings on the nose and foot pads that slowly turn black as they age. Westies also have short and sturdy tails.

Westies have a rough outer coat that can grow to about two inches, or 5.1 centimeters long, and a soft thick undercoat. The fur fills out the face to give it a rounded appearance. As puppies develop into adults, their coarse outer coat is normally removed by either hand stripping, especially for dog showing, or otherwise clipping. Most Westies are pure white, although there are some light wheat color variations.

The temperament of Westies can vary greatly, with some being friendly towards children, and others preferring solitude. They will not typically tolerate rough handling, such as a child pulling on their ears or fur, and can frequently be both food and toy possessive. This makes regular training from a young age particularly important. Westies can make good watchdogs, and are normally independent, self-assured, and confident. They are loyal and bond with their owner, but are often on the move, requiring a minimum of one hour of daily exercise. Westies are highly social, and are the most friendly of all the Scottish Terriers. A hardy breed, Westies can be stubborn and cause issues with training, potentially requiring their training to be refreshed on occasion during their lifetime. Having a typical terrier prey drive, they tend to be highly interested in toys, especially chasing balls. They retain the instincts of an earth dog, such as being inquisitive and investigative, as well as natural instincts to bark and dig holes. Westies are tied for 47th place with the Scottish Deerhound, and Stanley Coren's 1994 book, The Intelligence of Dogs, which designates them as being of average working obedience intelligence, and places them almost exactly in the middle of the list.