West Highland White Terrier
Temperament:
The West Highland White Terrier comes from Great Britain. In the past, the Westie was mainly used for game or chamber hunting because of its nature and nimbleness. From this, some of his character traits can still be derived today. Meanwhile, the Westie is often seen as a fashion dog. For example, he is often used in commercials.
Characteristics
The West Highland White Terrier exists only in the color White. Its height of growth is about 28 cm. It reaches a weight of five to ten kilogram. The Westie is relatively robust and stocky for a dog of his size. He has strong limbs that fit his appearance.
The Westie has a dense and strong hair growth on. This often makes the head appear somewhat larger than it actually is. Especially since his muzzle is not pointed. He has bushy eyebrows and black beady eyes.
Its Ears are pointed Shaped. The Westie usually directs its small ears forward attentively. The surface is covered with short hair fluff. His upright tail is up to 15 cm long.
The skin of the dog is with velvety wool covered. Above it grows on the whole body white shaggy hair.
The West Highland White Terrier used to hunt in a pack. There was no time to scuffle with his conspecifics. Therefore the Westie is a peaceful fellow. For the most part, he gets along very well with other four-legged friends. Nevertheless, it happens that he wants to measure his strength in a duel. The little rascal is not interested in whether his opponent is much bigger than he is.
However, this can be counteracted with timely socialization at a young age. The Westie is still a vigilant hunter. Therefore, he likes to scurry off to follow an animal or a scent. You should be aware of this when walking your Westie.
The West Highland White Terrier is a wild and active Contemporary. He is brave and shows a overweening self-confidence on. Its character can be compared with brave, Attentive, happy and smart describe. The Westie is very crafty and has a great endurance.
He is excellent as a dog for the whole family. He loves to play.
This character explains why the West Highland White Terrier likes to star in commercials. That is why he is one of the most popular dogs in society.
However, when it comes to fashion dogs, always be careful where you buy your four-legged companion. Popular dogs are often kept in poor conditions by some unscrupulous breeders. Their sole aim is to make a profit. Therefore, before buying, think about where you want to acquire your Westie.
The Westie is good to keep in the city. On the other hand, make sure that he gets enough exercise. He loves to romp and frolic.
Coat care:
Shedding:
Energy level:
Trainability:
Children suitable:
The right food
The West Highland White Terrier reacts very sensitively to too much or too little food. Therefore, the amount of food must correspond to the individual needs of your four-legged friend. Depending on age, size, weight and activity, the Westie requires a different amount of food.
Also, you should use the Westie not spoil or reward with too many treats. This can cause the little animal to gain weight. Once the Westie is fat, he wants to move less. This reinforces the vicious circle. You can only react to this with a diet. The best way to prevent this is to avoid too many treats right from the start. In addition, you allow your little companion enough exercise. Then there should be no problem with overweight.
Whether wet or dry food, make sure that the food is high quality and balanced.
The most important thing is that your dog tolerates the food and likes to eat it. In addition, the food should contain all the important nutrients. Of course, you should adjust the amount individually to your favorite.
For puppies you should divide the daily ration into 4 - 5 meals. For an adult Westie, it should be only 2 meals a day.
Health & Care
To keep your Westie looking its best, the regular coat care a must.
Basically, you need to pamper your darling with some services. These include Brushes and Trimming.
Brush and comb your dog's hair daily to loosen tangles. This way you can keep it supple. This sounds like a lot of work. But once the dog gets used to the procedure, it hardly takes any more time. About a few minutes a day.
If you do not brush your hair regularly, dirt and dandruff will collect in it.
It is good if you start with it already in the puppy age, so your Westie gets used to it.
Every six to eight weeks you should also trim the dog's hair. The Westie does not lose dead hair. Therefore, you need to help and thinning the hair. To do this, you brush and pluck out the old hair.
To complete the grooming, you can shear and bathe the Westie. However, it is best not to do this with a machine. Shorten the coat by hand with scissors. It should not be too short afterwards. Afterwards you can bathe the little one. You should not do this too often. Only when it is necessary.
Since the Westie has a hard coat, too frequent bathing can do more harm than good. In any case, you should use a mild dog shampoo for bathing.
Another alternative for coat care would be a Dog salon.
The claws of the West Highland White Terrier need to be trimmed from time to time. If your dog's claws make noise on the floor, it's time to trim them. You should try to keep a distance of about two millimeters from the ground.
It is recommended that after each walk the Check paws or pads, whether foreign bodies have become embedded.
By the way, your Westie will thank you if you give him brushes teeth regularly. There are special toothpastes for dogs. This way you will ensure that your Westie has healthy teeth. In addition, he will have fewer problems with inflammation or tartar.
Also you should use the ears and eyes clean regularly.
Suitable accessories
Of course, accessories include everything you need for proper care of your West Highland White Terrier. For example a Brush and comb, to brush and comb the coat and a Scissors, to cut the hair. One claw scissors and special Toothpaste for dogs you should also get.
You should offer your Westie enough activity and the possibility to measure his intelligence. This way you will prevent him from getting bored. A good alternative for this are dog toys. He will like to see variety. So you can give him toy for roughhousing and romping or something with which you can practice tricks together.
A good accessory for a Westie is certainly also toys that can Intelligence encourages. For example, you can hide food or treats in different chambers of the toy. The dog must find a way to find and reach them. Again, keep in mind that you won't be doing your dog any favors by giving him too many treats. Pay attention to his individual daily ration.
When acquiring leash, collar respectively tableware you should pay attention to the appropriate size. So that your Westie also has a place to retreat, is a cozy Dog mat or a Basket recommended. Also a Transport box recommendable.
Origin & History
The Westie originally comes from Scotland. He was used as a dog for the Hunting bred. Especially for hunting game or rats. The founder of the breed was the hunter Colonel Edward Donald Malcolm. For breeding served him for example Scottish, Cairn and Dandie Dinmont Terrier.
Colonel Malcolm intended this to be a nimble Dog to breed for hunting. Due to its coat color, the dog should be easily visible in the dark and in rough terrain. In the past, it often happened that hunters accidentally shot their own dogs in the dark, because they were mistaken for small game due to the dark coat color. This is what happened to the Colonel. Therefore, only white specimens were used for breeding.
However, good visibility due to the color of the coat was only one of his goals. He wanted to breed a courageous, persevering and obedient breed. It was also important that the Westie had a small size. Thus, it could easily penetrate animal burrows and burrows and bring out game.
The West Highland White Terrier was 1904 recognized as an independent breed. Shortly after, a West Highland White Terrier Club was founded and standards of the breed were established.
The first entry in a studbook in Germany for a Westie was in the year 1910. However, the little rascal gained its popularity only in the 70s. At that time he was called Family dog integrated.
In the 90s the new registrations of the West Highland White Terrier shot up. This is probably due to a fashion wave.
