Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Dog From The Highlands: West Highland White Terrier

By Kendall Kirtley


At around 1700s, the Isle of Skye and also other highlands in Scotland had been currently creating a great deal of tiny terriers. Scottish breeds have been separated into two: the Skye terriers and the Dandie Dinmont terriers.

The Dandie Dinmonts have been categorized as a separate breed. The Skyes integrated the Scotties, the Cairns as well as the West highland white terriers or the Westies.

It was also noted that these terriers have been the hybrids amongst the crossed Cairns, Scottish, and Dandies terriers. 1 could assume that the hybrid would truly be loyal and its hunting instincts could not be belittled. In reality, a lot of royalties in Scotland owned terriers that were very equivalent for the Westies of these days.

Another remarkable story is about a Westie that stopped a mother from constantly yelling at her daughter. Every single time the mother would yell at her teenage daughter, the Westie would attack the mother. The aggression in the dog got worse over the years that resulted within the mother's complete inability to scold her teenager.

It turned out that the girl was actually rewarding the dog for his protection by calming and soothing him down soon after each and every "threat" from her mother. Several would perceive that the daughter was capable to help her mother to alter her approaches when in fact she was assisting herself by rewarding the dog for its behavior.

The following are a number of the standard details breeders would really adore to understand about Westies:

Category: Terrier Living Atmosphere: indoors (highly advisable); outdoors (fenced yard)

Coat: about two-inch coarse and wiry outer coat and soft, dense, and furry undercoat Colour: white

Height: amongst ten and 12 inches

Weight: in between 13 and 22 pounds

Temperament:

Naturally,

* they like to bark and dig * they will not be as willful like most terriers * they adore companionship

When appropriately educated

* they can grow to be fairly friendly towards strangers * they create close affinity with behaved young children * they love to chase cats but they don't hurt them * they can become an extremely very good watch dog * they can turn into quite lively

Breeders need to note in the following wellness problems:

* Chronic skin troubles * Perthe's illness (hip problems) * Jawbone calcification * Cranio mandibular osteopathy (lion jaw) * Patella luxation, a disorder within the kneecap * Liver ailments * Deafness * Congenital heart disease

Care and Exercising:

* Their coat must be brushed often employing a brush with stiff bristles. * They need to bathe only when needed. * Their complete coat ought to be stripped at the least twice a year and trimmed each four months. * The fur on the eyes and ears should be trimmed using blunt-nose mirrors. * They will surely be much more agile and healthful following regular sessions of play and/or walk.

Origin/History:

As noted, they share exactly the same lineage with Cairns and Scotties (from Skye terriers), and in some cases with the Dandies. This trio was created within the Isle of Skye, which was certainly one of the highlands in Scotland. It was noted that white whelps have been chosen in the wiry-coated Cairns, Scotties, and Dandies to create the assortment that had been known as Poltalloch terriers.

Following are some products within the history that show the Westies' reputation of getting owners' preferred companion dogs.

Records in the history talked about that around 1620, King James 1 of England requested some little white dogs from Argyleshire in Scotland. Colonel Malcolm, who was deemed as the originator of Poltalloch terriers, which can be really equivalent to the Westies of today, accidentally shot his terrier (a dark one particular). From then on he vowed to have only white terriers.

Within the 19th century, terriers that were very equivalent to the Westies had been known as Roseneath terriers in honor of Duke of Argyll's interest and patronage of this breed. Roseneath was the name of his estate at Dumbartonshire.

Inside the first-ever dog show that were organized inside the late 1800s, the Westies had been referred to as as White Scottish terriers. In 1904, they had been classified below the name West Highland White terriers.

During the mid-1900s, breeders in the Cairns in Argyll, Scotland selected white puppies in the stock and interbreed some to receive white Cairns. Even so, in 1917, the American Kennel Club ruled that Cairns may be listed if they have the Westies' lineage.

We can say the history repeats itself for this delightful terrier is now mostly a favored companion dog of a lot of households.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment