West Highland White Terrier

The West Highland White Terrier or the wee white terrier dog is the naughtiest one among its other siblings. He is very proud of something he does not know about. This lovely puppy is joyful all the time. Don’t be surprised when he looks at you with a tilted head

West Highland White Terrier Pictures

Quick Facts

Avg. Weight: Males – 15 to 22 Lbs Females – 13 to 16 Lbs

Avg. Height: Males – 10 inches Females – 11 inches

Life Expectancy: 12 to 16 years.

Dog Group: Terrier

AKC Rank: 42

At A Glance

Size (3/5)

They are not much in size but, being a terrier group they are fearless. 

Affection Level (4/5)

They love families very much. They are very affectionate towards their human friends.

Apartment Friendly (3/5)

It is not advised to put them in an apartment but walk promises will make him stay quiet.

Cold Weather Tolerability (4/5)

Being the breed of mountain dogs it can suit itself to cold climatic conditions.

Hot Weather Tolerability (3/5)

This dog will not prefer staying in a hot condition.

Barking Tendencies (5/5)

They tend to bark a lot. The reason can be hunger, attention-seeking or maybe no reason at all.

Cat-Friendly (3/5)

They share an average bond with the cats. They don’t mind being around them.

Dog-Friendly (4/5)

They will always appreciate new friends. A new dog can be a great choice.

Exercise Needs (4/5)

They need a lot of exercise so as to be fit. An inactive owner should avoid this breed

Grooming Needs (5/5)

They need a lot of grooming. The need for a professional groomer may arise

Playfulness (5/5)

They are very playful. Sometimes they bark a lot to alert you about their playtime.

Trainability (4/5)

Training them can be challenging. Few commands and actions can help him remember everything.

Intelligence (3/5)

They are neither much intelligent nor dumb. They just take their own sweet time to get used to things.

Mouthiness (2/5)

They tend to play-bite, lick and nip a lot. It is okay among them.

Price Group (2/5)

$900 to $1200– Terrier breed are always expensive for the features they acquire

About West Highland White Terrier

The joyful, lovely and energetic puppy has been entertaining people for the last 300 years. It may look like a small toy that is very cute and adorable. But the real game of a terrier starts inside. Apart from being so amazing, it is equally dangerous.

Even today they remember their traits and can hunt down prey bigger than them.  They also have a lot of self-esteem and pride. In fact, they deserve to do that. They have once been the guards of the grazing horses 

Intelligence among them is enormous. But at times they might also show the act of foolishness. Don’t worry about it. That is how they love to stay.

They should be trained with a lot of patience as it might be difficult for you to teach him new things. 

Where West Highland White Terrier Dogs Came From?

The history of this breed is shared by its siblings, the Cairn terrier, and the Dinmont. All of them were developed to fight fearlessly with wild animals like the Fox.

The breed traces its existence long back around the seventeenth century as earth dogs. There is not much relevant information available about them. One of the West Highland white terrier puppies was given as a present to the King of France by James l of Argyllshire

The nineteenth-century witnessed a tragic incident. Colonel Malcolm had accidentally killed a Wheaten- colored Cairn thinking a fox. In deep grief, he ordered to only breed white dogs so that such incidents do not happen in near

The West Highland white terriers are famous by many other names like the Polltaloch terrier and the Roseneath terrier. The kennel club of America gave this breed recognition in the year 1906.

Size

West Highland white terrier is not much in size but is very adorable. The male puppies are about 11 inches tall and vary between 15-22 pounds.

Female puppies are around 10 inches tall and are about 13 to 16 pounds in weight.

The difference in size can be found among them. Dogs that eat better are found with a better growth rate.

Trainability

Unlike other dog breeds. This does not ask for pampering. He might not understand all of the things easily. But they will try to learn new things.

Training them can be one hell of a task. But your patience test can be counted as one of the key factors.

If you have a low patience level. Then you should rather forget about petting one. Being a terrier breed it has traits of disobedience. Enchanting topics while training can enhance the quality of training.

Their training should begin at an early age so that they can get rid of their shabby behavior and learn to be a decent dog.

Colors & Grooming

These puppies come with a double coat a gap of 2 inches. Their coat gets a single color which happens to be white. In some pups, the white might have an essence of yellow.

The process of grooming dogs is more or less the same. They do not give you much pain.

Brushing his fur should be done on a regular basis. This will help in maintaining a tangle-free fur and will remove the flea.

The pup should be clipped at least thrice a year which removes the dead hairs present in his body. A professional groomer can help you with the clipping process.

To make his skin and fur look lustrous one should bathe the puppy on a weekly basis. If your pup has a skin problem then they should be first consulted to a vet.

The bath process should be followed at least twice a month.

They tend to have a lot of ear wax over time. It is equally important to clean their ear followed by nail trimming.

His Teeth should be brushed every day without fail to eradicate the bad smell and cavity.

Common Diseases

Targeting The Bones

Craniomandibular Osteopathy:

It is a disease that affects the skull bones. The signs appear in between 6 to 8 months of age. Symptoms like swelling of jaw and glands should be addressed immediately. Frequent fluctuating fever can also be a symptom to notice.

Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease:

Due to less supply of blood to the femur bone. The head that connects the pelvis starts decaying. Limping and Atrophy are the first symptoms. These symptoms can be found among them between the age of four to six months.

Targeting The Nasal Cavity:

No such Nasal Cavities found among them

Targeting The Skin:

No Such skin diseases found among them.

Targeting The Eyes:

Cataract- It is a commonly found illness among the dogs. The blurring of lens is what termed as a Cataract. It can be removed by a small surgery. 

Targeting The Nervous System:

No such issues nervous issues found.

Targeting The Body:

Pulmonary Fibrosis:

It is a lung disease found among the breed. This disease tends to make the lungs lose its elasticity, preventing oxygen to reach the blood. Dry cough, loss of stamina can be the symptoms for the problem.

Patellar Luxation:

The dislocation of the knee cap is yet another painful joint pain in small dogs. This does not cause much in their lifestyle.

Lifestyle Disorders:

No such Lifestyle disorders found but consulting a vet is always a better option.

Feeding

The west highland white terrier puppy should be given ½ cups to 1 ½ cups of food every day which should be split into two meals. The number of meals should be judged with respect to the size, habits, and assimilation.

Starting with less quantity of food and increasing it slowly will let you understand the amount of food that the pup needs. The quality of food matters the most when it comes to feeding the puppies. The better the quality will be, the better the growth will be obtained. It is advised that organic food should be given to the pup to ensure his positive health.

Suggested: Senior Dog Food

Vaccination and Care

When it is about the safety of a dog, one can never compromise at any cost. The pup should be kept in a routine check with the veterinarian consultant.

One may not know the vaccinations required to administer the pup. It is always a better alternative to consult the West Highland White Terrier breeder. 

The basic shot for the puppy is same as that of any other breed. The shots like the Parvovirus, Para-influenza, Hepatitis.

Suggested: Guide To Dog Vaccination

Monthly Expense Estimation

One can expect a bill of 80-100 pounds a month. These include Their toys and food that need to be fed to the dog.

The price mentioned is the minimum estimation. The price might go a bit high in case the pup is having some frequent illness.

Giving them a higher quality of food can help incur additional expenses. But giving them a quality product will help in having a smooth coat. Organic food will also help in having an active mind and body.

Behavior

Children:

This breed hails from a past, many dogs cannot even think about. Hence they do not tolerate bad behavior. If your kid is really young then you should not consider petting this dog. They can harm your kid if it felt threatened.

But this is not the case when it comes to the elder kids. They are really friendly with the elder kid especially the one who knows how to handle them. It can be your guard all the time but only if you promise you won’t pull his tail

Dogs:

They are equally affectionate and respectful to other dogs. They socialize with their peer members very easily. It can be found that they are spending more time with their friends rather than being with their parents.

Cats:

Cats and dogs not always repel each other. Some do not mind sharing the same roof and some do not even let the other species enter. It is better advised that the two creatures should meet when they both are young.  A small pup can be the prey of an elder cat and vice-versa.

Overview

The all-time happy puppy is the one you can think of petting. Being a terrier it has tendencies of a hunter. It was once capable of killing an animal bigger than its size.

This breed enjoys activities with physical tension. Hiking and walks are their all-time favorite. They do not appreciate sloth owners.

Training him can be difficult at times as they don’t like sitting somewhere for too long. But patience is the key factor here. Impatient parents may find this dog irritating at times.

Along with patience, parents should train the pup with the utmost care and love.

Making topics interesting while training will help them gain attention. They might not wish to learn new things if the training is boring.

The dog has overall good adaptability to situations.

Sizes in them are not much but they are cute the way they are. They are capable of doing things that a full-sized dog can’t even think about.

Grooming them is easy as they only need to be groomed a few times a year. The rest of the things like nail trimming, ear wax cleaning should be done accordingly depending upon the nail size and wax accumulation.

They should be brushed regularly.

They are very friendly among kids but only if they know how to handle the pups. They might be hard for the younger member of the house.

The overall terrier breed goes toward a higher side because of distinctiveness. Terrier breeds are very famous and are said to be fearless.

No matter what, these adorable pups would love to spend time with you and get pampered all the time.

Something Fun about Breed!

• Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson are proud mothers of a west highland terrier dog.
• They like catching rodents a lot.
• They have higher chances of winning a dog competition.

It was wonderful having you here, spill your thoughts in the comment section about this adorable breed or ask any questions you have. We would love to hear your thoughts or help you out.

Happy Petting To You Guys!