West Highland White Terriers World Wide

The West Highland White Terrier originated in the north-west of Scotland - a remote, mountainous part of the British Isles, which has cold, snowy, wet winters.

It's not a white Scottish terrier - the "Scottish terrier" is a different breed, and they are not white. The Westie and the Scotty have a similar build, and are often used together in advertisements.

Like the Cairn Terrier, These tough little dogs were bred to hunt in wild terrain for small game like rabbits, fox and badger. The word "terrier" comes from the Latin "terra" or earth. They were good at digging to unearth animals from their burrows. Read the history of dog breeds.

West Highland White Terriers are a brave breed. They make good watch dogs. The rough coat needs regular grooming and trimming to keep it in shape and to keep it clean.


Angus Edwin lives in Adelaide, Southern Australia

West Highland white terriers are always white. In the Scottish winters, the white coat was good camouflage when the dog was hunting in the white snow. In the summer, the terriers dug and rolled in the earth and soon became earth-coloured. Being small, they could hide in the gorse bushes and bracken. Like many other breeds, they discovered they could disguise their scent by rolling in sheep dung or on a dead carcass. Smearing itself with the blood of a dead animal seems to give pleasure to many dogs. You and I find this disgusting! But you & I sometimes roll in dirt too. We do and say dirty things, that stink. Good news! The Bible says, "Even if your sins are scarlet (like a blood stain - hard to remove) they shall be white as snow." All we need to do is tell God we're sorry and ask him to clean us up!

Isaiah 1, 18

Dogs - West Highland White Terrier