- White
About the West Highland White Terrier
Origin: Great Britain
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- Male
- 7-10 kg
- Female
- 6-7 kg
- Height
- Male
- 25-28 cm
- Female
- 23-26 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Terriers
- Origin
- Great Britain
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a West Highland White Terrier?
Small, sturdy, and confident terrier from Scotland, characterized by its distinctive dense white double coat, bright inquisitive expression, and lively personality
West Highland White Terrier history and origins
Developed in the Scottish Highlands to hunt fox, badger, and other vermin. Colonel Edward Donald Malcolm of Poltalloch is credited with developing the modern white breed after one of his reddish terriers was mistaken for a fox and shot, leading him to breed only for white dogs to avoid future hunting accidents
West Highland White Terrier appearance and size
Males typically weigh 7-10 kg and stand 25-28 cm at the shoulder; females 6-7 kg and 23-26 cm.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Terrier
- Behaviour and temperament
“Small, active, game, hardly, possessed of no small amount of self-esteem with a varminty appearance. Alert, gay, courageous, self-reliant but friendly”
Quoted from FCI standard n°85. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Terrier” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 4 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 3 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the West Highland White Terrier
What you get with the West Highland White Terrier
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Terrier”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Small, active, game, hardly, possessed of no small amount of self-esteem with a varminty appearance”
What you are taking on
Nobody has written this side yet. It is a judgement rather than data, so it waits for a person — not for a missing source.
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · West Highland White Terrier
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
Double coated.
Outer coat consists of harsh hair, about 5 cms long, free from any curl.
Undercoat, which resembles fur, short, soft and close.
Open coats most undesirable
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°85 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the West Highland White Terrier in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a West Highland White Terrier
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the West Highland White Terrier on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where West Highland White Terrier owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No West Highland White Terrier breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.