West Highland White Terrier

Blythfell News

April 2010

April has been a phenomenal month for Ben and he won three Best in Shows and one Reserve Best in Show here in Ontario.  Thank you Judges Charles Bett, Patricio Muza, Dr. Manual Rangel, and Judge John Lewington. Of course special thanks is offered to our superb groomer and presenter, Chrystal. Pictures will follow.

February/March 2010

We had  2 beautiful litters from Daisy and Mila over the past few months and added new members to our Blythfell Family page.
Ben continues to be successful in the show ring. We went to Michigan in February where he won a Group 1st at the Livonia Dog show in Novi.
In March we were in Chicago where he received a group 3rd at the Chicago International Dog Show. He also won the Westie Speciality Show of Northern Illinois the same weekend.


January 2010

Ben  has now achieved his American Championship .

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West Highland White Terrier

 

Blythfell Westies

Blythfell Westies Kennel, in Belwood, Ontario, is owned by Carol Hufnagel.  Carol grew up with Westies as a child in Scotland and has owned many West Highland terriers over the last thirty plus years in Canada.  Blythfell is a combination of her mother’s maiden name and the North Country term for hill. Carol is a member of the Canadian Kennel Club and the Canadian West Highland White Terrier Club.

Westies are wonderful pets because they are great companion dogs and get along with other animals, although care should be taken when introducing them to other domestic pets, such as cats. They also are compatible with children.

Objective

The objective of Blythfell Westies is to build on the traits and strengths of Sue Thomson’s Ashgate Kennel blood line and to produce Westies that are sound in temperament, and closely follow the breed standard in appearance.  Ashgate is one of the top three most wining West Highland kennels in Britain. Sue’s biography is presented in “An Illustrated History of the 100 Years of West Highland White Terrier” by Robert Hill and Mike Wilson, and is included as an appendix on this site.

Description

The West Highland White Terrier is a small, game, well-balance, hardy-looking terrier, exhibiting good showmanship, possessed with a high degree of self- esteem, strongly built, deep in chest and back ribs, straight back and powerful hindquarters on muscular legs.

A compact breed, the Westie should measure up to 11 inches at the shoulder.  The coat is straight, wiry, double and always white.  Eyes are dark; eye rims, nose skin, lips and toenails should be black.  Considerable hand work is needed to maintain the coat and achieve the correct body outline as seen in the show ring. However, most pet Westies can be easily maintained with regular clipper grooming.

The Westie makes a fine watch dog and family pet suitable for town or country. His exercise needs are minimal but, like all ‘earth doggies” he loves to dig.

Anyone contemplating the addition of a Westie to their family should thoroughly read the Breed Standard, listed at the end of this website.  This guideline will help you understand that all Westies are not created equal, and although a puppy may appear adorable, it is important to see both dam and sire, as the configuration of these two will dictate how your grown dog will appear.  We are a show kennel and firmly believe that constant testing and professional evaluation of our dogs in the show ring ensures that we can offer fine quality, healthy pups for adoption.

Our home in Belwood

 History

Part of the family of terriers once known collectively as “the terriers of Scotland”, the Westie is close kin to the Cairn Terrier. Because these little terriers worked among rocks and in the earth in pursuit of fox and badgers, some breeders favoured white dogs because of their visibility. Thus, in various areas of Scotland, there were breeders who specialized in these white dogs, which came to be known according to the region where they were bred. Col E.S.Malcolm of Poltallock, who is credited with developing the modern Westie, first introduced the breed at a dog show held in 1900 under the name “Poltalloch Terrier.” The breed was listed officially as the West Highland White Terrier in 1907 at the Crufts dog show in England. The name was chosen for the rugged character of the dogs and the area of their development.

Photo by Katheryn Murray