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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. 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.
As the Westie does not
moult in a normal manner, i.e. does not shed
its
hair, the dog may be an acceptable choice for asthma
sufferers. However,
considerable hand work is needed to maintain the coat in
condition and achieve the correct body outline. 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.
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On April 30th we moved to Belwood, so the dogs will
have much more room to run. More news soon when we
are settled!
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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 “Poltallock 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
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