Five things you did not know about Westie
The West Highland Terrier (or Westie for short) needs no further introduction. That is because these lovable dogs are well known in the United Kingdom and is third top breed in the U.S. Westies have been featured in TV, film, and advertisements for dog foods and whisky. With their popularity, you may think you already know a lot about these dogs but the following list may contradict that. Here are some little known info about Westies.
1. Westies are actually accidents of genetics. They descended from Cairns that delivered a litter including white puppies. These puppies then were bred and eventually were recognized as a separate breed of terriers.
2. It was only in the 19th century that Westies were bred solely for their appearance. They were originally bred as hunting dogs. Because of their small size, they were proven to be effective hunters of rodents and vermins.
3. In the olden days, to test the “gameness” of a Westie, the terrier would be put in a barrel with a badger. If the dog managed to kill the badger, then it was bred but if it did not, the dog was destroyed. Despite being morbid, this is an example of the first attempt of selective breeding.
4. White Cairns that eventually became Westies were killed because they did not follow the proper color of Cairn Terriers. All was changed because of Colonel E.D. Malcolm of Scotland. While hunting, Malcolm accidentally shot and killed his Cairn because its brown coat camouflaged it well. In order to avoid such accidents from happening, he vowed to breed white Cairns instead.
5. The role of a Westie in the 2006 film “The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby” caused a bit of controversy. According to the book where the movie was based from, the dog is a Skye terrier. This caused a protest by Skye Terrier breed club against the filmmakers.
