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West Highland White Terrier

The breeds · terrier

AKC Terrier · UKC Terrier · FCI standard 85

West Highland White Terrier.

AKC standard: originally bred to hunt in packs for badger and eradicate vermin in the rough terrain of the Scottish Highlands. UKC history: from the early vermin-catching dogs of Scotland, thought to have been part of the Cairn breed. RKC: developed from Cairn ancestry; the Malcolms of Poltalloch bred a white strain, asserting white dogs were easier to see when working on the moors. FCI 85: Group 3, Section 2 small-sized terriers, without working trial..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

13.4YRMedian lifespan13.3 to 13.5, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
15–20LBWeight, all linesbreed 15 to 20 lb.
1HRSExercise, every dayRKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

10 to 11 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Registries agree at about 11 in; AKC prints 10 in for bitches. Both-sex row because UKC and FCI do not split by sex.

Weight

15 to 20 lb

Breed clubAKC

Single registry source (AKC breed page); no standard read prints a weight.

Coat

AKC: white double coat, plucked and trimmed; a hard straight coat with some wheaten tipping is preferred to a soft white coat; coat 'should reflect the breed's purpose and terrain in which they work'. UKC and FCI 85: white, harsh outer coat about 2 in / 5 cm free from curl. AKC page: grooming frequency 3 of 5, shedding 3 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: medium coat, sheds, groom more than once a week.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · AKC: white double coat, hard and weather-resistant, straight hard hair with a short soft undercoat, longer jacket hair about 1.5 to 2 in. FCI 85: double coat, harsh outer about 5 cm.

DerivedAKC breed standard

Derived from the standard's coat (medium double coat = 3). No measured data.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

13.4 years (13.3 to 13.5)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

UK VetCompass-derived population; the AKC page band is not used here.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

RKC: exercise up to 1 hour per day (size small).

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 1 hour' mapped to 60 minutes.

Exercise need

AKC page energy level 4 of 5 and mental stimulation needs 4 of 5 (AKC bands). RKC: up to 1 hour per day; suits a flat or apartment. Wikipedia (editorial): energetic, high prey drive, about one hour a day.

Breed clubAKC

AKC bands are not mapped to the library scale.

Energy

4 of 5

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Grooming load

3 of 5 · RKC: grooming more than once a week.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'more than once a week' mapped to 3 on the 1 to 5 library scale.

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

AKC standard: originally bred to hunt in packs for badger and eradicate vermin in the rough terrain of the Scottish Highlands. UKC history: from the early vermin-catching dogs of Scotland, thought to have been part of the Cairn breed. RKC: developed from Cairn ancestry; the Malcolms of Poltalloch bred a white strain, asserting white dogs were easier to see when working on the moors. FCI 85: Group 3, Section 2 small-sized terriers, without working trial.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

AKC, UKC, RKC and FCI wording.

Primary game

AKC standard: badger and vermin. RKC (terrier group text): fox, badger, rat and otter above and below ground. Wikipedia (editorial): rodents on farms; the breed retains earthdog instincts (inquisitive, bark, dig); thick tail said, unconfirmed, to allow a Westie trapped in a hole to be pulled out.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Wikipedia items are editorial and marked unconfirmed there.

Search pattern

AKC standard: originally bred to hunt in packs. RKC: white was kept because the dogs were easier to see when working on the moors. UKC and FCI 85: tail 5 to 6 in (13 to 15 cm), never docked.

Breed clubAKC breed standard

Pack work is stated by AKC only; no voice or cry statement read.

Field trial standard

West Highland White Terrier is on the AKC Earthdog eligibility list (Recognized Breeds): dogs must be 6 months or older and AKC, PAL or FSS registered. FCI 85 classifies the breed 'without working trial'.

Breed clubAKC

Earthdog levels and scoring were not read.

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

12.8% · OFA current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026: 984 evaluations; Normal 86.3%, Dysplastic 12.8% (Mild 11.3, Moderate 1.2, Severe 0.3); OFA rank 101.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data OFA statistic, accessed Oct 8 2026; OFA submissions skew toward breeding stock.

Elbow dysplasia

3.7% · OFA current all-data, accessed Oct 8 2026: 163 evaluations; Normal 96.3%, Abnormal 3.7%; OFA rank 100.

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

Current all-data OFA statistic, accessed Oct 8 2026; small sample, breeding-stock skew.

Most common disorders

Wikipedia (editorial): predisposed to abdominal hernias; puppies may be affected by craniomandibular osteopathy ('Westie jaw'), an autosomal recessive condition.

EditorialWikipedia

Editorial; no frequencies read.

What the studies found

Population-level findings, shown as a spread. Breed sets the odds; the parents set the dog.

Aggression, as studied

Duffy, Hsu and Serpell 2008 (C-BARQ): breed-club sample n 92 Westies; the paper reports they tended to be more aggressive than fearful toward unfamiliar dogs (its Fig 2B), and in the online sample they are named among the breeds particularly aggressive toward unfamiliar dogs. The paper's printed breed-mean table (Table 5) does not include this breed, and the figures are not tabulated as numbers, so no mean is recorded.

StudiedDuffy D.L., 2008

Qualitative statements only; the breed-club n and the text are all the paper prints for this breed.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 4; Trainability Level 3; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 5; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 4; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 3; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 4.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

Side by side

Or let the selector rank the West Highland White Terrier against your own answers.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Westie, Poltalloch Terrier, Roseneath Terrier

Every breed, read the same way.

The breed index grows as entries clear the standard. Gun dogs first.

All published breeds

Your west highland white terrier, on the record.

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