"Anyhow, I have in my kennel a dog who, at ten months old, met a vixen fox as she was bolting out of her cairn, and he at once caught her by the throat, stuck to her till the pack came up, and then on till she was killed. In the course of one month his wounds were healed, and he had two other classical fights, one with a cat and the other with a dog fox. Not bad for a pup with a 'baby face?'
"I trust my readers understand that the West Highland White Terriers are not White Aberdeens, not a new invention, but have a most respectable ancestry of their own. I add the formal list of points, but this is the work of show bench experts—and it will be seen from what I have written that I do not agree with them on certain particulars. There should be feather to a fair degree on the tail, but if experts will not allow it, put rosin on your hands and pull the hair out—and the rosin will win your prize. The eye should not be sunk, which gives the sulky look of the 'Scotch' Terrier, but should be full and bright, and the expression friendly and confiding. The skull should not be narrow anywhere. It is almost impossible to get black nails in a dog of pure breed and the black soon wears off the pad work, so folk must understand this. On two occasions recently I have shown dogs, acknowledged, as dogs, to be quite first class, 'but, you see, they are not the proper type.' The judges unfortunately have as yet their eyes filled with the 'Scottish' terrier type and prefer mongrels that show it to the real 'Simon Pure.'"
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STANDARD OF POINTS: The GENERAL APPEARANCE of the West Highland White Terrier is that of a small, game, hardy-looking terrier, possessed with no small amount of self-esteem, with a "varminty" appearance, strongly built, deep in chest and back ribs, straight back and powerful quarters, on muscular legs and exhibiting in a marked degree a great combination of strength and activity. COLOUR—White. COAT—Very important, and seldom seen to perfection; must be double-coated. The outer coat consists of hard hair, about 2-1/2 inches long, and free from any curl. The under coat, which resembles fur, is short, soft, and close. Open coats are objectionable. SIZE—Dogs to weigh from 14 to 18 lb., and bitches from 12 to 16 lb., and measure from 8 to 12 inches at the shoulder. SKULL—Should not be too narrow, being in proportion to his powerful jaw, proportionately long, slightly domed, and gradually tapering to the eyes, between which there should be a slight indentation or stop. Eyebrows heavy. The hair on the skull to be from 3/4 to 1 inch long, and fairly hard. EYES—Widely set apart, medium in size, dark hazel in colour, slightly sunk in the head, sharp and intelligent, which, looking from under the heavy eyebrows, give a piercing look. Full eyes, and also light-coloured eyes, are very objectionable. MUZZLE—Should be powerful, proportionate in length, and should gradually taper towards the nose, which should be fairly wide, and should not project forward beyond the upper jaw. The jaws level and powerful, and teeth square or evenly met, well set, and large for the size of the dog. The nose and roof of mouth should be distinctly black in colour. EARS—Small, carried erect or semi-erect, but never drop, and should be carried tightly up. The semi-erect ear should drop nicely over at the tips, the break being about three-quarters up the ear, and both forms of ears should terminate in a sharp point. The hair on them should be short, smooth (velvety), and they should not be cut. The ears should be free from any fringe at the top. Round, pointed, broad and large ears are very objectionable, also ears too heavily covered with hair. NECK—Muscular, and nicely set on sloping shoulders. CHEST—Very deep, with breadth in proportion to the size of the dog. BODY—Compact, straight back, ribs deep and well arched in the upper half of rib, presenting a flattish side appearance. Loins broad and strong. Hind-quarters strong, muscular, and wide across the top. LEGS AND FEET—Both fore and hind legs should be short and muscular. The shoulder blades should be comparatively broad, and well-sloped backwards. The points of the shoulder blades should be closely knit into the backbone, so that very little movement of them should be noticeable when the dog is walking. The elbow should be close in to the body both when moving or standing, thus causing the fore-leg to be well placed in under the shoulder. The fore-legs should be straight and thickly covered with short hard hair. The hind-legs should be short and sinewy. The thighs very muscular and not too wide apart. The hocks bent and well set in under the body, so as to be fairly close to each other either when standing, walking, or running (trotting); and, when standing, the hind-legs, from the point of the hock down to fetlock joint, should be straight or perpendicular and not far apart. The fore-feet are larger than the hind ones, are round, proportionate in size, strong, thickly padded, and covered with short hard hair. The foot must point straight forward. The hind-feet are smaller, not quite as round as fore-feet, and thickly padded. The under surface of the pads of feet and all the nails should be distinctly black in colour. Hocks too much bent (cow hocks) detract from the general appearance. Straight hocks are weak. Both kinds are undesirable, and should be guarded against. TAIL—Six or seven inches long, covered with hard hairs, no feathers, as straight as possible; carried gaily, but not curled over back. A long tail is objectionable. MOVEMENT—Should be free, straight, and easy all round. In front, the leg should be freely extended forward by the shoulder. The hind movement should be free, strong, and close. The hocks should be freely flexed and drawn close in under the body, so that, when moving off the foot, the body is thrown or pushed forward with some force. Stiff, stilty movement behind is very objectionable.
FAULTS: COAT—Any silkiness, wave, or tendency to curl is a serious blemish, as is also an open coat. Black or grey hairs disqualify for competition. SIZE—Any specimens under the minimum, or above the maximum weight, are objectionable. EYES—Full or light coloured. EARS—Round-pointed, drop, broad and large, or too heavily covered with hair. MUZZLE—Either under or over shot, and defective teeth.
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[Illustration: COL. MALCOLM'S WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIERS SONNY AND
SARAH]
[Illustration: MISS E. McCHEANE'S SKYE TERRIERS CH. FAIRFIELD DIAMOND
AND CH. WOLVERLEY CHUMMIE Photograph by T. Fall]