Page 31 - ShowSight Presents The West Highland White Terrier

THE WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER:
Looking Beyond the Grooming
Iwas first introduced and fell in love with this incredible breed in 1972 and to say that I’ve seen many changes since then is an understatement. I was a proud breeder/exhibitor
for the next 20 years and when I started judging in 1992, the changes continued. Admittedly as the Westie has evolved, some of these changes are an improve- ment, but unfortunately, we have lost some of the essentials that make a Westie a Westie. As I go through crucial points of the Standard, I hope it is obvious that my passion is preserving the integrity of our breed plus the true Westie type as described in our Standard.
First impressions when the dogs enter the ring are important but what you see is not always what you get. Here we must stop to remember the origin of the West Highland White Terrier in his native Scotland and the job that he had to per- form in order to earn his keep. These small, game, well-balance, hardy look- ing terriers were originally as rough and tough as the terrain they had to traverse in their homeland. Their coat served to protect them from the inclement weather, as well as that rocky, briar filled terrain. Their tenacious attitude and their no small amount of self-esteem made them
excellent working dogs for hunting small game such as fox and badger, as well as ensured that they could readily dispatch vermin from the premises. They had to be small enough to get into narrow cairns or go to ground after their prey, be abso- lutely fearless and possess a big, persistent bark. In short, they were big dogs in a small packages.
Once the dog goes on the table for exam, the judge finds out if his/her origi- nal impressions were correct. According to the standard, the ideal size is 11 inches at the withers for dogs and 10 inches for birches. There was a time when we saw an increase in size,with Westies in the show ring being well outside these limits, but I think we have done a good job overall in bringing the size back within the guide- lines. A Westie should be a dog of good balance and substance but unfortunately, this seems to be one of the things we have lost. I find that many of the Westies today are lacking adequate bone.
The Westie head with its piercing, inquisitive, pert expression enhanced with adequate dark skin pigmentation is a feature that is so endearing to me. When I judge, I always put my hand on the skull to determine if there is good bone and sub- stance there or if the substance is just an illusion created by the masterful groomer
By Melinda L. Lyon
with a good teasing comb. Remember looks can be very deceiving and I refuse to be intimidated by that perfectly groomed head. All judges should actually feel the skull to insure that the Westie is of suf- ficient substance. The handler can always fluff the head back up before he/she moves the dog.
Moving on to the neck and front assem- bly, I must point out that this is another area where we have altered the Westie. In many ways the fronts are better because we don’t see the fiddle fronts of old, but we have lost the definite body overhang and a chest that is very deep and extend- ing to the elbows. The upper arm should be of moderate length, approximating the shoulder blade because if this upper arm is too short or too straight, we will never achieve the desired powerful gait with proper reach and drive that is a hallmark of this breed. I see far too many Westies today with an upper arm that is so short that movement is greatly restricted. Even though the dogs may give the appear- ance of moving out well, closer evalua- tion will show that they are taking twice as many steps to get to the same place as a dog who has proper angles that allow for proper reach and drive does. Needless to say, if we are to see the requisite reach and drive, the rear angles ideally should
238 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2014
“These small, game, well-balance, hardy looking terriers
WERE ORIGINALLY AS ROUGH AND
TOUGH AS THE TERRAIN THEY HAD TO
TRAVERSE IN THEIR HOMELAND.”