Page 8 - ShowSight Presents The West Highland White Terrier

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West Highland White Terrier Q & A
“THE SECRET TO A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING PROGRAM IS UNDERSTANDING THE BREED AND KNOWING THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF YOUR BITCHES.”
I think that judges are for the most part good dog people who can interpret our reasonably specific standard for themselves. They just must have the courage to do so, which includes not rewarding that which is not correct. Sometimes that one dog who is different in the lineup is the correct one!
Westies are universally loved, (as they should be!). It’s up to us to continue to show them dogs who truly meet the standard in every way.
Westies are currently ranked #42 out of all AKC breeds in popu- larity. Am I happy with this position? Yes, we are finding more and more that people are being quite discerning about both the appear- ance and health of their Westie, they see the incorrect dogs who are not thoughtfully bred and want one that looks and acts more like the standard. This is education that we must continue to encourage, along with education on the high value that a responsible breeder offers to pet buyers.
My favorite dog show memory: number one would be the thrill of handling to Best In Show with my fabulous import, CH Kings- view Pie In The Sky, bred by Julie Coley in England. Closely fol- lowed by a more recent thrill of Lori finishing the FCI champion- ship in Europe, on GCHS MG1 CIB CH IT/FIN/DK Nsase In The Zone. We think Enzo is the first American bred/owned/domi- niciled/handled Westie to get his FCI with all wins in Europe. We have had so much fun in recent years going over to World Shows in Helsinki, Milan, Leipzig, and Amsterdam, and have done some winning in the process! Both of these dogs had a fabulous head, the exquisite movement, the correct size, the never-let-down attitude, they only come along once in awhile at this caliber and we have enjoyed them immensely.
SYLVIA & GERRY MEISELS
Shortly after we married in 1988 we decided to get a dog, we went to a number of dog shows in Pitts- burgh (where we then lived) and later in the New York City area. We finally, in 1959, got a bitch from Barbara Keenan of Wishing Well fame. She was a daughter of Westmin- ster Best in Show win- ner Ch. Elfinbrook Simon. We started
showing her after she had a litter, and finished her after we moved to Houston in 1965. Her son, Ch. White Oaks Sapient Sasser, fin- ished before her. In 1972 I became Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Houston. We continued to breed and show, with our daughter Laura (then eight years old) taking our Ch. White Oaks Loverboy to Best in Show at an all-breed show. In 1975, we moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and the following summer spent a lovely two months in England; we bought several Westies from Mrs. Beer of Whitebriar fame, and also five Norwich Terriers.
One of them (Ch. Ragus Lothario) went Best in All-Breed Show in 1977, handled by Gerry. In 1991 Gerry was named Dean of Arts and Sciences at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. In 1988, we moved to Tampa where he was Provost at the University of South Florida, resuming a faculty position in 1996. We lived on the water in St. Pete Beach until 2001 when we moved onto six wooded acres in suburban Tampa. Gerry served two terms on the Board of the WHWTCA, as President of the Lakeland-Winter Haven Kennel Club and later of the St. Petersburg Dog Fanciers Association. We continued to breed and show our Westies, capping our show career with campaigning our GChG White Oaks Invincible Snowplow to No. 1 Westie in the country. Currently Laura (now married to Bill Brown) shows our bitch special GChS White Oaks Baby Beautiful (a Snowplow daughter) who was a top tenner in 2018. The number of dogs in our home has declined from 22 to 10. We miss puppies and plan to have a couple of litters later this year.
We live in Tampa, Florida. I’m a Professor of Chemistry at the University of South Florida.
I have 60 years of showing, 58 years of breeding, 48 years of judging Westies, 32 years of judging all terriers; We have had numerous dogs who placed in the top 10 Westies, beginning in 1978 and culminating in 2017 with GChG White Oaks Invincible Snowplow who was No. 1 Westie in All-breed competition.
The secret to a successful breeding program is understand- ing the breed and knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your bitches. Selecting the studs that best complement them (rather than whatever is currently being promoted and winning).
Overall Westies are better balanced than they were 60 years ago; they are also better presented and more of them are handled professionally
Breeders need to concentrate on heads and movement to improve the quality of Westies.
Do new judges know what compromises a good Westie? It depends on the individual. Most new judges have idiosyncrasies but can’t see the whole dog and Feature-Judge (place dogs on the basis of a single characteristic that may not be high on the breed’s priority list).
The Westie is recognizable by people around the world who may not be familiar with most breeds. Is this an advantage? Probably, at least we can refer them to pictures in ads as a point of departure and immediately go to addressing their wonderful personality.
Westies are currently ranked #42 out of all AKC breeds in popu- larity. Am I happy with this position? Yes. any higher would lead to commercial breeding (numbers) at the expense of quality.
My favorite dog show memory: our daughter Laura’s setting the record as the youngest handler (age eight) to take a Westie (or any dog) to BIS at an all-breed show.
In general, the superficial characteristics of presentation, which include but are not limited to grooming and showmanship, have become a good deal more important. Professional handlers devote much time and attention to these characteristics because they can be manipulated more easily and impress judges. They have more time to keep their Westies in show shape than amateurs. Westie exhibition has become professionalized, and rankings have become a priority but require dogs to be handled professionally because handlers can make many more shows than amateurs, and can select to show under judges favorable to them.
278 • SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, JUNE 2019