Breed Standard
A breed standard is a set of guidelines covering specific externally observable qualities such as appearance, movement, and temperament for that dog breed.
General Appearance
The West Highland White Terrier is a small, game, well-balanced hardy looking terrier, exhibiting good showmanship, possessed with no small amount of self-esteem, strongly built, deep in chest and back ribs, with a straight back and powerful hindquarters on muscular legs, and exhibiting in a marked degree a great combination of strength and activity. The coat is about two inches long, white in color, and hard, with plenty of soft undercoats. The dog should be neatly presented, with the longer coat on the back and sides, trimmed to blend into the shorter neck and shoulder coat. Considerable hair is left around the head to act as a frame for the face to yield a typical Westie expression.
Temperament
Alert, gay, courageous, and self-reliant, but friendly. Faults: Excess timidity or excess pugnacity.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The ideal size is eleven inches at the withers for dogs and ten inches for bitches. A slight deviation is acceptable. The Westie is a compact dog, with good balance and substance. The body between the withers and the root of the tail is slightly shorter than the height at the withers. Short-coupled and well-boned.
Head and Skull
HEAD: Shaped to present a round appearance from the front. Should be in proportion to the body.
SKULL: Broad, slightly longer than the muzzle, not flat on top but slightly domed between the ears. It gradually tapers to the eyes. There is a defined stop, eyebrows are heavy.
Coat & Color
COAT
Very important and seldom seen to perfection. Must be double-coated. The head is shaped by plucking the hair, to present a round appearance. The outer coat consists of straight hard white hair, about two inches long, with a shorter coat on the neck and shoulders, properly blended and trimmed to blend shorter areas into furnishings, which are longer on the stomach and legs. The ideal coat is hard, straight, and white, but a hard straight coat that may have some wheaten tipping is preferable to a white fluffy, or soft coat. Furnishings may be somewhat softer and longer, but should never give the appearance of fluff. Faults: Soft coat. Any silkiness or tendency to curl. Any open or single coat, or one which is too short.
COLOR
The color is white, as defined by the breed’s name. Faults: Any coat color other than white. Heavy wheaten color.