The idea that a dog breed’s origins have been “lost to time” is a common one today. In the case of the West Highland white terrier, the origins couldn’t be agreed upon by dog scholars 100 years ago. Suffice to say, the breed names Roseneath (my personal favorite), Pittenween, Poltalloch, Argyllshire and white Scottish terriers all apply to Westie history, depending on the writer you’re reading. Following is a chronological series of articles and book snippets from various sources from roughly the first quarter of the twentieth century.
Dr. Flaxman, after drowning roughly two dozen white Scottish terrier puppies, decided to intentionally breed for the color. From the book Dog Shows and Doggy People by Charles Henry Lane, 1902From the book The Twentieth Century Dog (Sporting) by Herbert Compton, 1904From the book Dogs (Melbourne’s Sporting Library) G.A. Melbourne, editor, 1907(enlargement of photo on previous image)From the book British Terriers, Part 2 by J. Maxtee, 1909From the book Sporting Dogs; Their Points and Management in Health and Disease by Frank Townend Barton, 1910The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) · January 17, 1910Arkansas Democrat (Little Rock, Arkansas) · February 24, 1910Gorgeous painting by Maud Earl from the book The Power of the Dog by Arthur Croxton Smith, 1910 or 1911The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · January 22, 1911James Watson writing in Country Life in America, February 1915The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · April 22, 1917Dogdom, April 1918Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan) · August 4, 1918From the book Terriers by Darley Matheson, 1922From The Farmers’ Bulletin #1491, United States Department of Agriculture, 1926An ad in Country Life in America, February 1915
