WITH MARLEEN BURFORD, KEKE KAHN, WAYNE KOMPARE, MELINDA LYON, DAWN MARTIN, GERRY MEISELS, JAY RICHARDSON, JACQUELINE STACY, MARJORIE UNDERWOOD, RANDY WECKMAN & LINDA WELLS
DM: Solid compact body with good angles front and rear, balanced movement in a fully working package. Clean white coat, good bone, with proper width to the muzzle and skull. MU: 1) First and foremost when I judge any breed the first trait that I look for is type for that particular breed, keeping in mind the history of the breed and its form and function. The Westie is a strong, sturdy and hardy little Scotsman that has an attitude of “no small amount of self-esteem” and its own distinctive gait. Among other necessary qualities included in type, balance and propor- tion are a must in my opinion. 2 & 3) Second and third traits are balance, proportion and movement. Structurally all three of these qualities are inter-related. The forequarters and the hindquarters need to be in balance so they can work together. Oth- erwise you see a two-piece dog. To create this balance, proportion is vitally important. The standard states, “The shoulder blade should attach to an upper arm of moder- ate length and sufficient angle to allow for definite body overhang.” The hindquarter angles should match the fore- quarter angles. Merging these two factors together—the structural balance and the proper proportions—we now have a Westie with a distinctive gait. This is a gait that is powerful, straight, free and moving without effort. 4) The fourth traits are bone and substance. What you initially see as the class enters the ring may not be exactly what the eye observes. You know we have exceptional masterful and artful groomers. Now it is time to put the Westie on the table for examination. Educate and train your hands and your eyes to work together. When you examine the headpiece with your hands and fingers, dig down through all of the back combing and product. Do you feel broad and strong bone and skull? Is there a slight dome between the ears? Are the eyes wide apart? Is there a defined stop? Is the muzzle slightly shorter from the nose to the stop than from the stop to the occiput? Or has that very clever groomer been busy? Is the head in proportion to the neck and body? Check for a deep chest to the elbow, good substantial leg bone, level topline good substance to the body and a nice handful of tail to complete the picture. While the entry is on the table check for the quality of the coat. At last, check the overhang in front of the dog and hopefully find the same amount of dog behind the tail. 5) The fifth trait is the coat. Keep in mind the Westie background. The Westie had to cope with the brutal weather and terrain conditions in Scotland, thus a double coat was necessary. In today’s world, our Scottish pals have better living situations, but that white harsh outer coat and a white soft undercoat are necessary and required. A soft coat is a very serious fault. LW: The five traits in order that I look for when judging are: 1) Balance, 2) Movement, 3) Head, 4) Coat and
5) Showmanship. The hallmark of the breed is a hard, straight, white coat—as the breed name implies.
5. Do you think the dogs you see in this breed are bet- ter now than they were when you first started judg- ing? Why or why not? KK: I think the dogs are better now due to better nutrition, grooming tools and education. ML: In many ways we have improved the breed, but I also think we’ve lost some important aspects as well. Fronts had a tendency to be more fiddle fronts and that has certainly changed but while we have straightened the fronts, the front legs have moved forward so there is almost no forechest plus the upper arm is shortened which impedes proper reach. Rear angulation used to be very straight but that improved from 20 years ago. Sadly, I’ve seen this improvement slip backwards of late. The one thing that we have lost is the bone and substance I used to see more so than today. GM: Yes, they are better because overall Westies have better balance and shorter backs then they did years ago. On the other hand, many of today’s Westies are over-groomed, shown with too short and too little quality of coat. JR: No, the breed has lost its size and hardiness. There is a lack of bone, heads and eyes. There is a lack of under- standing about what a proper coat is and I am not referring to trimming—I mean the quality of the coat. JS: Concerns about the breed are the absence of teeth, way too many, which does effect the strength of the jaw of course ultimately hindering their purpose. RW: Fifty years ago we had some very nice dogs and quite a few mediocre ones; I believe we could say the same thing today. 6. What do you think new judges misunderstand about the breed? KK: My fear is that new judges do not have the background and understanding of the breed so poor specimens are finishing. ML: I’m not sure new judges understand the movement or, more specifically, proper “reach and drive” of the Westie. Unfortunately, due to the shortened upper arm, Westies of today tend to take short mincing steps plus the exhibitor runs around the ring with the dog hoping that the faster they go, it will make the judge think the dog has good movement. GM: 1) They don’t know the correct balance or they don’t give it enough emphasis. 2) Bad top lines are frequently ignored. A Westie top line should be level. 3) Many judges reward pugnacity and Westies should not be aggressive to other dogs. 4) Many judges do not know correct coat such as length, density and harsh texture. JR: As with all the Terrier breeds, it is what a correct coat is, now if not correct is makes it a non-functional dog.
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