Silkland Terrier

The Silkland Terrier is a hybrid mix of the Silky Terrier and the Westie (West Highland White Terrier).  While there is a bit of information available about the appearance and temperament of the hybrid, there is none available as to where and when it was developed. It is probably safe to assume that this hybrid originated in the United States, sometime in the late 1900's or early 2000's when interest in combining pure breeds for a variety of reasons became more popular.  We'll take a brief look at the background of the parent breeds to appreciate this canine.  The Silky Terrier, a.k.a. the Sidney Silky and the Australian Silky Terrier, originated in Australia in the 1800's.  It is believed that the Yorkshire Terrier and some native Australian terrier breeds are included in the ancestry of this, the only "toy" breed to have come from Australia.  Though she was bred for companionship and not utilized routinely for hunting of vermin, don't let her delicate size fool you as she is the true terrier and quite able to do so! The Silky Terrier was brought to the United States by returning soldiers at WW II, where it was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1959.  It is currently the 100th most popular canine breed in their registry.  The Westie (West Highland White Terrier) originated in the Scottish Highlands, also being known as Roseneath Terrier, Poltalloch Terrier, the Highland and the West Highlander,  in the 1800's.  It was bred to hunt small game, finding a niche in the mining communities, farms, mills, villages, homes and gardens.  The Westie breed originally was red but, when, in the 1900's, one of the red hunting dogs was killed mistakenly for a fox, they began to breed them to produce the white color that we see today, the previous breeding habit being to do away with the white puppies at birth to preserve the red color of the original breed. The Westie came to the United States and was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1908 where it ranks as the 41st most popular canine breed in their registry.  The Silkland Terrier hybrid itself is recognized by the American Canine Hybrid Club, the Dog Breed Registry, the Designer Dogs Kennel Club, the Dog Registry of America and the International Designer Canine Registry.