West of Argyll Terrier

The West of Argyll Terrier was developed in the 1990s by crossbreeding a Beagle with a West Highland White Terrier. The West Highland White Terrier, best known as the Westie, has its origins based in Scotland where these dogs were used for hunting medium-sized game and for getting rid of vermin. The Westie is related to the Dandie Dinmont, the Scottish, the Cairn, and the Skye Terriers. It is believed that the breed originated around the 17th century, descending from a small breed of earth dogs that the King of France received from James I of Argyllshire. It is said that these Terriers are all white due to an accident that occurred in the 19^th century. Colonel Malcolm of Poltalloch was out hunting fox with his Terriers, and by mistake, he shot dead one of his beloved Cairns. This caused lot of distress and the Colonel decided to breed only white dogs to avoid confusing them with foxes. This breed was known as the Poltalloch Terrier or the Roseneath Terrier. In 1906 the Kennel Club of England recognized the breed as the West Highland White Terrier, and the American Kennel Club followed in 1908. The Beagle’s history is somewhat less clear. There are Greek documents from 400 B.C that mention dogs that look that the Beagles, and it is also believed that Beagles are related to small hunting hounds that were brought to England by Romans in order to cross them with English hounds. The Beagles are also thought to descend from Talbot hounds, extinct now, which were brought to England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. This breed was very popular in England since its beginning; particularly really small ones, known as Glove Beagles because they could be held in a gloved hand. Elizabeth I was known to own several small Beagles. These dogs would assist in hunting, but they rapidly lost their popularity as they were not very fast. It was thanks to Irish and English farmers, who used the dogs for rabbit and hare hunting, that these dogs didn’t disappear. The Beagle we know today was developed during the 19^th century. During this time, Englishmen worked on improving the breed's appearance and the breed was also imported to America, where they also aimed to improve their looks. In England, bigger dogs were bred to hunt fox, and American breeders developed smaller Beagles to hunt rabbit. The American Kennel club recognized the breed in 1884.