Weshis are a cute hybrid breeds of the West Highland White Terriers. Often known as the Westie Tzu, West Highland Tzu, Shih Tzu Westie Mix, or Westi Tzu they are found in different parts of the world. They are a friendly dog breed.
Their parent side breeds are the West Highland White Terrier and the Shih Tzu. Often mistaken for westies, their distinguishable physical features are very common with their West Highland parents.
While Weshis were originally bred mainly for serving as designer companions, their Westie parents were bred on hunting grounds. Nevertheless, with the right training and exercise, many of these hybrids can learn to become adept vermin hunters, just like their Westie forefathers.
Affectionate and great walking companions, Weshis is an excellent breed to adopt, in the countryside or in a bustling city.
The energy, fluffy coating, and charisma of their parent breed, Westies as well as the sociability and wind-swept fur of the Shih Tzu, are both characteristic of the lovable little, Weshi.
Like most other companion designer dogs, Weshis are a relatively newer breed that originated for the key purpose of attempting to inherit the known characteristics of their parents. Their first parents, the West Highland White Terrier, have origin dating back to the 17th century in Scottish Highlands.
The Westies as we know them were primarily bred in order to hunt vermins and assist in tracking foxes, badgers, etc. All these factors overall contribute to the key active aspects of the hybrid's character. They can also be trained to hunt small rats and other rodents.
On the other hand, there are many details of the Shih Tzu’s origins that are a mystery to us, given that we are talking of one of the oldest dog breeds as of today.
In appearance, Weshis are a short and stout dog breed with fairly muscular limbs but compact body frames. They have greater similarity with their West Highland White Terrier parents than their Shih Tzu parents, and the same applies to their resemblance too.
However, Weshis can be distinguished from the Westies by closely observing the color of their coats. While the West Highland White Terriers (Westies) come in one color, Weshis come in a wide variety of colors including a black, white, brown, tan, or mixed coating, which quite evidently distinguishes them from their Westie parents.
Weshi’s compact body frames are quite agile, allowing them to exhibit a surprising amount of energy.
Weshis need a weekly grooming and maintenance session to keep their coats clean, furry, and healthy. Weshis have medium to long coat length similar to their Shih Tzu side of parents, and so owners should be ready to handle moderate fur shedding.
Weshis serve great as companions for all, including those owners who are allergic to dogs, as the Weshi hybrid can prove to be hypoallergenic to them and perhaps, will not trigger a single allergic response among the human owners.
If properly maintained and taken care of, they also don’t retain the infamous pungent ‘dog smell’.
