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West Highland White Terrier

West Highland White Terrier genetic profile from the CanVAS Atlas. 30 dogs in the Atlas, heterozygosity 0.30. Nearest relatives, trait loci frequencies, cohort distribution.

What the atlas says about West Highland White Terrier

In the atlas, the West Highland White Terrier clusters consistently as West Highland White Terrier (100% of the 30 dogs here). At the trait loci, FGF4_retrogene_CFA18 runs lower than average (8% here vs 77%); RSPO2 runs higher than the atlas average (100% here vs 55%). Dogs here sit in a relatively sparse region of the atlas, fewer close neighbors than typical.

Closest genetic neighbors in the atlas: Scottish Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Norwich Terrier, Fox Terrier Wire, and Miniature Schnauzer.

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the genome says about West Highland White Terrier

Computed from the 14,478 research dogs in the Atlas. Methods: technical methodology.

Dogs in the Atlas
30Founders
19 from Hayward2016, 10 from Spatola, 1 from JenkinsWGS
Genetic diversity
0.30Moderate
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. Ranks 39th most genetically tight of 107 ranked breeds.
Cluster structure
Splits into two genetic sub-populations
Intra-breed RMS distance: 23.34 · likely working/show-line, regional, or kennel lineage split.
Nearest genetic relatives
  1. Scottish Terrier2.77
  2. Cairn Terrier6.66
  3. Norwich Terrier9.26
  4. Fox Terrier Wire9.27
  5. Miniature Schnauzer22.08
Top-10 PC corrected Euclidean. Lower = closer.
Trait genetics
Allele frequencies at named morphology loci

Frequency of the alternate allele in this breed at each locus's representative SNP. Methods + caveats in technical methodology.

Body size
IGF158%
HMGA237%
SMAD235%
LCORL100%
STC269%
ADAMTS1760%
Leg length
FGF4·CFA188%
FGF4·CFA1240%
Coat
RSPO2100%
FGF552%
KRT7178%
MC1R100%
Ear set
MSRB385%
Skull shape
BMP380%
SMOC287%
Add your West Highland White Terrier to the Atlas

You can add your West Highland White Terrier right now at /add/ as a Charted star. Or, if you'd rather wait for DNA uploads, leave your email and we'll let you know the moment those open.

Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · CanVAS dimensions data