West Highland White Terrier

I noticed that all of the adult westies that ive seen have round faces.
maybe its the hair? still when should the roundness take effect?

Their faces aren’t round, it’s just the way the hair (fur) is cut. If the dog’s head is not in the correct proportions of snout length to skull length, and if the coat does not have the right texture for a Westie, you may never get that round look.

I am going to be living in a house soon, and I have had previous experience with dogs before. Oh and I am probably going to do agility with it. Would this be a good dog to get?

The dynamic terrier temperament. Most terrier breeds are remarkably similar. The same words are used over and over — quick to bark, quick to chase, lively, bossy, feisty, scrappy, clever, independent, stubborn, persistent, impulsive, intense.

Providing enough exercise and mental stimulation. West Highland White Terriers are active go-getters. They MUST have regular opportunities to vent their energy and to use their busy minds to do interesting things.

Terriers were never intended to be simply household pets. I strongly recommend that you get your Westie involved in obedience classes at the intermediate or advanced level, in agility (an obstacle course for dogs), or in an earth dog club (terriers dig and tunnel after small critters who are secured in a sturdy cage so they can’t be harmed).

Animal aggression. West Highland White Terriers are less scrappy toward strange dogs than many other terrier breeds, but they are still a determined force to reckon with if they decide to initiate or accept a challenge to fight. Most terriers have strong instincts to chase and seize small fleeing creatures. This can make for conflict if you own a cat. It may be much worse than that if you own a pet rabbit or hamster!

Terriers cannot be trusted off-leash. They will take off — oblivious to your frantic shouts — after anything that runs.

Fence security. Many terriers are clever escape artists who will go over or under fences in search of adventure. You may need higher fences than you might imagine for their small size. You may also need to sink wire into the ground along the fence line to thwart digging. Gates should have the highest quality locks.

Barking. Terriers are often too quick to sound the alarm at every new sight and sound. You have to be equally quick to stop them. If you work all day and have close neighbors, terriers are not the best choice for you. For the same reason, terriers should NEVER be left outside in your yard, unsupervised. To make matters worse, some terriers have high-pitched barks that can set your teeth on edge.

Mind of their own. Westies are not Golden Retrievers. Though they are more amenable to training than some other terriers, and indeed can excel in obedience competition, they must still be taught at an early age that they are not the rulers of the world. The toughness that makes them suited to killing vermin can frustrate you when you try to teach them anything. Terriers can be stubborn and dominant (they want to be the boss) and will make you prove that you can make them do things. You must show them, through absolute consistency, that you mean what you say.

To teach your Westie to listen to you, "Respect Training" is mandatory. My Westie Training Page discusses the program you need.

Defensive reactions. If you need to physically chastise a terrier, and you go beyond what THEY believe is a fair correction, terriers (as a group) are more likely than other breeds to growl or snap. It may be because they were bred to become more fierce when their prey fought back, i.e. terriers are apt to "return pain" if they "receive pain." As an obedience instructor, I’m always extra careful when putting my hands on any terrier for a correction.

I do NOT recommend terriers for small children. Many terriers will not tolerate any nonsense from little life forms whom they consider to be below themselves in importance. Many terriers are quick to react to teasing, and even to the normal clumsiness that comes with small children (accidental squeezing of their ears or pulling of whiskers or stepping on their paw). Many terriers are possessive of their food and toys and will defend these from all comers, including children.

Grooming. To keep their rough coat free of mats, West Highland White Terriers require regular brushing, and also clipping and trimming every few months.

Serious health problems. Westies are more prone to health problems than most other terriers.

Me and my friend were thinking about getting a dog. and before we buy one we obviously wanna know range of the cost. Thanks

contact a show breeder of westies

these are breeders who breed with the hopes of getting a pup with good confirmation for the show ring

they have pups that have slight flaws which you would never notice and are of no health concerns but would exclude from show , they sell these pups as pet quality almost always already neutered or with a legal binding spay/neuter contract

don’t buy from a pet shop or from a backyard breeder

you will be surprised at the reasonable cost of a pet quality westie from a breeder dedicated to preserving the breed at least half the cost of the over priced poorly bred pet shop westie

That’s in a pound or in a puppy mill In California?
Near Los Angeles?
Thanks so much! ^-^

For dogs in shelters, you can try petfinder.org. Type in your zip code. Many Westies are pulled from shelters by rescue organizations. Here are some links:

http://www.westierescue.com/

http://www.westieclubamerica.com/rescue/

Petfinder (search by breed and area)

http://www.petfinder.com//index.html

If you are not familiar with this breed, I suggest you thoroughly research them. They look like cute, white fluffy fur-balls, but they are feisty terriers through and through. Also, some Westies will end up in Scottish Terrier rescue. You may want to add this to a list to search. Good luck.

If you can could you give me some websites. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

Westies are a purebred breed. Their history is rather unknown. They are not a new breed, that’s for sure.

http://www.westieclubamerica.com/breed/history.html

In 3 weeks im going to get an 8 week old westie puppy and I wanna know how to take care of him any tips on showers, feeding, and excercise and how to housebreak him? Also I live in Chicago so can they stay out on the cold?

I’ve been waiting for a wesite question for forever! I have a little boy westie named Riley and he is my baby. I am a strong believer in crate training. To me you need to do this. It helps them get used to sleeping alone and it gives them a place of their own where they feel safe. I put a cheap fleese blanket in there with Riley to keep him warm and comfy. I also used this crate training to help house break. I had Riley on a strick schedule until he was house broken. What I did was in the morning carry the him outside because puppies usually cant make it outside and/or dont know to wait to go potty. After we go outside I’d feed the him breakfast and then have play time for 20 mins to half hr because thats how long it takes puppies to have to potty, espically if your playing. I’d then take the riley out and let him do his buisness. After that it’s back to the crate with a toy or 2. If he went i’d give him a treat and still put him in the crate with the toy. If he didnt go I’d put him in the crate with the toy and after 15 to 20 mins try the bathroom again. Using this method trained my westie in a week or so and I broke him from puppy padding which is very hard to do. It helps them to understand there is a schedule and it prevents accidents. It’s easier to train them correctly then to correct accidents and train at the same time. I consulted my vet on the feeding. I used lamb and rice puppy food, iams and would give Riley a 1/4 cup for breakfast lunch and dinner. When they’re puppies leave them with their food for about 20 mins and if they dont eat or drink pick it up. Espically water because it helps you to know when they had water last and when to take them out. The good thing about westies is that they are good house dogs but enjoy a little time outside. I usually try and take my westie on a walk once a day and a trip to the dog park on the weekends to keep him well socialized with humans and dogs. On the bathing it all depends. I usualy bath riley once a week or every two weeks. Just depends on how dirty he is and I always take him once a month to get groomed. I hope this helped. Your going to love your westie. They’re amazing!