Westie Rescue

I work in the animal/pet industry and even I can’t figure this out. I’ve had my male Westie since he was 8 weeks old. He’s now 3 years old and lately has gone psychotic. A neighbor complained about his barking at my Moms, so we had to bring him to our condo with us. We have a 4.5 year child whom he has directed his aggression at. My son is very hyperactive and has been known to shove a brush in the dogs face or brush his hair backwards. He never reacted badly, and lately he has begun to loudly snarl, growl, or snap at my child. Our cat was looking at him from inside and he was out on the patio and my husband said he reacted in this same way to the cat. He’s also extremely food aggressive. I’ve talked to trainers who have recommended taking his food away when he’s food aggressive and spraying him with water as punishment. He is still snapping. I am afraid that he is going to bite one of us and my husband says that if he keeps snapping he will have him put down. I really don’t want to have to take him to the rescue or get rid of him like others who give up.. But he’s becoming a liability to us. What can we do? When my son is up, we have to keep him kenneled or outside on the patio away from people.
neutered, utd on shots, well taken care of. This began after he moved with us.

How much exercise does he get?
Westies are a terrier and were initially bred as game dogs (hunters), without proper daily mental and physical exercise and training, dogs will try to find an outlet for their built up energy. For most terriers the outlet is through hunting people and other animals, this can then turn into aggression.
Take your dog for a long and fast walk/run every morning, you could also use a bike or rollerblades to drain more of his energy faster and to get him to focus more on following you then on his surroundings.

For his food aggression instead of taking his food away, fed him after his walk, keep him leashed and make him sit, once he is sitting calmly you let him eat. When he is halfway through his meal grab the lead and stand beside him, if he growls pull the lead up and use your legs to make him move away from the food and make him sit back down until he is calm. After a while once you are able to stand beside him when he is eating, you should then consider handing feeding him every so often and also get your son to start hand feeding him.

You also need to set up some rules for not only your dog but your son as well. Such as leave the dog alone when he is eating, drinking or sleeping, and in return your dog should not be allowed to approach your son unless you say so. When he starts to approach your son, make a clear sharp sound and use your body to silently to block then guide the dog back to where he was originally.
You should also only let you son run around outside and make inside a calm place as your dog will be reacting to your sons high energy. Teach your son that the best way to interact with a dog is through games (fetch, chase and hide’n'seek), training (help your son teach your dog obedience and tricks) and walking/running.

You could also look into joining and agility, competitive obedience or tracking club with your dog and son. This would help mentally stimulate your dog, help you gain better control over his instincts and will get you son to bond better with the dog.

I bought him 3 rubber teddy bears. He chewed off all their ears, but ONLY their ears. WHy?????

He’s a westie baby and is from a rescue!!!

love,
momo
But the arms and legs stick out just as much! They’re rubber, they look just like gummy bears!

Your dog maybe find the ears more funnier to bite off?

Both are rescue dogs and the older of the two is less demanding. He is a Westie. The other one is a Porkie(poodle yorkie). He demand barks, going mad if he is only a couple of feet from me. I know this is separation anxiety…but being in one room and able to observe me and still barking like mad. I have had him 3 yrs. I rescued them both from shelters.

try getting the dogs a toy that they really love and when you need to go somewhere then give it to them and walk away. it might not work at first. but give it to them and move a couple feet away then next time more distance then more and more each time.

In our local animal rescue centre there is a litter of Springer Spaniel puppies. We are considering on getting a male and neutering him. BUT.. we own a nine year old female Westie dog. Would my Westie mind if we bought the pup or would she get angry and jealous?
Also we’re considering on getting a fox terrie/jack russel puppy. He has a health problem to do with his growth so he will stay small.

I have an 11 year old male westie and 3 weeks ago i bought a cocker spaniel puppy. My old westie growled and growled on the first day but after that they got on fine. The puppy does jump all over him though and it can really bother him especially in the evening when he’s tired. Never leave the two alone together and get a pen or crate to keep the puppy in at night and when you can’t watch him.

There’s lots of advice on here about introducing two dogs to another, but it’s all individual really. Look up techniques and see what works with you and your dog. You know your westie best, in your heart of hearts you should be able to know how she will react.

Since we rescued our dog in January, he’s an 8 year old Westie, he seems to like fruits and vegetables more than chicken and beef!
The other night, I dropped an apple slice on the floor, with a piece of chicken, and he stuck his nose up at the chicken and got the apple slice!

Is this normal for dogs? I mean, he eats his meat and dog food, but he likes fruits way more!

Yeah I think it’s normal. I have a 1 year old German shepherd female who is pregnant now and she loves fruit, salad, veggies, etc. She still loves meat and like normal dog food as well but she’ll eat anything which I like in her. But my 2 year old German Shepherd Male will only eat meat and maybe 1 veggie and thats it. He only goes for the meat and stuff. It’s totally normal, it’s just that not everyone has a dog thats like that and no dog is retarted/stupid if it eats veggies, salad, fruits, etc.

We rescued our second westie roughly 7 years ago when she was just one year old. We already had a one year old female and had been told of a man who bred toy poodles for show and had recently aquired a young femal westie that he was planning on breeding. He tried to breed her too soon when she was basicly still a puppy on her first heat and had become agitated with her when she wouldn’t breed. He basicly left her in an outdoor kennel/run, barely feeding or walking her. We met up with the owner and he agreed to let us have her for free as he has no use for her.

We knew straight away that she had been ill-treated. She wouldn’t accept dog bisquits from us, but was happy to sit next to the bin as if waiting for scraps. She was wary of leads and dog baskets. When we tried to stroke her she’d tense up and her ears would go back. If you opened a door to let her out she wouldn’t walk underneath your arm if you’re male. And she’s always had a sort of waddle with her back legs when she walks. Thankfully now she’s completely relaxed and is the most gently, sweet dog ever. She loves to play and run about and keeps our other two dogs in their place.

It was only recently when we took her to the vet to get an ear problem checked out that we started to doubt if she was a purebred westie. She came with papers and has a kennel club name, but our usual vet was out and we had a trainee instead. He actually asked what breed she was which we thought was strange because besides her being maybe an inch taller than your average femal westie and having a much longer tail she just looks the same.

Our other westie is the complete opposite to her in looks. The only thing they have in common is that they’re both white. And we’re noticing the differences more and more these days.
Her ears are much larger.
Her head is bigger and she has pink skin instead of the black-ish colour i was told westies have.
Her eyes are a very light amber colour compared to the dark chocolate brown they’re supposed to be.
She’s much longer in length and stockier.
Instead of cat like paws she has shovel like ones.
And her back feet turn out slightly to the side.
Her tail is very long and she rarely holds it up straight.
Her coat is soft and thick and she once broke a pair of dog clippers because it was so thick. Her fur is straight and we’ve never been able to grow a "skirt" on her unlike our other westie.

The trainee vet said that somewhere in her ancestery there might have been a glenn of imaal terrier that was mistaken for a westie. Her face and expression looks so much like a glenn of imaals.

Obviously it doesn’t matter what breed she is and she’ll always be loved no matter what, but it got me thinking about her bloodlines.

Thanks in advance

Here’s some pictures.

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/_Raaheel_/003.jpg

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/_Raaheel_/016.jpg

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/_Raaheel_/0142.jpg

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/_Raaheel_/017.jpg

http://i842.photobucket.com/albums/zz349/_Raaheel_/5770444991a11374705716l.jpg

This picture of a glenn of imaal always reminds me of her

http://www.petyourdog.com/images/dog%20breeds/glen_imaal_terrier.jpg

I take it she’s not registered?
If she’s not, I’d say she’s most likely a mix -regardless if she doesn’t have papers she’s considered one anyways.
Or just a poorly bred Westie (not insulting your dog, insulting the breeding).

From the sounds of the guy who got her, I doubt he even cared what kind of dog he was acquiring as long as it produced puppies.

ok as some may have seen I WAS thinking of getting a pup, however I have fallen for a beautiful 2 yr old male Westie terrier/maltese mix at a rescue group a little ways away from where I live (and I have come to realize the bonus of not having to potty train, again). He’s a great dog, very social, but that is not my concern. My concern is my 12 yr old and how I should introduce the two. My 12 yr old female has been the only dog in our house for most of her 12 yr’s, so is getting a second dog a entirely bad idea? will she become to jealous?* She get’s on with other dogs during her walks, so long as they don’t come running towards her (but I think that’s more my issue then hers ) but as I noted above never really had another dog in the house (my dog before her died when she was about 5 months). Is it a good idea to bring this 2 yr old home, or should I get a pup, or forget the whole idea all together? opinions are appreciated.

*Note: I’ve been wanting to add a second dog for four years now, my 12yr old is more my dad’s dog (he babies her a bit), and I’d like a companion of my own and I’m only now able to care for a dog of my "own" (financially speaking) which was a term in the agreement with my parents about adding a second animal of any kind. Our house and yard are large enough for both to have their own space, especially since both dogs are smallish, and I have the availability to be around to supervise both if they’re around each other to ensure correction of any major issues that might occur (if I’m not there my parents are) . thx

Take her to meet the other dog you’re considering adopting and see how they get along outside of her territory. If they seem to get on okay, I say go for it.

It will actually be a lot easier on your senior dog to bring home an adult dog than a young puppy. Young puppies are annoying, tiring, in-your-face, wanting to play play play and need to be taught boundaries. A social adult knows how to read body language and signals that mean "leave me alone", so your senior dog is more likely to accept a well-mannered adult than a puppy.

I have a 13 year old male westie. I decided to adopt another rescued westie male of 2 and a half years.
We introduced them and they got on fine.
I fed them separately and i fed my 13 year old first. When i was out of the room some food fell on the floor and when my 2 and a half year old westie went near it my 13 year old westie attacked it.
I separated them and they were fine again.
Then two days later when i was in the kitchen water from a defrosting fish dripped onto the floor. Again my 13 year old westie was lapping it up and when my 2 and a half year old westie went near, my 13 year old westie attacked. My 2 and a half westie was stronger and attacked his head biting and making his ear bleed. i separated the and it happened so fast. My 13 year old westie cried a bit in the other room and i was scared it had caused serious damage.
Me and my mum were worried that if i was out, as there are lots of family members coming round and food would be dropped that they would attack and no one would be able to seperate them because they are too scared and some thing terrible would happen.
So after 2 weeks me and my mum decided to take the 2 and a half year old westie back to the rescue centre. The rescue centre couldnt help they gave no advise on how to solve it.
I was just doing it because i cared about both dogs so much.
Now i regret doing it as im sure food aggression can be solved.
We called the rescue centre to ask if we could have another chance the very next day and straight away they said no. I was devistated and so upset. I miss our westie so much. They said a trainer couldnt help as it is happening in the home and they said they already cut the westies hair and are preparing it for a new home. I paid £350 for it and all the vet bills on vacs.
I really feel let down and thought they would give us a second chance.
I would love to have more than one dog in the future, but the aggression both dogs showed freaked me out and as i said it all happened so quick and the second fight seemed worse than the first.
Can anyone give me tips on how to stop this aggression my old dog showed, as the 2 and a half westie was fine as he had been living with other westies in the centre
All your answers have been very helpful. I won’t get another dog now till my 13 year old has lived out his days.
in answer to your questions, he doesnt bite or growl at people going near his bowl or taking food away, only when the new dog went too close to him.
I was able to feed them treats from a distance from each other. The new dog just kept getting too close and was interested in food all the time, which mad my older westie uptight to try and get the food. We only had the new dog for two weeks, they were getting on fine, but its just they had a fight within two days at the end of the two weeks and i was scared it would escalate. Lots of times my older dog couldnt decipher what the new dog was doing and would growl when we first introduced them, but my older dog got used to him.
When the new dog would growl it would nearly start off my older dog, but i would quickly correct it. But with the food i didnt have time, my older westie just lunged at the new one, it just happened so quic

Hi, I never experienced food aggression with my dogs because I do the following. And it worked, but it’s something to do since puppy-hood.

I hand feed the puppy instead of putting in a bowl so they can get used to my smell and I pat them once in a while eating. ( I do this for 3 weeks )

Once you see he/she is fine, put the food in the bowl, but hold the bowl and put your finger in the bowl during the feeding. Pat once in the while if he shows no sign of aggression. If he does show signs of aggression than correct the behavior, not beat the dog to death, just make a noise and show presence, and most important, take bowl away and put the puppy sitting ( since they probably don’t know the command yet, plus this is a good starter for it )

Passing the second test, leave the bowl with the dog, but to begin, once in the while during feeding, grab a kibble or grab a few, and give it to the dog.

Once you made all these things and tests and the dog has no problem, good! Just remember, once in the while do all 3 subjects out of order at least once day yes and one day not until the dog is 100%. But… even if the dog is 100%, keep reminding that you control the possession of the food, not him/her. Therefore, keep doing all 3 exercises as you wish.

Also, another thing that helps is fixing your dog, but that is personal.

Remember, before giving food to your dog always make him/her do something to deserve it, like sit or any command you wish. That makes more clear to them that you are in control, not them.

But like I said, this is a method that should be done when a puppy, like 8 – 12 weeks, day 1 one you get it. If your dog has food aggression, like yours, you should seek behaviorist for dogs. I prefer paying the behaviorist, than vet bills.

She was a rescue dog, that was bred and is now spayed. her tail is not up and wagging yet.

How about a cute little pink collar? im pretty sure a westie would be a small size.
Or a little dogs teddy , i got a really nice pink and purple one for my dog with ropes as the arms and legs, she still has it from when the first day we bought her as a puppy !