West Highland Terrier Obedience Training
West Highland Terrier training will not be difficult, though it sometimes takes more time than planned for. This is because these dogs definitely have a mind of their own and do not like to be pushed around into doing things that they do not like or want to do. West Highland Terrier training will be successful as long as you use a lot of praise and keep the training sessions more as exercise than a teaching session.
If Handled Right, West Highland Terrier Training Can be a Piece of Cake
Many people think nothing of taking up West Highland Terrier obedience training thinking that it is an easy endeavor. Unfortunately, this means that the owner of the dog is not really acquainted with its inherent nature, i.e. that of a hunting dog – and not a lapdog as it looks like. Hence, they leave West Highland Terrier obedience training in the middle after messing it up and call for a professional trainer.
This time the professional trainer would definitely find the West Highland Terrier obedience training more difficult, because the dog already associates the training sessions with negative feelings and it will take some time to change it approach. Hence, it is always good to let a professional train these dogs right from the beginning if you want the job to be done fast and well. Choose a trainer who believes in positive reinforcement as a means for training rather than coercion.
These dogs are very smart and will catch day-to-day commands such as, ‘sit’, ‘fetch’, ‘come’ with great ease. Once the basics of the West Highland Terrier obedience training are covered by the professionals, the rest can be easily taught by you through constant dialogue with it. These dogs tend to ‘understand’ what you say and mean without any difficulty. Maybe, this trait of anticipating what you think, also results from their past as hunter dogs.
This dog will not like it if it is stifled with petting, cuddling and many orders. It has an independent streak and you should appreciate this fact about it. As long as it feels it is not bullied into submission, this dog will behave exemplary. If it feels threatened, then be prepared for a real fight, as this dog knows to hold its ground.
On the positive side, you will find that these dogs are very astute and will very soon respond to your conversation. Some people are surprised when they find that this dog seems to understand what they speak to them; however, for those who have studied this dog in depth, this is just one of the ways, which proves their extraordinary intelligence.
You will very soon find out that West Highland Terrier potty training is not half as rough as West Highland Terrier obedience training, and once you have one mastered, the other one is already 90 per cent completed.
