| The West Highland white terrier is a smart, loveable, | | | | vermin, but will turn out to be such a great companion |
| active and fun loving animal. I am kind of biased, being | | | | dog. From my own experience, I reckon it still thinks it is |
| the author of Mad About Westies. To be honest, I | | | | a large dog in small body. I have also found it will rarely |
| preferred larger dogs until we got our westie puppy | | | | back down from any dog. |
| called Pepper. Now I am completely won over. | | | | Introduce your Westie puppy to the grooming cycle as |
| I find him such great fun, especially when playing | | | | early as possible. If you brush the coat on a regular |
| soccer. He is just great in dribbling the ball around. They | | | | basis, this will get rid of any dead hairs on the coat. |
| make great guard dogs (ask my neighbour) and will | | | | When he grows to adult, it is recommended that you |
| announce to the world the present of any stranger to | | | | try and get his coat cut every 6 weeks, especially |
| the house. | | | | during the hot months. |
| Our own Westie loves riding in the car; like most dogs | | | | Overall you will have a loyal friend and great |
| and just goes crazy when I get out the lead to take | | | | companion if he is treated with love and respect. They |
| him a walk. It's hard to imagine how small he was, | | | | also need to know that you are the boss ( alpha dog). |
| when he first entered the house. He still chases our | | | | Whatever your reason for acquiring a westie puppy or |
| poor cat, though lately it has been giving him a swipe, | | | | dog, you have to remember that dogs are animals, not |
| just to let him know that she was in the house before | | | | human beings. Actually for some owners that is a hard |
| he arrived. | | | | bridge to cross, because their dogs are their children. |
| When the westie dog is fully grown it has a height of | | | | Dogs by nature are pack animals and In every pack |
| around 10-11 inches for the male breed and slightly | | | | there is a leader, which is known as the alpha dog. This |
| smaller for the female. The weight can range from 14 | | | | alpha dog makes decisions for the entire pack and |
| -20 pounds and if looked after with regular health | | | | everyone else in that pack has a place and knows |
| checks, it can have a life span of 15 + years. | | | | their place. If you do not take on the role of the leader, |
| The westie has it's origin in Scotland, as can be | | | | the Westie will usually try and step in to try and fill this |
| guessed from the name. It was originally bred to hut | | | | roll of alpha dog. This is when the problems start. |