Thursday, August 21st, 2008
If you are considering buying a West Highland Terrier then please read on.
Westies are sociable little dogs and they love being around people. If you are out at work for most of the day or lead a hectic lifestyle which takes you away from home quite often, then maybe consider a different breed of dog.
West Highland Terrier dogs love being involved in family activities. If you are going out for a long walk, having friends round or doing the gardening you can guarantee a Westie will want to be there, next to you. They are very sociable dogs and like to be there even if they are just observing what is going on.
If a Westie is left at home alone for a long periods at at time it may develop behavioural problems such as excessive barking, digging or chewing. Basically this means that the dog is bored, it is craving attention which it so rightly deserves.
Mitzi certainly gets enough attention from my family, maybe too much sometimes, but she is a lovely dog.
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Monday, August 18th, 2008
On the whole Mitzi is quite a well behaved Westie. However, she does have certain moments when she likes to misbehave.
When we are out in the local park having a run round Mitzi is well behaved. When other dogs come onto the park she will go and check them out and have a run with them too. If I shout “Mitzi come” she will be at my side within seconds. However if she see the postwoman walking past that’s it – Mitzi will then go into her own little world!
No matter how many times I shout “Mitzi come” she will pretend not to hear me. First she will look at me slowly, then the postwoman, then head straight to the fence at break neck speed so she can bark like crazy. The thing is Mitzi doesn’t want to bite the postie, she just wants to get her paws on those letters in her bag and shred them to fine pieces! When Mitzi has these moments on her it can be extremely frustrating when she just ignores you.
Mitzi has always been one for attention. If you settle down to read a book in the lounge and she’s feeling a little restless she will start to cry at the lounge door. Thinking she may need to relieve herself we get up and head towards the back door to let her out, however she doesn’t want to go anywhere. Mitzi goes straight into the kitchen and sits down at the cupboard where her chew sticks are kept and will keep crying and crying. If you ignore her and return to the living room she doesn’t like it one bit. Mitzi will then return to the same room and try to get behind the TV or maybe pull a cushion off the sofa, just so that you are giving her the attention. The best thing when she is acting like this is to either ignore her completely or put her in the back yard, she will soon stop!
Posted in Caring, Mitzi, West Highland Terrier | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
If you are the owner of a westie or know of one, read on…
From day one Mitzi seemed to observe the people she was around. When a family member began to put their shoes on she would stop dead in her tracks, tilt her head to one side as if to say ‘what are you doing now? Are we going out?’
Something inside Mitzi seems to trigger an alarm. After a year or so Mitzi knew what time her dinner was going to made, when her daily walks would be and most importantly what time the postman would arrive…
If you forget to take her out for a walk at 4pm you certainly would know about it. Mitzi starts off around 3.45pm nudging you with her wet nose as if to say “don’t forget the walk at 4pm”. Next she lies across your feet, so if you move she will know you are going somewhere. After years of training we have now managed to get Mitzi to sit whilst her lead it being attached to her collar (whilst she is screeching in excitment at the same time).
It’s amazing how westies have this built in clock to know things are going to happen at a certain time. Each morning Mitzi waits from 10am – 11am at the front door just staring through the glass waiting for the arrival of the postman. If I said Mitzi wags her tail and greets the postman like a long lost friend that would be great – but also a lie. My parents had to have an external mail box fitted in order to save their mail from this innocent looking westie.
Should anyone press the doorbell or if a stranger walks past with a hat on all hell breaks loose! She barks and barks, then barks some more until that person has disappeared out of sight. Should we try to move her away from the window she doesn’t like it one bit, she will grab the nearest thing to her and shake it in anger! This is not acceptable behaviour at all and we know it.
Westies are stubborn little dogs. Many a time we have been walking with Mitzi and she will just sit down on the street as if to say “I’m tired now, if you want me to move then pick me up”. I’ve seen numerous westies behave like this, it is not acceptable as we are the pack leaders not the dogs! We’ve fallen for this ‘sit down’ maneuver many times when she was younger, but we are now wise to her little trick and will not give in to her again.
Posted in Dog, West Highland Terrier, Westie | No Comments »
