Monday, September 22nd, 2008
Recently my family and I stayed at a lovely little cottage in Wales. At this particular cottage we were allowed to take dogs, so naturally as planned, we took our beloved little West Highland Terrier dog Mitzi with us.
After 30 minutes of arriving at the cottage, Mitzi went straight into the kitchen and had a pee on the kitchen floor. This was a very odd thing for our Westie to do, especially as she is very well trained and would normally make a crying or barking noise if she wanted to go out. We put it down to new territory and a strange environment.
However the following evening we noticed that our Westie has done another wee at the top of the landing/stairs. We couldn’t tell her off because she could of done it hours ago and she would of forgot what she had done by then. The conclusion we came to was that because of the different smells in the carpets which only our Westie could smell (they may of been other dogs there at some time or other before us), she must of been marking her territory. Luckily she didn’t do any more peeing in the house that weekend!
If your dog is already house trained and suddenly it starts to pee in your house you have to ask the following questions:
1. Is it because you’ve fitted new carpet in the house?
2. Is it because you’ve changed your dog’s bed?
3. Has anything been going on in the house which would change your dogs daily routine? ie left for longer hours by itself because of working situations etc?
After doing a lot of reading in dog books and on the internet regarding dogs peeing in the house, it basically comes down to changes happening around the dog. However, what is stated on quite a lot of websites is that you dog may have a UTI (Urinary Tract Infection). For more information regarding a UTI in dogs click here on Wikipedia.
If dog does continue to pee in the house then do take him/her to the vet without delay as they may have UTI’s or worse so it is vital that you get your dog checked out. It is better to be safe than sorry especially as your dog cannot tell you what it’s feeling like.
Posted in Advice, West Highland Terrier, Westie | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
If you are the owner of a West Highland Terrier dog or any other breed of dog and you are the person who takes the dog out for its regular walk then read on.
I am amazed at the amount of dog owners who are extremely frightened of their beloved pooch meeting other dogs. When dogs pass each other in the street it’s only natural that your dog will want to go and have a sniff or at least look at the other dog passing by. However some dog owners drag their poor dog to their side and then put it on the short leash so their dog cannot go and meet it’s new friend.
Whatever you do, do not automatically drag your dog away when you see another one approaching! Your dog will pick up on your nervousness and this can then cause problems with your pet. If a responsible owner has a dog that is fierce and nasty it will no doubt already have a muzzle on so don’t panic yourself and the dog!
Our little Westie dog Mitzi seems to be able to pick up on whether the dog approaching is friendly or not. How she does it I do not know. If she wants to meet the dog she goes just in front of me, if she’s not sure she will go to my left and walk close to my leg.
As you can see by the photographs of Mitzi the Westie she certainly loves meeting new dogs, both big and small!
How does your dog interact with other dogs? Feel free to send us your stories and pictures of your dog(s).
Posted in Advice, West Highland Terrier, Westie | No Comments »
Saturday, September 6th, 2008
Washing your West Highland dog too often can cause great irritation to the skin as they are prone to allergies and dry skin conditions. It is recommended that you should only wash your Westie once a month or at longer intervals. You should always use an approved dog wash or shampoo and read the instructions at all times.
If you are thinking about getting a Westie as a puppy I would advise getting a small soft dog brush and brushing your puppy once a day. This will help the dog get used to the grooming routine and also it will help the dog bond with you. Frequent brushing is needed on your little Westie to keep the coat nice and clean and also the oils in the coat and distributed evenly throughout making it look and feel healthy.
As you can see on these photographs of our West Highland Terrier the time came when she needed to have a good bath, especially as she had just rolled in some sheep poo on the field nearby. Not only did Mitzi smell disgusting all her fur was green too!
You can decide to either let your dogs fur dry naturally by itself after having a bath / wash or you could use a hairdryer. If you decide to use a hairdryer, always ensure that it is on the lowest setting ‘Cool’ or ‘Warm’, NEVER use any other setting. Some dog’s dislike the sound of the hair dryer so if this is your dog just let the dogs coat dry naturally, you do not want to scare your pet because it will then associate having a nice bath / wash with that horrible noisy hairdryer and it will remember.
Once Mitzi is nice and clean she actually sits waiting for the hairdryer to come on! She is one little Westie that loves being dried with it. We’ve got lots more pictures of Mitzi the Westie in our photo gallery getting her bath and then being dried so if you have a moment why don’t you take a look – she does look rather cute.
Posted in Photographs, Westie | No Comments »
