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The West Highland White Terrier is a dog like no other.
He is an 80 pound German Shepherd, Golden retriever , Doberman Pinscher, Bloodhound and a Siberian
Husky tightly compressed into a 14-20 pound, solidly muscled body adorned with a fine white coat. He is a hunter of
fierce critters, yet as lovable as your heart can handle.
If you think he is not a formidable adversary for many
situations ------ think again! Westies have no comprehension of the word fear. They will take on the world in
an effort to protect what is theirs and those they love, yet be more than eager to curl-up on the bed joining you in an afternoon
nap.
Energy is surely not lacking in this mighty little dog. Be aware, when in an unfenced area, he will
require a leash but while on that leash, he'll show no hesitation joining you on a five mile hike or jog. Should
you pause during this outing to rest, he'll be looking around the area for something to do while he waits. It seems
the only time these dogs show tiredness is after the two of you are back home ----- then ----- Crash, he or she will be "out"
for an hour or two.
There was a survey taken several years ago by The American Kennel Club's "Gazette"
of men and the "Macho" breeds they tend to own. The top ten dogs included all of the "expected"
breeds with one notable exception, THE WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER.
Back in 1989, when I first met my wife, she
was, even then, raising Westies. Being a man who likes a dog to be a DOG, and never had any use for little, whimpy,
yappy creatures. I thought, "oh boy" this could be a problem but I decided to enter the situation with an
open mind. Well, within a couple of weeks, her Westie stud dog (Jordy) was beside me in my work truck most of the
time. It didn't take me long to realize that a "Man's Dog" didn't need to take up 1/2 of the truck
bed, only about 2 square feet of the front seat while resting his head on my right thigh. Now, it did take awhile for my future
wife, Joyce, to come to terms with Jordy's transfer of affection. He had always bee strictly her dog. As time
passed, everything worked out fine and here we are 19 years later and still raising those GREAT LITTLE WESTIES.
Westies are endowed with exceptional intelligence. All through my younger years I had heard that dogs did
not have the ability to "reason". Reasoning, being the ability to see a situation or problem and find a way
to circumvent it or to outwardly devise a "trap" for a playmate. Well, during my latter years and my
many, many hours working with dogs has proved this to be completely false. Dogs do think-out situations and
adjust their efforts to solve problems. The Westie seems to do this even on a higher level then many of it's counterparts.
Sometimes nearing human "I. Q." of 130 + or more. We can't count the times one of them have completely
amazed us. We have stood shaking our heads in disbelief as to how one has done something or set a situation to totally
trick a playmate. They do it all the time.
Although Westies are tough, cute, smart, loyal, lovable and protective,
they are not for everyone. You'll need to be able to work with and accept what is termed "WESTITUDE".
The Westie's inherently strong and independent nature may not be suitable for some families. A home with young children,
who have no idea of how much "pressure" is too much or who thinks hitting is playing, will not be a situation where ANY
young puppy or smaller dog should be placed. Severe aggression by youngsters will surly met with Westie retaliation.
First may come a threatening grow and a showing of teeth. If this does not resolve the issue (and in the above
situation probably won't) a lightning fast strike to the offending hand or possibly the face will follow. The movements
of a Westie are swift. They were bread to be extremely quick in movement to avoid their prey's teeth. They
had to be able to handle critters such as sea otters, badgers and groundhogs in and around the sea cliffs and craggy areas
of the Scottish highlands. In the Westie's world, a mother will often use a swift "snap" to the puppies
face declaring the pup has pushed some issue too far and needs to be taught what is acceptable and what is not.
The only way a dog can state "enough is enough" is with a snap or bite. 98% of all facial dog bites are the
result of a child becoming to rough and hurting the puppy/dog. Not knowing the limits during play is the main cause
of this problem. Of course, this statement may not apply to the "guard dog type" that may have
a nastiness built into them.
Westies are one of the toughest small breeds and love to play rough,
especially male puppies, but have little tolerance for being injured themselves. Without realizing it, their extremely
sharp "baby teeth" can be quite damaging to our skin. When they bite too hard, many times a sharp tap on the
nose with a finger will help curtail this. It may take many slaps on the nose along with a sharp vocal
reaction to teach the needed lesson. You have to exert enough vocal and slap to say "that is not acceptable"
but not so much to actually cause severe pain or injury.
It would be best,
when younger children are visiting, for you to be directly involved with the introduction of the children and puppy/dog and
after a short, closely watched meeting of the two, your little friend Westie be placed into his containment crate or a secure
room for his and the children's safe keeping. Do not allow the children to play or tease through the crate door
as this will do nothing but provoke the dog and teach him to totally dislike small children. There have been and are many
small dogs and even some big dogs "put-down" or otherwise discarded because their owners were not properly
informed in this area of care. You must remember, to a puppy or small dog we humans are HUGE creatures that
they depend on and want to love and please us with all their being. In many cases they are "our children"
and we must always be concerned with their well-being.
If, while any child is playing with you puppy/dog,
you notice the dog is trying to hide behind or under a piece of furniture or some other item, he is saying "I'm finished.
I don't want to play anymore". All playing needs to cease, if not , he will probably release a growl
followed by the showing of teeth and if that doesn't obtain the desired result (of leave me alone), a formidable snap,
intended surely to cause pain, will probably follow.
One other thing to keep in mind is that terriers
have a natural "Pry Drive". This is the urge to chase anything that runs away and/or moves quickly and makes
a lot of noise. This drive is super strong and almost irresistible. Children, even older ones, creating this type of
situation will surely be chased and possibly nipped by any type of terrier. After all, they are hunters.
It
is surely not our intention to turn you away from the terrier breed. It is however, our duty as a responsible breeder
to offer you the information you need to make an informed choice to become the proud family of a fine West Highland
White Terrier. They are truly one of a kind. Yes, you will belong to him/her ---- not the other way
around as you may think. Westies and children can and do develop fantastic relationships, it's just that each party
must learn and respect each other and their responsibilities. This is inclusive of the Westie also. He/ she
must be taught what is and what is not acceptable. We have several families, with young children, who
have our puppies and they are doing very well.
Properly cared for Westies don't just love their people
--- they fall in love with them.
The Westie is a natural leader and dominant by nature. They expect to be
in charge. In a grouping of various size dogs, if there is a terrier or terrier-mix within its ranks, you will
notice he/she is the one at the head of the pack. Adult Westies also believe they should rule over you if you are not
going to take the lead so ----- if your not going to be a strong, responsible and consistent "alpha-pack leader",
they will instinctively attempt to fill that role. You MUST be the ALPHA of your pack. whether it consists of
one dog or several. The "pack's" entire being MUST be controlled by you. You determine when
to eat, how much to be eaten, what is eaten and even to the point of if they eat at all. Food is their main driving
force and generally the most important thing in their lives. You totally control the food -- ALPHA POSITION
and you must demand their respect. This may sound somewhat harsh but setting you in that dominant role brings to your
dog that all important security of a strong leader. In a dog's world that is extremely important. Without
a strong leader, the pack could parish.
Westies are all and need all that is stated herein but they also have a
HUGE craving for uncompromisedaffection. They love to be considered "Daddy's Girl" or Momma's Boy"
or vise versa. The tightest bonding will generally accur with the one who shows the most stability, demands the most,
earns their respect, yet talks and treats him/her lovingly (as if talking to a human baby). You will know when this
bonding is developing because, you'll notice he/she lying at your feet under the table (if you allow this) and showing
other closeness directed much more toward one person than any other.
It takes a little work to maintain your Alpha
status. It demands daily reinforcement. Westies fully beleive in the old adage "Give me an inch and I'll
take a mile". If you lose consistency or give in to their cuteness, poor-pitiful look or wily ways which break
"pack rules", Westies WILL preempt your Alpha position. "Westitude" interprets your backing-down
as relinquishing your dominance to a stronger Alpha being ---- them. Signs of trying to take over your dominance
include "humping" your leg or whatever, forcefully growling at you, snapping or snarling at you or other "pushy"
ways to DISCIPLINE YOU for your dropping the reigns of power in the pack. When a terrier is allowed to become the pack
alpha, humans, as a group, are considered just another pack member who MUST conform to the NEW ALPHA'S rules. This
is not the position you want to be in. You need to be in charge and it is easy to accomplish. Being pack alpha
should NEVER mean being overbearing. Fairness, firmness and consistency enforcing your "Packs" rules is all it takes.
Inconsistency creates confusion --- confusion shows weakness in the leader.
Westies most of all want to
please their leader but being of high intelligence they become bored easily.
Example
While playing "fetch", you have taught you puppy to sit while you take the ball from
his mouth and prepare to throw it. After repetitions of this game he begins to get bored and begins to change the
"sit" to a "lay down". This may be a sign of being bored. Another may be, instead of placing
the ball in your hand as you have taught him, he drops it a foot from you and wants you to reach for it. When
you do, he quickly snatches it up and takes off with his head high in the air. Another may be dropping the toy
just out of your reach, and just standing there barking. What he is doing is saying "I'm bored with this same old
game. I'll teach you a couple of new versions". One thing you need to watch out for is that he doesn't
trick you into becoming submissive and you end up doing all the fetching. That would be Westie dominance. Variety
is the spice of life to a Westie. Westie = fun. All teaching (accept for pack rules) must be at least part fun
and part oral gratification (food/treats).
A note of caution: Be watchful of a child or even an adult
carrying food in their hand at a low level. If it comes into "Westie-reach", it may be snatched away along
with some skin from a few fingers. This should never happen to you or the other Alpha members due to your training but
those who are not in that status could be fair game. Training any dog not to touch freewheeling, available food can
be accomplished but it takes a lot of perseverance. Food is the highest motivator for any action you want to train your
dog to do. It has been said, Westies are constantly searching for food and can't be trusted but we find that difficult
to agree with. Yes, they will steel human food from a hand if made available but as for their REGULAR food
--- we find over-eating not to be a mjorproblem with most Westies. Note: I said MOST WESTIES! Not all.
A LITTLE ABOUT DOG FOOD
Corn based dog food (corn listed as the very first ingredient) with hardly any real meat
meal, consisting of mostly grains and meat flavor will surely cause a dog to go looking for some REAL FOOD. Dogs are
meat eaters. Horses, cows, chickens and such are grain eaters. Grains in smaller amounts are also good for dogs
but meat is the main thing. We have found a ration of high quality meat meal with rice fortified with vitamins and minerals
will keep just about any dog satisfied and healthy until his next scheduled feeding. The body knows "Junk calories"
(corn, wheat and soy) from wholesome food. At least animals other than humans do.
The little "Great
White Hunter" has intense instincts for hunting large and small vermin. When they lunge into critter pursuing mode
they are nearly incapable of hearing human commands. It may seem that they are totally ignoring all verbal efforts
when in reality, it's their overwhelming critter instincts that filter out everything except the chase of the critter.
For this reason, when in a strange/open areas and/or until you are sure he/she will obey you commands, you need to keep
your Westie on a leash and in a securely fenced yard. Allow a Westie to lay eyes on a squirrel darting through the park
grass or a neighbor's cat trotting over the lawn and "CRITTER MODE" kicks in and away goes your dog in high
pursuit. He may stop if he "trees" the critter or he may see another critter and the chase may be on again.
Get the idea? The same thing goes for challenging another dog --- sometimes dog fight. Sometimes just a stand
off, while other times a bunch of niceness all around. Just remember, that little white Westie thinks he
is some 12 feet tall and weighs over 500 pounds. No animal, no matter the size, will scare him off. He needs you
protection --- from him/herself.
Most of the time Westies learn to get along fine with cats but both have to be
willing. The most difficult part is teaching the cat not to run. Running = chase. Chase = problems.
Remember, Westies get bored easily, especially as puppies (up to 12-15 months old). They really do much better and have
less problems if they have a playmate.
Inherent behavior can be modified within reason (the key
word being reason). If you wanted a big dog in a little body well then, why would you want to make a "woosiedog"
out of a Westie.
There is so much more you may wish to learn about the wounderful world of the "Little
Giant", the West Highland White Terrier and things which effect his/her world. I have written two other
pieces on Westies and as time allows I will be putting them on this website.
It is our aim to make available
to good and loving homes the finest of the West Highland breed that we can. Our puppies come with a full 5 year genetic
health warranty, lead training, partial potty training and a "puppy packet" containing a lead, collar, brush, puppy
shampoo so your new friend gets started on the right footing.
The most important thing to us, as a quality
breeder, is that our little white balls of joy find truly loving homes. We want you to know up-front, if we are not
truly convinced our puppies will be cared for with much love and under the proper conditions, we will rescind our offer of
placement/sale. The welfare of our puppies is pinnacle.
We hope this writing has helped make you more informed
and helped in you decision concerning becoming a proud parent of one of the finest little dogs in the world.
Please, email or phone us should you have any question not covered herein (I couldn't cover everything here).
We are always here to assist you in any way possible,
Rodger and Joyce Morales
La Terra Dios Ranch
194 La Terra Dr.
Clark Fork, Id. 83811
(208) 266-1586
ALL PHOTOS
AND TEXT UNDER COPYWRITE BY RODGER MORALES MARCH 2008. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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