Digging:
Digging is a natural/taught trait of a Westie. They were trained
.
and
used to hunt varmints for years an years over in the Scottish
.
Highlands. Hence, West Highland
White Terrier! BUT, just
.
because they were taught to dig/hunt does not mean that
our
.
modern day Westies should be allowed to dig or chase. None of
.
ours
dig! As puppies, they all wanted to dig but, they soon
.
learned that digging was not acceptable.
The best way to curb
.
the digging, you'll have to be attentive, is --- place the puppy
.
in
a fenced area that is not larger then 100 square ft. Move out
.
so the puppy doesn't want
to focus on you. Make yourself as
.
comfortable as possible and wait for your boy to start
digging.
.
Once he has got those paws working well, rush to to yard, catch
.
the
puppy, put his nose into the dug area and scold him in a
.
harsh voice saying something like "No
digging"/"You don't dig"/
.
"No! No! No! no digging" and paddle his butt
with a couple of
.
fingers. Stay high on the back end while doing so. You don't
.
want
to spank on the hips. To much of this could cause
.
problems down the road. You never
want to hurt him but, he
.
has to know, just as with the She Wolf, that this action is not
.
acceptable.
Your voice must be harsh and quite loud. Westies
.
don't like to be harshly scolded.
Generally, three to six times
.
of this correction will stop the problem. When he has a period
of
.
being in the pen, say for 10 minutes without any digging at all,
.
go
to the pup, call him to you, and praise him for being a "Good
.
Boy". Snap like
the She Wolf when needed and love like an
.
angel as reward for doing good. A SMALL treat
may also be
.
used as reward along with the verbal praise. They basically
.
always
want to please you, but you have to set the rules so they
.
know what is pleasing to you and what
is not.
.
All our dogs for 20+ years have been trained this way and none
.
dig
and they all think the world revolves around our feet! Others
.
can say what they want, but
this works. It works well. It works
.
in a short period of time. Puppies learn their
boundaries and love
.
you all the more for it. In order to please anyone ---- you must
.
know
what is and isn't pleasing to the one
.
you want to please. Westies love to please!
