Does anyone have a westhighland?

[MINNIE1]

Just wondering does anyone have a westhighland white terrier and what do you think of this breed?

[suedonim]

I don't have a Westie but good friends of ours have had three and tbh I don't like them. They are excitable, yappy and tend towards nipping you. I'd never leave my children alone with one. All of my friend's dogs pee on the floor when excited, too.

[k9kuts]

im a dog groomer so see alot of westies and have got to say they can be very highly strung as with all terriers!if you have your heart set on one you must find a reputable breeder as they can suffer with terrible skin conditions,and id definetly recomend training classes,as i do some beutifully behaved westies and after all dogs are only as good as their owners.

[Berries]

We used to have 2, until we found dd1 was allergic to dogs Love the breed, never had any problems with nipping at all, apart from when they were puppies, and it's very easy to train (as with any dog). They are very strong willed dogs though, so need to know exactly where they stand in the pecking order (the bottom), but they are amazingly loyal and very funny. I think they are very intelligent also (can you tell I'm a bit biased?) Dsis has a shizTzu & it's lovely but thick.
If you want one, def go through the westie society & contact a reputable breeder. We had 2 when we were younger & one of them had the skin condition - had to be put down at the end. If you go through the breeder you should be a ble to see the mum and also see the papers for the dad. Be wary of people who have a westie & breed from it with 'a friends dog', this is where you can get problems.

[lapsedrunner]

Rather hijacking this thread but have you considered an Irish Terrier? Check out www.irishterriers.com, I'm biased of course but they are fantasic with children.

[FrenchGirl]

and lakeland terriers love kids too!! we have one and he is dd's best friend (also, they are an endangered breed, as I think are irish Terriers). But need to be trained as it is a strong willed type of dog. Gorgeous, very active, very funny too!

[MINNIE1]

thank you all for your replys,

I have a westie and i just wanted peoples views on the breed. Now i love her as there are no kids just me and DP. But one little prob i have found out i am pregnant, Although she is fine around my sisters kids my SIL has one too and she was playing with her DS and messying, she said the dog kinda went for her and protected her DS. I just don't want her to get jealous when the baby arrives.. She is fully house trained and never wets inside unless she really has to go (thats once in a blue moon) I just hope i don't have to get rid of her.

[Chandra]

We have a couple a very spoiled yorkies and TBH the first person whonew about my pregnancy was the dog trainer as we were worried about how they would react to the baby (one of them was a rehome and was terrified of children...therefore she could bite). The trainer told us to start doing things as if the baby was already there:
-Not allowing them to the bedrooms and if you really want to keep the pecking order clear never ever allow them on your bed, if even after this the dog is still trying to be the leader don't allow him upstairs at all.
-I didn't allow them to jump onto mylap anymore (though I do now that is safe).
-The trainer also asked us to ignore them a bit, as the baby would take a lot of attention and if the dogs were already used to that they won't feel so bad.

But in general the key is toensure the dog nows that he's at the bottom of the pecking order, curiously, when they know that they become adorable and they seem far more relaxed, don't bark to visits, etc.

We didn't allow them to get very near to DS until DS started to walk, The dogs are lovely and very patient to DS, however, a toddler can do a lot of damage to a small dog and I supose that if the dog is in pain he is very likely to bite to defend itself, so we always keep a close eye on the 3 of them. So far is has been easier to train the dogs to respect DS than to train DS to be respectful of the dogs. But little by little is working, and the three of them seemto be having a good time.

[Chandra]

PS. We used www.barkbusters.co.uk and the nice thing is that you pay a flat fee that covers every single problem through out the life of the dog, even if your dog goes to a new home. It has been a godsend, and is very helpful if you are going in holidays and somebody else is taking care of your dog.

[cupcakes]

We don't have one but last year stayed for a week with friends who had one (he was less than a year old). He was very good with my ds (who was almost 4 at the time) and they played together very happily for hours. He was fine with my 1yr old dd as well although we generally tried to keep them apart because dd was scared of him. He was very bouncy and lively but there was no nipping.
We have since considered getting a westie as we found this particular dog so lovely.

[MINNIE1]

Right i have to get into training !!!! My westie has the run of the house. I dont want her to feel abandent when the baby arrives soi better start now really. DP take her to work with him so it would only be the evenings that she would be in the house. We also had a warning to keep her in doors as we have pinchers around..