West Highland White Terrier

westies are cute i have two age 11months love them to bits,

HI, They look lovely, we have two 13 week old brothers, how do your westies get on? ours are so funny when they play, but the last couple of days they have been getting a little too violent in their play fighting, did you have a problem? I know it's normal for two males to fight for domination, but it's quite frightning, how should I deal with it???

Im hoping to get a Westie very soon, I love their temprement, Iv wanted one for years, I did used to own a Staff, (Greg if anyone remembers me from previously), but Westies have really caught my eye in the last 6 months, so a Westie it is !

Let them play wrestle but when it starts to go too far where things are getting a bit aggressive, I would separate them and maybe put them in to different rooms to let them calm down a bit.

Or try and distract them both with a toy or treat when it starts to go to far.

Don't stop the play fighting altogether though!

PS. Put this in the Training and Behaviour section as well. I'm sure others on here will have more helpful information for you but they might miss this if it's just posted here.

Hi everyone, I joined the site today. I have five dogs, this is the Westie, four year old Alfie.

Hmm, just tried with the pictures, they won't work. Any ideas?

Look forward to chatting with other Westie owners
Fab little dogs aren't they

Hello and welcome.

Fantastic wee dogs.

Have you uploaded photos on to Photobucket? If so, post the URL link for the photos in you post. Hope this helps.

Hi There, I Have 2 Westie Pups, 13 And 14 Weeks (not Related) Bobby And Mitzi. Life Is Never Dull Now. For Some Reason They Dont Know The Difference Between Night And Day. I Am Going To Bed And They Are Coming To Life. Would Like To Here From Other Westie Owners. Jane

i have been the lucky owner of 2 westies,one for 11 years (not long enough),my present westie is almost 2 he is at advanced level in training but loves to fool around and can be the clown of the class but i wouldn't have him any other way.He can be a couch potato,his ears stood up approx.3 months and looked too big for his body until his first groom.i have him clipped not stripped.Neither of my westies had any major skin problems but both have dark skin i use Bob Grass shampoo which contains no harsh chemicals.Enjoy your westies as much as i do.

Hi everyone.

Im new to dogsey and was just wondering if anyone could tell me why westies develop an orange tinge around the paws and mouth?

My westie, monty, was 10 this month & had it for a few years but it seems to have gone now. Just wondering if anyone knew what causes it?

My family always had Westies but when I was a teenager we got a Cairn terrier (easier colour to manage!).

I know a lady who has one with bad skin problems and said she wouldn't have had the dog had she known this was prealent in the breed but I guess all breeds have some sort of health problems (or most of them do).

I would like a Bichon Frise to go with my 2 Kerry Blue terriers but break out in a rash at the idea of having a white dog!

My boyfriend and I took in our little Toro about 6 months ago and we're having a tough time keeping his fur clean and most importantly white!! What shampoo would you recommend? I was watching a video and the lady was using a whitening bar soap. Any ideas on where to purchase it?

Westies are so cute and they're a pleasure to have around =)

My mum has got 2 westie that are 6 months old, they aren't from the same litter and are 3 weeks apart with regards to age. They defo have character

I normally take the 2 westie - Maisy and Matty and my GSD a walk together and so far their recall has been fantastic, they are like little bullets. Might be because everytime they come back they get a treat.
I'm sure they will tests me as they mature though! Something to look forward to lol

I've got a Westie (who is 7 years old tomorrow actually)! Her name is Molly.

She is a pet only. She never (well, very rarely!) gets a full bath. I only ever wash her underneath (legs, bum and tum!) and only ever with Malaseb shampoo as a preventative measure for any skin issues.

I also never clip her in short either - she has all her furnishings but her private parts, feet, ears and eyes etc are all kept clean and well trimmed.

She is thoroughly brushed with a slicker brush and combed out with a metal comb every second day. Only takes about 10 - 15 minutes max to do this. Sometimes I use chalk powder by rubbing it in and then brushing it all out again.

I'm careful with what I feed her as well - I never feed cheap wet (or dry for that matter) foods such as Cesar, Winalot, Pedigree etc as that has a lot of rubbish in it, including added colours, preservatives and flavours, not to mention a lot of water and all this can and does cause facial staining, often leading to skin issues which, in turn, cause them to chew and lick their feet turning them an orange/pink colour due to the saliva. (Obviously allergies can be seasonal etc but quite often it's to do with food, especially with Westies).

I feed foods (and treats) such as Burns, fish4dogs, Arden Grange, James Wellbeloved, Nature Diet an Applaws, combined with raw chicken wings and lamb bones etc. They also have tinned and fresh sardines, mackeral, salmon and tuna.

I add EV olive oil every day in to their teas and they get filtered tap water to drink.

All of the above seems to be keeping my Westie in beautiful condition (touch wood it continues!). She hasn't had any skin issues since she was 2 - and even then it was only minor and was down to feeding.

Hope this has been helpful.

Here she is....

I like your Westie! What a lovely expression in the last picture.

Did you see the Westie in the "Greyfriars Bobby" film they made a little while back? Supposed to be a Skye terrier really but the animal trainer had a Westie he used.

I was always under the impression that the orange discolouration was just a natural occurrence - something to do with chemicals in their saliva when they lick - now i am writing that down though i am not sure if it is true

Yes, it's to do with the protein in their saliva but they shouldn't really be licking as much as to cause such discolouration, hence they have irritated skin for one reason or another, usually allergies such as food intolerances, seasonal allergies, dustmites etc. So, the cause should really be found as to WHY they are licking as much.

I dont know why I didn't see this before! Mt sister has a Westie, from a fantastic breeder. We hand strip her, for the most part, as we both much prefer the proper coat on her, and she doesn't get as dirty... and being a westie, she LOVES dirt! lol

Here's a couple of pics... i cant help sharing!

Yes, they do get dirty! LOL


But clean up rather nicely


This is after the first time I stripped her completely... without the breeder's help


And white dogs really aren't that tough to have... trust me!

We have an 8 month old Westie pup called Bungle. We originally started with a 7 year old rescue westie called Rosie. We only had her just over 3 years before she firstly developed a mammary tumor which required a big operation and then when she got over that she developed westie lung, which is what eventually took her from us. We miss her to this day so much but Bungle has helped with the pain. She is a true Westie, full of life and fight but loving everybody. Where would I learn more about hand stripping, the difference in the pictures is amazing