Are Westies supposed to have bad behavior? Help!?

Question

Please don't answer unless you are familiar with the breed, west highland white terrier. I don't need comparisons to pit bulls, yorkies, or other unrelated breeds.

We have a 6 mo. old full blooded westie. And a 4.5 year old wire haired dachshund. They get along fine.

The westie has lately become very aggressive to our yard men and acts like he is going to tear them up. He does not follow instructions (breaks out of the fence and runs like a wild man). He barks constantly (is he too young for the bark collar? I dont care your opinions of them. My vet recommends them). I have tried Petsmart training classes and he learns nothing but sit, and tricks. We are supposed to start showing him and he cannot enter trials acting like he does!

Answer 1

They are fairly friendly towards strangers and WELL behaved children.They can snap when irritated are are very good watchdogs.He won't attack the yard men,but he will try to warn you that "someone is in the yard!Go check it out!"He probly thinks that if you don't go and greet them then they are enemies and he will go crazy around them.Westies do like to bark and dig.

Do you try to calm him when the guys are there by picking him up and stroking him?If so,he's thinking that everytime he barks at them or whomever else he barks at,then he will get love.So you are going to have to stop that.

No matter how much you train him,he will never learn if you are training him the WRONG way.Use only positive behavior towards him if he does something well.Never punish him because he will not learn that way.Affection only works with these kind of dogs,actually it works with all dogs.When he does something bad,barks,jumps,runs around crazily,ignore him.Once he sees that his behavior gets him no attention form the one he loves,he will stop.Then once he is calm,give him a treat and lots of love.

Because he runs away,try keeping him on a long leash for a while.Let him roam around and call his name.Once he comes,give him a treat.This only works if he comes when called.If not,try making a bunch of crazy sound to get his attention.Encourage him to come to you and hold out a treat.Once he sits or lays down whjile looking at you,give him a treat and a lot of love.Try testing him in a park or somewhere where there are a lot of things going on.Call his name and if he comes,give him a treat.Make sure he's on the long leash at all times until he can be trusted without.If he tries to make a break for it,step on the leash.

For further information,contact me and I'll teach you how to train him properly.(Don't sweat,it's free.lol)

[e-mail]

Answer 2

Sounds like he's going through his terrible two's. Don't worry, with some discipline, crating and an anti-bark collar, he will learn.

If you're concerned about using a shock collar I have seen some clients use a citronella collar which sprays a shot of citronella up the dogs chin/muzzle area when they bark - works wonders!

When your yard men arrive, see if they will help you 'train' him. Ask them to stand still whilst you walk up to them with him on a leash, as soon as he starts to bark, immediately turn him around and make a loud high pitched noise. This will distract him. You'll probably need to do this a few times. He will eventually get the idea that as soon as he starts to bark, he's not going any further. Trust me, with persistence, this works great.

Another thing you can try is to stand still with him on a leash and have them approach you as if they are walking by you, not to you. As soon as he starts to bark, a little tug on the leash with your high pitched noise and walk away.

Keep in mind that he is also trying to 'protect' his home and family but once he understands that these men are welcome, he'll leave them alone.

As a vet tech, I often refer to terriers as terrorists. I have 3 of them and boy they're all a handful! Fun though.

Answer 3

At 6 months, your wonderful little puppy just hit "teenager".

He thinks he knows everything, that he's the king of the world, and that it's his job to show it to everyone who will listen.

Add to that, he's a terrier.  They have a "little man" complex that makes them think they rule the world.  LOL!

WHWT's are smart, stubborn and have lots of energy.  You have to teach him to use it for the forces of good, or he'll become a spoiled brat.

What to do?

~Get into a different training program.  Go to a specialty class for ring showing.  It's COMPLETELY different than the idiocy Petsmart teaches.  It will teach you how to control, mold and contain your dog so you get the most out of him.  Both in the show ring and in the living room.

~He needs more exersize.  These dogs need hours of hard running everyday.  No matter how much he gets now, he needs more.

~You're going to need to be a STRONG leader.  Un-altered males (show dogs usually aren't nuetered) are not easy to live with.  They're DIFFICULT!  They have moods, and get whiney.  You need to learn how to deal with that and make him behave.

Contact your mentor.  You have a mentor, right?  At the Westie Club you'll be showing him in?

If not, call over there and get one.  They'll tell you where to find the best trainers.

Even if you decide to skip showing him, DO get into a different obedience class.  It's worth it.

A word about neutering:

I admire that you want to show him.  Breeding usually follows, but it sounds like you want to do the responsible thing, so I won't preach.

BUT!!

As a beginner in the show ring, you might consider having him neutered and showing him as an alter.  Just to give you experience with shows and with training a show dog, then start over with a different dog after you've learned a little more.

If not, you have to learn quick.

Good luck to you.

Answer 4

You are going to show a dog that you can't work with to train? HAHAHAHAHA Maybe you should try training him at a real kennel club and not at a retail business. BTW: kennel club training classes are like half the price of crappy retail store classes, and they don't have a high-school dropout training your dog.

Answer 5

I have a 5 month old Westie and he's recently started exhibiting the same behavior as you described.  My vet said that many Westies have a very dominant personality and general aggressive demeanor.

Answer 6

Petsmart classes are worthless.

You don't care about our opinions so why ask the question?

Answer 7

Interesting question, well I've owned many westie's.

My first one was a male he was very aggressive with other dogs until we got him castrated he then settled down he wasn't at all aggressive with people or around his food. I've also had a female westie called Molly now she was aggressive with other dogs and very aggressive if you put your face near her. and lastly I've currently got a 3 year old female wesite called Bailey who's brilliant with other dogs and isn't vicious with people just bark at strangers. However around food she's very aggressive with other dogs she will snap also if she has a toy that she really likes and another dog tries to take it from her she will snap.

Hope this helps.