julzie

Only done this once when she had her first heat and i hadn't noticed she was coming on. Never do it again! I'm not saying it's not serious, thats why i'm looking for help. He has only bitten me once when he was going for the vacuum head and my hand got in between them. He appears to have been attempting to bite us a few times, but never actually suceeded, which it was i was told indicates it's fear more than aggression. Apparently if he really wanted to bite me he would have.

Hi; Vet only just told me recently about the chemical option and it's something we are considering as they are difficult to separate for long periods.

Only done this once when she had her first heat and i hadn't noticed she was coming on. Never do it again!

Hi ChristineX I'm actually feeling awful about my original post now. I made my poor boy out to be a monster, which he definitely isn't. He had just had a moment in front of the tele and i think i was still reeling from the combination of his barking fit combined with my migraine! Anyway, it seems Cassie may be coming into heat, so time to bring out the nappies soon. I think her little clingy episode the other day was probably related to that, as she gets a bit sooky when she's coming into heat, and goes through this phase where she doesn't like brock. Not long after that she kind of does a flip and gets really dominant and playful, then after that is when you need to watch them like a hawk, even with nappies on! It was also raining which also makes her sulk a bit, as there is not many spots outside, out of the rain. Working on that with a new reno Anyway she played tug of war with both me and brock yesterday and wore me out! She's also been very playful with me this morning so things are good there. I read a book i was given, author Gwen Bailey, called "Dogs behaving badly" and it gave me a lot of insight into Brocks behaviour. I didn't like calling him aggressive because it's so rare that he gets upset with us, and i now realise that he was probably afraid of being told off. He loves to play with his fellow doggie pals, and has never really had a period of time when he hasn't had the company of another dog that he can play with. But obviously he can't play with the ones on TV! I have spoken with a behaviourist that has encouraged me to put brock on the lead in front of the tv and play games with him, give him treats for being well behaved etc... whilst slowly introducing dogs/animals on the tv. The idea being he needs to learn to ignore them, because mummy is more interesting/fun. Apparently this kind of behaviour is becoming common with dogs of all breeds and ages now, as they find it very difficult with the new tvs to tell that they are not real! Anyway similar principle needs to be applied at the park, so he can learn to ignore the other dogs and focus on his leaders. I have also read the post here by K9pro about the drive program and thought i would use this to really reinforce with Brock who is the leader (Me!). Can't hurt right? We are going away with the dogs to visit family and friends over easter and if i haven't noticed a considerable improvement in Brockie by the time we return then i will book a session with a behaviourist for more advice. So far though he has been very good. No aggression, no barking at other dogs when we have walked him with Cassie (just tugging on the lead) and he is calming down in front of the tele. He's currently lying at my feet, with his head on my foot. his favourite spot! Thanks for the support Julzie

Hi all; I am new here and have two Westies, so please bear with me if i overload you with info. My westies are female (Cassie) and male (Brock) and 15 and 14 months respectively. Neither is desexed as we hope to breed. OK, as a result of a few replies i do feel i need to clarify a few things here. We have not entered into the possibility of breeding lightly. My husbands mother had two westies which she successfully breed so we had some prior knowledge of the breed. We did a lot of research before we bought our dogs and they are both from very reputable breeders with strong ancestry. They are both registered and i intend to become a registered breeder if and once i feel the dogs are both ready (It's still another year almost until my girl is old enough to have a litter). They are both fully vaccinated and regularly health checked by my vet. I have had Cassie since she was 2 months of age and got Brock a month later. They are both thoroughly spoilt which i am starting to regret. They are the best of friends and hate to be separated (in fact it's impossible to separate them without a bark and howl fest) and get along incredibly well. Brock has clearly become the dominant of the pair and is very defensive of his girlfriend. Cassie has definitely become a shy girl. She gives up on playing with you the minute Brock starts to join in, she just sits and watches. I'm not very happy that Cassie has become so passive and shy. What bothers me most though is that Brock is a real barker. They both bark whenever they hear or see something outside (they are indoor/outdoor dogs) and the fact that i have neighbours across the road with very yappy dogs that sit at the side fence and often escape and visit my front garden doesn't help, as my dogs go barking mad every time they hear/see them. The main problem is Brock though. He has a particular problem with other dogs (or animals). When we are walking him on the lead, he pulls on the lead (more than usual), barks like mad and becomes very agressive and will attack Cassie if she gets close enough to him, and will attempt to bite us if we try to pick him up and intervene. If we take him to a dog park though where he is off the lead, he is quite happy to sniff out the other dogs and rarely barks. The barking behaviour also occurs with the television! He loves to watch TV with you but if an animal comes on then he will bark like mad and jump at the tv, if's it's a dog then OMG it's like he goes psycho! He also behaves this way with certain tv ads and seems to have identified the tune to certain ads he doesn't like b'coz he will run from another room to the tv when he hears certain tunes and gets very confused when he hears the tune on the radio with no images on the tv to go with it. The vacuum cleaner with no hose on causes the same response. I'm getting very concerned with this because if we try to intervene he gets so aggressive and has attempted to bite us a couple of times. Cassie also likes to try to intervene and often lands up getting the sore end of his aggression. He recently appears to have scared her to the point that she has spent the day running away from him and wanting to cuddle up to us all the time. Don't get me wrong, Brock is predominantly a darling beautiful boy and they absolutly adore each other most of the time. This behaviour is not common, but seems to be increasing which is why i want to nip it now, before it gets out of hand. Brock can, and sometimes does, behave very well in front of other dogs when he is on the lead and other animals he see's on tv. Any advice on how to deal with this would be great. We are considering specialised training, but i really do think it might be hard to train them together. I wish i had trained them earlier. I feel like i have done the wrong thing by spoiling them so much. :D HELP!!!! Julzie