West Highland Terrier

[Anne Macindoe]

Hello, we are interested in getting a West Highland Terrier puppy in the next year. We currently have a very friendly Golden Retriever, who would love a friend.

We live on the Mornington Peninsula.

[persephone]

@westiemum  any suggestions ? 

Welcome   

bet you're having fun doing your research!! 
What  attracts you to  a Westie ?That's quite a size /temperament difference  

they are great little dogs ! have you read this ?  CLICK HERE  it has some good info/discussion . An old thread ..so avoid posting there , but some may be useful

My only other suggestions are to go to shows etc , meet/watch the dogs in which you are interested ! learn heaps , speak with the breeders of ones you like the temperament/look of 

Oh ..and something else for you to read ( apologies if you have already completed this step ) : Getting a second Dog

 

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Make sure you get a Westie from parents that don't have any skin problems to inherit.  The other things to think about are what size Westie do you want, my friends wanted large 12 kilo ones so searched for a breeder that fitted.  I like them a little smaller personally, they are delightful dogs but def. have the terrier temperament.  My old Westie cross protected the house for 13 yrs, sadly he thought that all blue tongue lizards were snakes and despatched them after giving warning yips - i'd race out there but was never fast enough.  

[karen15]

Westies are the besties  I planned mine for after my staffy died and he has turned out to be everything I ever wanted. Which was a big ask as my staffy was irreplaceable. 

 

Terriers are different to retrievers personality wise. I love them but some people can find them tenacious and terrors.

 

Baby westies are so super tiny. I was worried Max was going to fall down the drain in the bathroom. He was fascinated by it and the grate could be lifted off with effort, so that always had the laundry basket on it when i went out. He was only 2.5 kg when he came home, but oh so wild! He was a full on fire cracker and would tear around like a whirlwind.

 

Here he is with the cocker I rehomed from work a month before I got him. He totally adores her. This is one of my favourite photos.

 

Now he's grown up, they're quite similar in size. Max is about 10kg and Meg is only an inch or so taller and 13kg.

Edited November 26, 2018 by karen15

[karen15]

I'll add if you're in a capital city, most of the westie groups are on face book and the state groups tend to have Christmas get togethers around now. A great time to go along and see lots of westies. Brisbane has a weekend westies group where we get together once a month at different locations to go for walks. Can get up to 50+ westies (and a couple of ring-ins) at some days. Really fun mornings and nothing more adorable than small dog park filled with westies romping around. 

 

ETA Be prepared for all no dogs on the bed / couch etc rules to go out the window. They use their good looks to get whatever they want. They seem to have a thing for pillows and love nothing more than snoozing on a pillow be it on the couch or on the bed. Max used to wait till I was asleep before sneaking onto a corner of the bed. These days, the light goes off and he's straight up onto a pillow. If he gets cold, he goes for the middle of the bed and makes me curl around him. He is also pretty strict about his no treats no sleeps rule. Last night, dog forbid, I was getting in bed and had forgotten the liver treats on his pillow. The look said it all. Looked at me, looked at his bed, looked disdainfully at me and I was on my way to the kitchen to fetch the treats.

Edited November 26, 2018 by karen15