Companions for Westies

People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier get along with Guinea Pigs as an example.

Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or maybe a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats..

When Willow came to us last summer one thing that she was required to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to around ten. The cats definitely rule the roost here and the new little Westie just had to find her place. She’s done that now. There are actually occasional spats to determine who’s going to be top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey backwards and forwards amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.

We weren’t just dropping a dog into the midst of a handful of cats who had never seen a dog before. Our Norwegian Elkhound, Saladdin was a key part of our family structure for a long time and actually helped raise two of our cats from kittenhood. He’s gone now and the cats haven’t had to accommodate a dog for quite a while, nevertheless the  old habits were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to acquire a new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, nonetheless it wasn’t the end of the world for them either.

One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that this new dog must submit to the cats. This is especially true when managing terrier dogs like the West Highland Terrier. No matter how lovable and cute they can be, deep down inside their heart and soul they’re hunters. They want to get in and duke it out with the game animals, and just about anything that runs from them qualifies as game. That doesn’t mean they aren’t great dogs, but there’s no way around it: the terrier breeds from Pit Bulls all the way right down to Yorkies are scrappers. So our job as owners of terriers is always to define what they can chase and fight with and the things they can’t.

This is exactly why we were so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the start. It wasn’t hard to do. If she got too frisky we had to lay her down until she settled and calmed, but mostly a sharp word in addition to a tug on the leash was enough to complete the task. It certainly helped that our cats weren’t particularly in awe of dogs and don’t mind demonstrating the use of their claws if she gets too feisty.

Things have settled into place now and we’ve been able to relax some of the boundaries we laid down originally.  We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally as likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. The truth is it looks like it’s more of a game of tag than anything, and nobody gets hurt. Whenever they aren’t chasing one another around the house its not unusual to discover Willow curled up with one of the cats, or just hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can actually never tell which two animals are likely to bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the very first to really chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) which set the stage for the others to follow.

Your position might be quite different from ours, because our cats were already used to having a dog around. In case your cats haven’t had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a rather different course. In a case like this I recommend keeping the new Westie on umbilical for a couple of days while the critters get used to each other. Umbilical training, where you have the dog on a long leash and keep the leash tied around your waist, is a very good training method under any circumstance. It offers you control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Stick to the umbilical work for around seven days and keep your dog in its crate when it isn’t on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes the dog is not really a threat to it.

The identical things apply if you wish to introduce a cat to the house. I’d recommend a kitten if at all possible, as they’re more malleable which will make the situation more managable. Be sure that the dog and cat are able to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep your dog on umbilical for a time.

Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They might not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other is certainly possible. Make use of the umbilical, make the dog submit in the beginning and all will be well.