Dog Training Help

The West Highland White Terrier (Westie) is known as a friendly dog that is considered easy to train and handle.  Terriers are known to have a bold, and stubborn temper so it is still important to train them in an appropriate manner.

Your West Highland White Terrier training will begin from the moment you step into your home with your new Westie.  West Highland White Terriers are known to be a bit naughty, and also considered stubborn and clever.  It is important to teach your new dog right from the start who is boss and that you are in charge.  Make sure to be firm with your Westie right from the start or else they may become demanding and have temper issues when they do not get their own way.

A Westie puppy is not any different from any other very young dog in that they should be trained in short sessions of just a few minutes.  It is important to reward the dog with praise.  West Highland White Terrier training also works well when you use dog treats as a reward.

Like all other terrier breeds West Highland White terriers bark a lot.  Barking is a dog’s way of communicating their feelings like happiness, boredom, and nervousness.  Terriers are known to bark more than other dog breeds.  When doing your Westie training it is important to not yell at the dog to stop barking.  The dog may take your loud tone of voice as a bark and it will only reinforce his or her actions.  Remain calm both physically and verbally and use a stop phrase such as, “no bark”.  If the dog does stop barking make sure to reward it.

Boredom is one of the main reasons a dog will bark.  One of my favorite tricks is to take a chew toy and put a treat in it.  This will often keep your dog from becoming bored for a good length of time.

West Highland White Terrier training also needs to extend to playtime.  Your Westie has a natural instinct to hunt down, chasing, digging, and then killing vermin.  When playing with your white terrier do not play too aggressively or it will be hard for the dog to distinguish when nipping and gnawing is appropriate or inappropriate.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008 at 7:34 pm and is filed under Terriers.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.