Westie Terrier Blog

Winter finally caught up with us here in Maple Ridge. It may not look like a lot of snow if you’re from Minnesota, but it counts as a lot out here on the Wet Coast.

Just wanted to share some pictures of Willow that I took this morning. They’ll give you a good look at one of the coats we have for her.

This little westie coat is actually an advertisment for a company that makes horse blankets, and its made out of the same warm, water-repellant material as their larger blankets. The only thing that is a bit wrong with it is that the material is a little stiff and seemed to bind her legs in front. She didn’t have any problem with the coat this morning, though.

I’ve been looking forward to snow, just to see if it would be possible to lose a white terrier in it. The answer is no, or at least not easily. The white of the West Highland Terrier is much more silver colored rather than a true white, so, if you are fairly close you’ll have no trouble seeing your dog.

This question popped into my mind while thinking about the Snow Shoe Rabbits we have up north. They are brown in the summer and white in the winter, and its a true white. That means that the only thing you can see of the rabbit in the snow is the black eye. Very good camo!

Anyway, here are the pictures.

Sometimes a girl just needs something to snuggle in.

I don’t really hold much with the idea of dressing your dog up in cute little dog clothes. Its a fun hobby and they do look good in their little outfits, but in some ways its demeaning to the dog. They aren’t people. God gave them fur coats to keep them warm and dry, and mostly that’s good enough.

Willow has come down with a cold, though. She’s off her food for one thing. Very unusual for her. And she’s making funny snuffling noises like she’s trying to clear her nose. We decided she needed coddling for a while, especially keeping warm. Digging down in her clothing box we discovered this little set of Westie pajamas. She does look cute, I must say, and she’s snug as a bug until she gets better.

photo credit: hslo

Let’s face it, it can be lots of fun dressing up your dog in cute little outfits.  There are some things that you should be aware of when it comes to buying dog clothes.  Whether you are buying small dog clothes or large dog clothes, you need to keep a few things in mind when making your purchasing selections.

The first thing to keep in mind when buying dog clothes is to make sure that you buy the right size.  It’s usually best to try the outfits on your dog but this isn’t always possible.  A lot of people buy dog clothing online and when you do this you can’t try the outfits on your dog.  If you can’t try the clothes on your dog, the next best thing is to take some measurements of your dog.  You should measure around the neck of your dog.  You should measure the chest area of your dog.  Take this measurement just behind your dogs front legs.  You should also measure from the base of your dogs neck to just before the back legs. With these three measurements, you should be able to properly fit dog clothes to your dog.

The next thing you should be aware of when purchasing dog clothes for your dog is the fabric that the dog clothing is made from.  If you are buying a knit sweater, is the knitting tight?  If it isn’t there’s a good chance that your dog will get a toenail stuck in it and pull the sweater apart.  You should make sure that the fabric is appropriate for the time of year.  You don’t want to dress your dog in a t-shirt that is made of fleece or wool in the summer.  Many people don’t think about the fabric when dressing their dogs.  It’s not hard.  Just dress your dog in the same type of clothing that you would want to wear.  If it’s hot outside, dress them in lightweight t-shirts if you dress them at all.