People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier get along with Guinea Pigs for example.
Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats..
When Willow came to us last summer one of the things that she had to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to over 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 occasional spats to decide who is top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey back and forth amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.
We weren’t just dropping a dog into the midst of a bunch of cats who had never seen a dog before. Our Norwegian Elkhound, Saladdin was a key part of our family structure for years and actually helped raise two of our cats from kittenhood. He’s gone now and the cats haven’t had to deal with a dog for some time, but the old tapes were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to have a new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, but it wasn’t the end of the world for them either.
One of the things that we insisted on from the beginning was that the new dog had to submit to the cats. This is especially true when dealing with terrier dogs like the West Highland Terrier. No matter how lovable and cute they are, deep down in their heart and soul they are hunters. They want to get in and duke it out with the game animals, and pretty much anything that runs away 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 down to Yorkies are scrappers. So our job as owners of terriers is to define what they can chase and fight with and what they can’t.
That’s why we were so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the very beginning. 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 and a tug on the leash was enough to do the job. It certainly helped that our cats were not particularly impressed by 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 in the beginning. We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its just as likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. In fact it seems to be more of a game of tag than anything else, and nobody gets hurt. When they aren’t chasing each other around the house its not unusual to find Willow curled up with one of the cats, or just hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals are going to bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the first to actually chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and that set the stage for the others to follow.
Your situation may be quite different from ours, because our cats were already used to having a dog around. If you cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a slightly different course. In a case like that I would 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 gives you control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Stay with the umbilical work for at least a week and keep the dog in its crate when it isn’t on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes that the dog is not a threat to it.
The same things apply if you want to introduce a cat into the house. I’d recommend a kitten if possible, simply because they are more malleable and that will make the situation more managable. Be sure that the dog and cat get to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep the dog on umbilical for a while.
Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They may not become buds the way our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other is certainly possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit in the beginning and all should be well.
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24 Responses
2010 Mar 02
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 02
[...] Well, I have no idea anything about how exactly a Westie would get along with an Iquana or possibly a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 02
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how exactly 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.. [...]
2010 Mar 03
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how exactly a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 03
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or maybe a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of information about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 04
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 07
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how exactly a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 13
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 18
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or maybe a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 19
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 21
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 21
[...] Well, I have no idea anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 23
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 26
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or maybe a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of information about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 28
[...] Well, I have no idea anything about how exactly a Westie would get along with an Iquana or possibly a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of information about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 28
[...] Well, I have no idea anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 29
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or possibly a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Mar 30
[...] Well, I have no idea anything about how precisely 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.. [...]
2010 Apr 01
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Apr 02
[...] Well, I do not know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of information about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Apr 02
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or possibly a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of understanding of Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 Apr 02
[...] Well, I don’t know anything about how exactly a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of information about Westies and cats.. [...]
2010 May 04
Hi! Thanks so much for your post on Westies and cats! I currently own 2 dsh cats as I live in a small apt so unsuitable for dogs. But I'm def going to be buying a Westie (my dream dog!) when my partner and I get a suitable place and this really helped! I really can't wait to get a Westie (hopefully in the next 2 years!) And let it integrate with the family!
2010 May 04
Hi! Thanks so much for your post on Westies and cats! I currently own 2 dsh cats as I live in a small apt so unsuitable for dogs. But I'm def going to be buying a Westie (my dream dog!) when my partner and I get a suitable place and this really helped! I really can't wait to get a Westie (hopefully in the next 2 years!) And let it integrate with the family!