Companions for Westies
People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier be friends with Guinea Pigs as an example.
Well, I don’t know anything about how precisely a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps 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 was required 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 actually occasional spats to determine who’s top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey forward and backward amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.
We weren’t just dropping a dog in to the midst of some 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 deal with a dog for some time, nevertheless the old thoughts were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to acquire a brand new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, however it wasn’t the end of the world for them either.
One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that a new dog must submit to the cats. This is especially valid when working with terrier dogs like the West Highland Terrier. Regardless how lovable and cute they can be, deep down within 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 is 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 should be to define the things they can chase and fight with and what they can’t.
That is why I was 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 and a tug on the leash was enough to get the job done. It certainly helped our cats are not 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 most of the boundaries we laid down initially. 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 actual fact it is apparently more of a game of tag than anything else, and nobody gets hurt. Whenever they aren’t chasing each other around the house its not unusual to find Willow curled up with one of the cats, or maybe hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals will bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the first to really chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and 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 your cats have not had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a rather different course. In a case like that I would suggest keeping the new Westie on umbilical for a couple of days while the critters get accustomed to each other. Umbilical training, where you have your dog on a long leash and keep the leash tied around your waist, is a very good training method under any circumstance. It provides 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 1 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 this dog is not really a threat to it.
Similar things apply if you wish to introduce a cat into your house. I’d recommend a kitten if at all possible, as they are more malleable and that is likely to make the relationship more managable. Make 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 coexist with Westie Terriers. They may not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other is certainly possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit to start with and everything will be well.
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