Dog socialization

Until my girls became friends a year passed or even more. So dont be upset if you new couple is not ok ith each other or other dogs right away. Give some time.
​I wanted to ensure that my elder dog is feeling fine and that puppy is learning correct things. So I read a lot about socialization at home. But socialisation outside the house is not less important. We love to go for dinner together, it is good exercise for patience and dog tolerance. Probably Dina was five or six years old when she started to behave like a dream dog. My Lilly is only three. So I am sure I need more time. Now when we sit at caffe no dog can pass by. Crazy. But I teach myself patience to go it all through. It will only get better with time. I am sure its important to visit as much new places as possible, so that puppy gets used to being in new places.

Socializing your dog is when you start preparing your pup to enjoy and have positive experiences with different environments and other animals, people and activities.
Socialization is such an important part of your pups relaxed life. Socialized dogs are typically happier, more approachable and able to handle stress better.
​Dogs that are not as socialized can become shy, anxious, and sometimes even aggressive out of fear because they don’t have the social skills to deal with new situations or people.

Adult dogs that haven’t been exposed to other dogs from a young age can get anxious in dog park settings.

Walking your dog daily allows them to see and meet other furry friends. You’re more likely to see people and other dogs while you’re on a walk than you are sitting at home with your pup.
Always remain calm and assertive when your dog is meeting other people or animals. If you see behavior that needs correcting; don’t be afraid to distract and correct them with a quick tug on the leash.
Also, praise your canine when they have a favorable interaction. Stay positive with every encounter! Your dog feeds off of your energy.

You’ll want to continue to expose your pooch to different social settings and experiences their whole life. Socializing them as a puppy and through to adulthood is one of the best ways to ensure that they become a confident, stress free adult.
Remember, don’t force your dog into any situation they don’t want to be in, stay positive and always have treats on you!
It’s never too late to polish their social skills!

Source: https://naturaldogowner.com/why-its-never-too-late-to-socialize-your-dog/

Westie paw care, westie spa

My 11 year old girl had quite rough paws. I searched for heeling options. As always I wanted natural as much as possible. A friend tried protective balsam from natural ingredients:
natural unrefined coconut, sesame, sea buckthorn, almond oils, beeswax, vitamin E.
It sounded perfect. We tried it too.
Balsam protects puppy’s feet from harmful factors such as pollution, salt, heat and dry air. Natural oils nourish and soften the skin while beeswax creates a protective layer. Balsam easily absorbs into the skin and leaves no greasy sensation. It is all natural so no problem if dogs lick it off. But if to massage a little bit into paws, there is nothing to lick of. 
In photo above you see my 11 year old girls paw after first balsam application. Paws became softer right away. After few applications they were soft even before applying.
We apply balsam after we wash paws, every time we come back home from outside. We wash paws with hard soap, from same all things natural company Biocos.  Not expensive, super natural, allowed to lick, really doing its work.

Deep into westie breed

West Highland White Terriers or westies are known as brave, small and friendly dogs. Originaly they ware developed in West Scotland for game hunting (fox and badgers), but now one of most popular companien dogs.
Westie is a small dog, their height at the withers usually are about 28cm, weight arround 10kg. Strong and compact body, white double and dense coat (soft underlayer, streight and hard top coat). Their legs are short, mascular and strong. Their head looks too small for their body, so we grow hair longer on this part and even make it look as fluffy as possible in dog shows. Teeth are big and strong. Nose and eyes are black, it looks very contrasty in white fur, like three coal peaces. Thats why their face looks sweet and gentle.

Westie is perhaps one of the most sociable and affectionate terrier dog. But we can not forget their origin as a dangerous animal hunting dog. Usually westie behave good with other dogs because of their intelligent and socialistic temperament. To gain this we must socialise our westie from early puppy days. Westies can become a perfect companien for children, but as well, westies must be correctly socialised from puppy days when child and westie must learn to play safely.

West highlan white terriers like to mark and dig. Especially if they spend a lot of time on their own. If you like to be ofthen outdoors this breed is perfect for you, as this dog enjoys activities outside. This is brave, courageous and determinant dog despite their size. Westies love to be in centre of attention. So they will do their job to occupy your attention and organise activities with them very well.
Westie coat needs regular brushing, especially if their top coat is not streight and hard. Their soft underlayer as well must be brushed out, as it will fall all arround your home. Westie coat requires special shampoo, as usuall shampoo can soften their coat too much, so it will not be dirt protective and skin becomes dry and irritated. Grooming is recomended once in one and half or two months. Bathing as rear as possible. Coming back home, better clean the dirt only, not wash all dog. If the coat is in good condition, the coat will not keep dirt, you can brush it out easilly. If you bath your westie too ofthen, coat will loose its advantages, become too soft, skin irritated or even too dry. Do not get fooled that white westies must be washed every day. No. Their coat is perfect for rear washing even being white.
It is recomended to clean their eyes, snout and legs regulary. Cliping nails more often if you spent more time outdoors then in a city.

Westies do not need a large dose of excercises but they really need two walks a day. They love spending time outdoors. You will make a present for them every time you take them to the park or forest, where you let them safetly run leash free. Please remember their hunting habits and be more careful when your westies meet smaller animals.

Westies are very independent, stuborn and quite selfish dogs. But thie intelligence lets them use these characteristics wisely. So wisely that they become even more adorable becouse of that. People say its hard to train westies. Let’s not forget their intelligence and here. If westie knows what for you train them, they will do everything. It can be delicious treats, belly rub or lots of attention. Westies will do anything for attention, use this property wisely and you will have well trained westie. When you want them to train something it is important to be persistent. I mean, always always keep your opinion, no matter what. If you want them to sleep in their bed, not yours, never change your mind. Not for a single moment. Remember that they are very persistant and keep asking for permision, so keep in mind your opinion all the time. If you teach them new tricks also be persistent, patient and clear, show same guester, tell same comand, show how you want them to act and give a treat and pet imidiatelly after westies makes trick correct. Never prise your dog for almost made something, for bad behaviour. If your westie barks too much, wait untill dog stops and then pet your dog. Negative reinforcement gives neagative result on westies. Remember they are confident and bossy dogs, they love to rull they hate to be punished and can become even agresive. Treat them right and you will be happy with your westie even being stubborn and bossy. I will write separate article about bossy dog training.

Westies usually bark a lot. You can read here why they bark. Their origin is to track territory and allert of anything unusal or new. That sometimes can be any noise, leaf, neighbours doors, not necesary real alert of course. But good training will do its work and barking really can be reduced. I think this subject also needs separate article. So stay tuned.

Westies are small dog and thankfully they are longlived dogs – 12-16 years. There are some westies known who lived even 22 years. Its a great motivation to treat them right, it comes back with long years together. This includes balanced food, enough activities, happy friendship, corresponding health care.
Everything stated in this article can not be applied to every westie. A lot depends on many factors, like training, enviroment they ware born, grew up, parents, character. Just like humans, all alike but all different.






#cutedogs #westie #westiegram #westiesofinstagram #westies #westielife #westiesarethebest #westiebestie #westieoftheday #westielove #westiepuppy #westiedog #westielovers #westiemania #westiemoments #westietude #westielover #westiesofig #westie_planet #dogsofinstagram #instadog #dogstagram #doglovers #dogsofinsta #dog #dogs #doglover #puppylove #puppy #westhighland #westiecoat #bestdograincoats #dogcoat #westieraincoat #dograincoat

Westie tear stains. Why? How to clean?

 I found a big article about tear stains, it tells more about understanding, why dogs cry, why tears have red pigment. You can read it here: A Veterinary Guide to tear Stains

And here is what I understood in short. 

First of all, where tears come from and why tears are red?

Some dogs produce excessive tears. But this can be managed quite easily if it is not health issue or because of breed specification (poodles, bichons, Maltese, boxers, bulldogs, etc..)
Please remember that young puppies will tend to produce more tears when they are teething. In puppy case just be patient and do as suggested below.

Its all because of iron-containing molecules.
 
Tear stains are usually caused by dye molecules called porphyrins. Porphyrins are iron-containing molecules, produced when the body breaks down red blood cells. Porphyrins are excreted primarily through bile and the intestinal tract, but in dogs a significant amount of porphyrin is excreted through tears, saliva and also urine. When porphyrin containing tears or saliva sits on white fur for any length of time, stains result. These iron-related stains intensify/darken in the presence of sunlight.
All dogs produce porphyrin, but of course porphyrin staining is most noticeable on light colored dogs. If you have ever noticed a white dog who has been licking or chewing on his leg, the hair in that area will turn iron-brown in colour as well.

How to get rid off those reddish stains arround eyes?

Happy to announce that most tear stains can be simply prevented by keeping the face meticulously free of porphyrin-containing tears (if there are no health issues or breed issues). That means keeping the face hair trimmed, and wiping the face at least twice daily with a slightly damp wash cloth, to dilute out and wash away the tears. Or, if you want to get really fancy, cleaning under the eyes with ordinary contact lens cleaning solution (containing dilute boric acid, that oxidizes the iron in the porphyrins and lightens the color) will help keep things neat and tidy.

While you take wipe the your white fur babe face twice daily, please check possible options below that can cause excessive tears effect (information prepared using this AKC article about dog tear stains).

Examine the quality of your food. Probably you have heard few times from other white fur dog owners that a high-quality, grain-free diet works best. The corn, wheat, and meals that are used as fillers in inferior-quality foods just don’t ensure long-term good health and can cause allergic reactions, resulting in excess tearing and other problems.
Examine the quality of your water. Maybe home water is too poor or vice versa it has excess minerals. Its best to use purified, distilled, or reverse-osmosis water sources.
By the way, it is known that white fur dog food and water should not be served to plastic or metal bowl.

I have started to wipe my girls face few times a day. We have problem only with one eye. Its been a long time. Vets never found anything suspicious, I give her high quality grain free food, there is no problems with water or bowls for a long time already. So lets hope its only excessive tears that is common for her, and I need to keep it dry and clean not to get reddish eye.

​Whats your story? Ware you able to solve it?

If you found it useful information please Pin it to your Pinterest board Westies ​and help others find it. Thank you!

Westie womb inflammation, womb removing surgery

Two little sisters. They have each other. They have me. I got them.
When stories happen you understand how important is your important to your important ones.

𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵: feeling almost healthy, only problems with scar, not heeling completely still..

After womb removing surgery (inflammation): keep visiting our super dogtor, drops, medicine, still not eating, a little water drinking, potting normally, sleeping a lot. Only one tiny vomiting today (yesterday she vomited every time after drinking tiny little peace of water). We wait for kidneys to start working normally again: renal failure after surgery, westies common problem.
If she starts eating, everything will be ok.
One more drop tonight.

On the whole, it seems like she is resting while sleeping now, not because she has no energy, but because she is gaining new energy, like recovery sleep. 💗💗

Thank you for your big support 💗💗

10 facts about west highland white terriers or westies

1. Their origin country – Scotland.
2. Their ware “made” to hunt
3. They can find joy in simply things.
4. They really love to live.
5. Super exciting temperament: bark, chase, be bossy, persistent, stuborn, impulsive
6. They have double coat: short undercoat (soft) ant top coat (streight and hard). It almost doesnt sheds.
7. Hard to train. As they are bossy and stuborn.
8. They get along with other dogs and cats.
9. Usualy they love to bark.
10. Less bathing the better.

So, why westie? Reasons you should choose this breed

1. Puppies are cute as pies.
2. They are so photogenic.
3. They love being outdoors, any weather.
4. The weather is never an issue for them.
5. They will make you smile or laugh every single day.
6. Naughty is in their bones but wouldnt you forgive that cute face.
7. They love kids.
8. Their head tilt is something.
9. Intelligent dog.
10. Two west highland white terries stand double of everything above.