How to House Train a Westie
The West Highland White Terrier, otherwise known as a "Westie," is an obedient, strong-willed, devoted and spunky breed of dog. Adult Westie's stand at a height of 11 inches at the shoulder and weigh between 15 and 22 pounds. An 8-week-old Westie, which is the age that training begins, is about 6 to 7 pounds. That cute, little ball of fluff can seem to do no wrong until he begins urinating on your living room carpet. House training will require persistence, dedication and a lot of repetition on your part. But eventually, your perseverance will pay off and you will have a well-trained Westie.
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Instructions
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Keep your Westie confined in his crate when you cannot watch him. This includes during the night and when you are at work. This is one of the most important rules of house training to abide by at all times. Dogs do not like to eliminate where they sleep, so crating your Westie when you are busy with other things will teach him to wait for you to take him out.
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Watch your Westie closely to discover what type of signals he gives off before he eliminates. Some puppies will begin to sniff the carpet frantically and others may begin to circle as they look for a spot to eliminate.
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Open the crate door and take your Westie outside immediately when she wakes up in the morning or after daytime confinement. Having a routine will help with the house training process.
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Take your Westie puppy outside to eliminate every 10 minutes during playtime. Accidents can happen quickly in the middle of play, so you will need to be on your toes.
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Catch your Westie in the act of eliminating accidentally in the house in order for your efforts to be effective. Punishing after the fact does not work. The attention span of a puppy is so short that he will have long forgotten the accident by the time you scold him.
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Guide your Westie to the door immediately after he drinks. If you give your puppy a big bowl of water after a long walk or play session, pay close attention. He will need to urinate within minutes, and if you miss his signals, you will miss another opportunity to house train him.
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Walk your Westie after feeding time. Most Westies will need to urinate 10 minutes after feeding and pass a bowel movement within 30-45 minutes of eating. So plan on taking your Westie for a long walk after feeding to teach him that outdoors is the place to eliminate after a meal.
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Tips & Warnings
Praise your Westie every time he eliminates outside. Scold him gently when you catch him eliminating indoors. Eventually, he will associate your unhappiness with accidents, and your elation with outdoor elimination.
Do not scream at your dog when he has an accident indoors. Screaming will only scare and confuse him, which accomplishes nothing to help the process along.
Never hit your dog for eliminating indoors. Hitting is cruel and only leads to aggression issues.
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- Photo Credit westi image by fotohansi from Fotolia.com
