People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier be friends with Guinea Pigs for example.
Well, I have no idea 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..
When Willow came to us last summer one thing 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 actually occasional spats to decide who’s going to be 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 in to the midst of a handful 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 accommodate a dog for a while, but the old thoughts were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to have a brand new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, but it really 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 was required to submit to the cats. This is especially valid when working with terrier dogs like the West Highland Terrier. No matter how lovable and cute they can be, deep down inside their heart and soul they’re hunters. They need to get in and duke it out with the game animals, and basically anything that runs away from them qualifies as game. It 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 is always to define what they can chase and fight with and the things they can’t.
This is why we were so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the beginning. It wasn’t hard to accomplish. If she got too frisky we were required to lay her down until she settled and calmed, but mostly a sharp word along with a tug on the leash was enough to complete the task. It certainly helped that our cats weren’t 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 many of the boundaries we laid down in the beginning. We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally as likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. In fact it is apparently really a game of tag than anything, and nobody gets hurt. Whenever they aren’t chasing one another throughout the house its not unusual to find Willow curled up with one of the cats, or simply hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals will bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the very first to actually chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and set the stage for the others to follow.
Your position might be quite different from ours, because our cats were already accustomed to having a dog around. In case your cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you should probably follow a rather different course. In a case like that I recommend 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 an extremely good training method under any circumstance. It offers you control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Keep with the umbilical work for around 7 days and keep your dog in its crate when it isn’t on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes the dog isn’t a threat to it.
Similar things apply if you want to introduce a cat into your house. I’d recommend a kitten when possible, due to the fact they are more malleable which can make your situation more managable. Make sure that the dog and cat are able to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep your dog on umbilical for a time.
Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They might not become buds the way our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other should be possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit to start with and all should be well.
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