Westies - yay or nay?!

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moogrrr

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For as long as i can remember i have wanted to have a westie once me and the OH have a big enough/suitable house and working schedules that would suit a dog. i read the thread on here about recommending dogs and lots of people said they wouldn't go for Westie's due to skin and dietary problems? This got me a bit worried - i have read up on Westies, but just wanted other peoples views really! What are the pros and cons of a Westie? We would be getting her from a very good breeder (who owns the kennels where OH's parents dogs go when their on holiday so we have seen the breeders dogs before etc) so could check parents, other puppies etc. OH has grown up with dogs so is pretty knowledgable and we look after/walk his parents dogs when we get a chance so we aren't going in blind.

The question is, would you say i am crazy getting one!?
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Yes
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Westies - NAY, NAY, AND THRICE NAY
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They are vile little dogs which yap endlessly and incessantly all day, especially when you live next door to them (as you might have guessed, I have done so in the past and currently live a few doors away from one now...
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They have no redeeming features as far as I am concerned I'm afraid, they smell and look filthy most of the time even if bathed very regularly....

Sorry, I am not a fan as you will have noticed, please feel free to ignore me
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Tehe!!!! i like honest opinions - i wouldn't have asked otherwise
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I am not so worried about the looking dirty - as long as they are bathed regularily and aren't uncomfy/unhappy it isn't an issue - and smelly wise, my OH's parents have American Cocker spanials who stink, so i am quite used to that!!! Yapping however is a bit of an issue because, as you prove perfectly, it would drive neighbours insane! They can't all be yappy though - can they
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Westies are one of my fave breeds. I used to have one but she is now in doggie heaven
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However I knew a vet who said re Westies if it can go wrong it will do! So never get a Westie unless its well insured! They are very prone to skin/digestive problems. Mine also had problems with her eyes and she had fits too, and in later life got heart/lung problems as well. She was a very happy little dog and had a lovely personality, although she did like to listen to the sound of her own voice quite frequently
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Mine was eventually pts aged only 8 1/2 which is young for a small dog but I knew one that was still pottering around at 18 years old! I have a jack russell now but would I get another Westie? Definitely
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Interesting! Is it through over breeding that they have health issues? My OH's parents American Cocker spaniels have had all the health issues you can imagine but still manage to lead happy and healthy lives, they just spend a lot of time at the vets!!!!

The thread before said they were very hard to insure - is this the case?
 
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Tehe!!!! i like honest opinions - i wouldn't have asked otherwise
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!

I am not so worried about the looking dirty - as long as they are bathed regularily and aren't uncomfy/unhappy it isn't an issue - and smelly wise, my OH's parents have American Cocker spanials who stink, so i am quite used to that!!! Yapping however is a bit of an issue because, as you prove perfectly, it would drive neighbours insane! They can't all be yappy though - can they
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?!

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In all seriousness, I have never known of a Westie which didnt yap a LOT at all times
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Granted they are not hugely popular so I havent known that many, but they truly have all been the same
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When we lived next door to one we had four greyhounds/lurchers which never made a sound, but the bl**dy Westie next door used to try and burrow under the fence, yapping all the time, to wind them up
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The owner never told it to shut up, so OH and I resorted to shouting 'shut up X' over the 6 foot panelling
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We had a westie, didn't yap,no health probs. Was a lovely boy. He did eat dried flowers though if left alone with them.
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My aunt breeds Westies, so I see too many of the blooming things. very cute wee dogs (except she clips them her self with the horse clippers so they look interesting at times
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) and don't bark/yap too much. However when they do bark, it is very yappy and annoying. Can't comment on the smell as the ones I know smell of horse crap all the time,
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but despite being of good breeding, they have all had skin problems/eye problems and various other niggles.
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I'd rather have my manky mutt of a terrier.
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Tehe Splotchy that did make me chuckle! Sounds a nightmare though, your poor greyhounds/lurchers!

It is strange, but the more i hear, however negative, does make me like them more and more! they sound like such little characters, real monkey's but fun too!

Lol at eating the dried flowers - my OH's parents also have a lhasa apso who eats flowers, leaves, twigs, basically anything garden related, and then wonders why she gets a poorly tummy! she also opens the green house door for their american cocker spaniel who then goes in and eats all the tomatos - carefully picking the ripe ones!
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I don't know if they are hard to insure, mine was 6 when I got her, she was rescued from being a breeding dog at a puppy farm. She wasn't insured because my (now ex) OH worked at a vets so we got everything for next to nothing! However, if OH hadn't worked for a vet I would have definitely looked into getting her insured.
 
definately yay
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and another one
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mine has no problems at all skin wise mainly because I keep him clipped and never let his coat get too long he is 13 this year and still as active as ever.

Splotchy - you have not met mine, and I am sure he can convince you they are not 'vile little dogs'
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Ooooo he is gorgeous Blondegirl!!! The health issues must be controllable ie. with your clipping, just more expensive and time consuming than with other breeds!
 
he has never had health issues - I clip him with the horse clippers every six weeks and he has a bath if he starts to smell a bit ripe (which being around the horses every day is normally once every 10-14 days) plus he sleeps on my bed so is not allowed to get too disgusting.

the only thing is during the winter he has to have a little coat as he gets cold
 
Though not the subject of reasearch in the UK yet Westies have a known indiopathic inherited disease called Westie Lung Disease - Pulmonary Fibrosis. There is a field of reasearch in the USA into the genetics of this. Westies generally do lean towards various issues - mainly skin, digestive, but also eye problems. Buy from a good breeder, see the sire and dam (sire may have been an outside stud but try and see him also). Ask to be referred to someone else who has previously bought a puppy from that breeder and find out how a previous litter has grown on. Good luck.

For anyone considering a pure bred dog please check for known inherited disease in that breed and buy from a reputable (recommended by someone you trust) breeder who health tests their breeding stock. NO dog, even mongrels, can escape recessive gene mutations but where there are known health issues in a breed / line we can do alot to eradicate this with the progress in the the canine genome research. Good site for a breed watch list and tests available: -
http://www.aht.org.uk/genetics_tests.html#canine
 
Im a another......."I would never own a westi", I deal with them frequently as we rehome them frequently through the rescue, usually due to little dog syndrome
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they are active hardy little dogs when not treat like a pampered accessory.
I also groom them, and they are all little horrors
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2 in particular where very funny and well behaved dogs with cool little caracters that I have met, one was a boarder as I also board alot of them and 1 a rescue handed in as he could not be accomodated, you will beable to get insured but it will be costly, as they do suffer more than their fair share of health problems.
 
See Cayla says she wouldnt have one, she is ALWAYS RIGHT
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My mum used to look after one when I was a kid, I still remember glancing over the door to the kitchen (stable door, so cut in half!) and thinking 'who has left that dirty piece of vetbed there'
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Yep, it was Morag the westie
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Thanks for that Harkback - very interesting and helpful. Luckily we can check the parents and see other litters, but i will do some researsh and try and find someone who has got a puppy from a previous litter.

Thanks everyone for your help - all very interesting!
 
blondegirl I'm sorry, but what's all that brown going on around the dogs mush? However clean they are I cannot stand any dog that has a 'nicotine stained' beard and 'tache.
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OP - I'm not desperately keen on many small dogs anyway but having lived in a cul de sac with three Westies who were all the most annoying, yapping bar stewards on the planet I cannot take to the little dears. Shouting, 'Shut UP' like a fishwife every half hour soon gets wearing. Oh yes, one of them was a heel nipper too - liked to chase you down the close attacking your trousers!!!
 
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they are active hardy little dogs when not treat like a pampered accessory.

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This is what i like about them - i want a dog to be a proper dog, not a pampered little pooch - but then i don't want a big dog (i am only 5ft, and as my OH politely puts it, anything bigger than a Westie would walk me rather than me walking it!
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he is so polite!) So for me a Westie is perfect.

It is interesting that you have a lot of rescue ones as i have looked in our area and not found many rescue ones around. However much i would love a puppy, I would love even more to rescue one and give it a good and loving home.
 
have you thought about rescueing one? there are loads on many tears rescue, some have problems some dont, they are fostered out so you can get an idea what the dog/pup is like?
 
No way! My OH really wanted one when we were looking at Dogs, but I managed to convince him otherwise
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My Gran had one and it used to spend all it's time taking chunks out of me
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I have known several since who were lovely little dogs, but have had chronic skin conditions.

Get a Glen of Imaal Terrier instead
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We have 2 that came together as a pair at 8 months old.
I offered them a forever home and i do love them but after they have gone i will never ever have another one.
Insurance was fine to start with and then was a nightmare after alf started up with skin issues.
They yap yap yap no matter what i do.
The constantly look like they have had their face stuck up someone's but no matter how often the are bathed of professionally groomed.
And they maybe hardy small dogs but they very quickly and very easily turn into spoilt brats.
And they suffer from severe small dog syndrome.
 
My sister has a westie she is about 18 months old. She is a very loving little dog with a great character about her. I can honestly say she is not a yappy dog and will only bark if a stranger approaches the door and stops if told to straight away. Although not my type of dog, she is lovely natured and there has never been any health issues with her at all.
 
Nay. I was on placement at a vets this summer, and when the vet saw that her next appointment was an 8 week old westie, her immediate reply was 'Oh its a westie, shall I just prescribe the steroids now'. I think this pretty much sums westies up....
 
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Nay. I was on placement at a vets this summer, and when the vet saw that her next appointment was an 8 week old westie, her immediate reply was 'Oh its a westie, shall I just prescribe the steroids now'. I think this pretty much sums westies up....

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hahaha - too funny.

I really like westies....when they go home!
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Seriously, I know some that are really nice wee doglets. But if I'm going to be bitten/scratched/mauled thru the course of work, it's a good chance it's going to be by a westie. Too often they are neurotic, barky, bitey, scratchy, miserable dogs. And when they're not doing any of that, they're peeing up all round my shop. I had a near escape and nearly got one years ago. Glad I got a Border Terrier instead. My mom had one - it died last year. But it was 8 years old and still not properly house trained, couldn't let it off the lead, barked incessantly.

Get a wheaten Cairn instead.
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Or a Norwich Terrier!
 
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY! I love love love my little westie!
She can be a bit vocal at times, but to be honest they are little dogs that need to be doing something..

Mine gets proper exercise, she runs til she can run anymore
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Then she sleeps for the rest of the day
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Mine is only 1 so cant really comment on health problems etc as havent experienced any!
This is her as a pup..

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How can you not love them
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PS the date is wrong on the pics!
 
She is gorgeous!!! I knew i had seen some really cute Westie pics somewhere on here and they were yours!

Thanks everyone for the advise - very helpful and much apprieciated.
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