People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier get along with Guinea Pigs for instance.

Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or a Guinea Pig, but I have a wealth of knowledge about Westies and cats..

When Willow came to us last summer one thing that she needed to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to in excess of ten. The cats definitely rule the roost here and the new little Westie just needed to find her place. She’s done that now. There are actually occasional spats to determine who will be top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey forwards and backwards amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.

We weren’t just dropping a dog in 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 handle a dog for quite a while, however the  old tapes were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to acquire any kind of dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, nonetheless it wasn’t the end of the world for them either.

One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that this new dog needed to submit to the cats. This is especially true when working with terrier dogs including the West Highland Terrier. Regardless of how lovable and cute they are, deep down inside their heart and soul they are hunters. They want to get in and duke it out with game animals, and virtually anything that runs away from them qualifies as game. It does not 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 what they can chase and fight with and what they can’t.

This is exactly why we were so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the start. It wasn’t hard to do. 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 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 some of the boundaries we laid down initially.  We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. Actually it is apparently really a game of tag than anything else, and nobody gets hurt. When they aren’t chasing each other throughout the house its not unusual to find Willow curled up with one of the cats, or just 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 that set the stage for the others to follow.

Your circumstances may be quite different from ours, because our cats were already familiar with having a dog around. If the cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you should probably follow a slightly different course. In a case like this 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 gives you control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Stick to the umbilical work for at least 7 days and keep your dog in its crate when it’s not on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes that the dog isn’t a threat to it.

The identical things apply if you want to introduce a cat into the house. I’d recommend a kitten if at all possible, due to the fact they’re more malleable and that will make your situation more managable. Be sure that the dog and cat get 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 will often not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other should be possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit at the start and everything will be well.