Westie A Good Big Sister?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
We are considering getting another dog in the home and was wondering if by nature there were any breeds that commonly got along well with Westies? She is going to be two in April and has been very well socialized and fairly well behaving and trained. My concerns are that either another animal will disrupt this pattern or the other pet will try and be too dominant over her. Any thoughts?
Related West Highland White Terrier posts:
I am positive that this breed will be perfect for her, http://dogtime.com/golden-retriever.html
Of course you still need to lead them with proper training. Here’s one aspect of it, http://dogtime.com/socialization.html
When I had my wirehaired dachshund it started off as a touch and go relationship because my WHD was older and my westie loved to try his patience and see how many buttons he could push, therefore aggravating the doxie. We had to rehome the doxie because afterwards he began pooping/peeing on our carpet and having more behavioral, territorial, and escaping issues than the westie and it was not a good match!
How about another westie?
I have a Westie and a Pug that get along fabulously.
I think it depends on the individual dogs temperament and how they are trained.
I would steer away from tiny dogs, because Westies have a high prey drive and see smaller dogs as vermin from my experience.
Mine prefers bigger dogs – he has a thing for Staffies!! I think it’s because he believes he’s bigger than he is and is a real hardy little dog – he likes to rough and tumble! He’s very gentle with smaller dogs but would much prefer a bigger dog to run around with.
Properly trained, any dog can be a good big sister.
Poorly trained, any dog can be a terrible sibling.
It’s up to you.
The new dog could end up being more dominant yes – breed is irrelevant. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though .. you just need to be able to accept it and let them sort their own hierarchy out..