I need a little advice with my West Highland Terrier, He tries to attack me in the evenings?
November 27, 2008 by admin
Filed under Y! Answers & Articles
Smurf asked:
He is great all day, but come about 9pm as soon as I walk into the same room as him he leaps at me and growls and tries to bite. I rescued him from a very violent home 7 months ago. He has not had the snip.
tommy: What ???
tommy: Who is mr frewster
Road Trip With Your Dog?
maybe the owner was mean to the dog around that time…. like maybe the owner would come back from work or somthing and hurt the dog
A couple of things. First, you’re not going to breed this dog, so get him to the vet and have him neutered. It’s better for his health anyway, and you’ll feel good that you’ve done it.
Second, he’s a Terrier, and it doesn’t sound like he’s getting enough quality exercise time with you. This is important. Westies, terriers in general, have to get out for a good long walk after dinner. More if you can find the time. Get the laddie on his leash and get him outside. Make it a daily routine. It will pay dividends. Congratulations to you for rescuing him from a bad situation. You’re half way there.
You’ll have to redirect his aggression. In fact, you’ll have to work to eliminate it, since it’s not a quality you want to put up with. Walks are the best place to start. They drain energy and make them more receptive. Check out Dog Whisperer on TV if you get it, maybe he’s not the greatest thing since Cool Whip, but most of his hints are dead on.
Good luck.
he is probably just wanting to play
Our Westie always has a “mad” hour before bedtime
Always be kind to your westie and never smack or hit him give him lots of cuddles and it will pay off in the end !
Defo get him snipped it prevents illnesses, and will leave him less confused
Plenty of exercise ours get 1 hour walk in the morning and again late afternoon
well stop trying to slip it the tounge ,either that or place it in the freezer for an hour or two , it will soon stop .
Yeah lock the little bugger up at 8.30-JOKING PEOPLE!
he is probably playing hun-give him some toys that he can “kill” after all he is a terrier-tell him no very firmly but dont ever hit him-talk calmly to him and make a fuss of him when he sits nicely-will take some time as he is a rescue dog-and dont ever leave him alone with kiddies-the snip may help to calm his hormones a bit-how old is he?-dogs do go through a teenage phase when they want to be boss and pack leader!
Good luck Smurfy-my mum has 2 Westies and her little boy one is a bit like that-hes 8 months!!xx
Curious one but every dog is different. I’ve had my first terrier (Jack Russell) for 4 years now and he’s still rather aggressive. I would try the snip - but it made no difference to my dog. However, I think the majority of the answers are right and he just needs more exercise and attention. Having said that, you were very brave in taking him out of that environment and it may be that he was ill treated at that time of night (if the owner came back home) and he’s still settling. For such tough dogs, they can be very sensitive. You sound like you’re used to dogs so I’m sure you can play with him for a while and distract him from his unsociable behaviour. Best of luck.
when you enter the room, ignore him for about 10 mins so he calms down.
our cross jack russell/yorkie tends to go bonkers around this sort of time too, just runs mad about the place for no reason, growling and barking, he dont attack as such but will play bite.
I just get his attention, stroke him softly and speak to him calmly and then give him a treat when he stops. he will soon learn that you are no threat to him.
take him to a dog trainer. i have no advice srry!!