Few Questions About My Beautiful Puppy!

coco_lola

Hi all,

I have a beautiful 13 week old West Highland Terrier named Echo! I switched her slowly from her breeders food onto JWB, and she is a fussy eater at the best of times. She has been eating this for 4 weeks now. She picks at it most of the time, but doesnt seem underweight. Nor does she seem to be putting on weight, if that makes sense! However, she keeps scratching constantly! No fleas/mites, she's been treated (along with the whole house) for them, as she did have them at 10 weeks, but they are all gone. I have been trying her on Arden Grange sensitive as she is partial to being a bit runny... But she seems to be just as picky with that. Its not her appetite though because I know if she had her way she'd eat chicken and rice all day! Ive been taking up the food after 20 mins etc, but still nothing.

Also, I find she has been very aggressive towards me of late. I know normal puppy behaviour is biting etc. But she growls and snarls at me when I come in from work and bites my ankles any time im with her. She doesn't do it to my housemates though. I always try to distract her by saying "off" or "leave it" depending on the situation, and then shove a toy in her mouth, but she drops it and goes for my ankles again. Its got to the point where Im scared of her a little bit. And If I tell her no, she barks and barks at me. She doesn't seem to listen to a word I say!!!

Any advice would appreciated!!!

mollysmam

welcome to the weird, wonderful and unpredictable world of westie ownership!!

i have a 4 year old female and a 3 year old male. they have had 3 litters before we got them neutered, and to tell you the truth they all had different personalaties, some bite, some bark(more like squeeked as pups), some scratched. your dog might grow out of it just keep persisting with the training and dont give up.

as for the food, we found that science plan was great and i would recommend it.

for the past year or so my 3 year old westie has bitten, scratched, chewed and licked one of his paws. we have had skin analysis, visit after visit to the vet and test after test but vet says its just habit.

westies are gorgeous but they are stubborn (dont mind the spelling) and will do what they want.

if all else fails look at a someone that can do dog behaviour, puppy training. (recommend problempaws.ie - not affiliated i just used her before and found her excellent)

best of luck

IvySlayer

Wow, your Westie should not show any aggression. Is she being punished? I know if my Sam did, he'd be put out the back/his bed right away. Maybe she won't attack your housemates because they set some rules?

Westies are stubborn and need rules. She needs to know that behaviour is unacceptable. A firm No! then ground her/throw her out.

Food: My pup loves Hills!

mymo

I would advise bringing her to puppy classes, they can give you some tips and advice, and if needed recommend someone to come to your home and help with the issues.
Food wise, its quite hit and miss and westies are prone to some skin issues.
I feed Royal canin to my two(neither are westies, but have had some issues with foods), it agrees with them both, but I have tried others, JWB didn't agree with the male(neither were keen to eat it), went through him and his coat got quite rough, arden grange made him itch and his hair fall out(belly was nearly bald:eek: and he's a very hairy dog that doesn't shed much normally), Burns pork and potato is supposed to be quite good, no cereal in it so can be good for allergies and skin probs (my two liked it but went through them both a bit quick, although not as bad as JWB), so I'm keeping them on Royal canin for now. I also give a little veg left overs as they love it, and fish in oil(sardines, mackerel, tuna) mixed in sometimes. Every dog reacts different to the foods, so its trial and error until you find one that suits.

Lower protein food can help with itching, as can washing the dog with certain shampoo's.
Best of luck with the new pup, they are all mad for a while, but do calm down once the training and rules are sorted.

Forgot to add, I wouldn't worry about the amount the pup eats, once she's not getting to heavy or too thin she's fine, my male was terrible when young and got really thin but once he stopped growing he filled out and is now lovely(and not as picky)

Cherry Blossom

Another Westie owner feeding Hills My puppy is 5 months now and like yours was very hyper, I just kept persisting some times I'd have to take her away from something 50 - 100 times before she got the message and if all else failed 5 mins of alone time for a time-out One day she suddenly just stopped. She was bouncing off the walls when I had her on Royal Canin and calmed down a huge amount after a few weeks on Hills. She also picked at her food when she was on Royal Canin and about a third of the reccommended amount was more than adequate for her. She is now eating a cup of the Hills a day again just from persisting and being strict with her. Leave her bowl for 15 minutes and then take it up again. Be very strict with treats and do some basic obedience training to make her work for them. Most importantly stick to a strict routine and she should settle into it.

coco_lola

Thanks for all the tips. I have started this immediately. When she starts growling and nipping at my legs , I just stand still and don't move and eventually she figures its boring, so she leaves, and as she leaves I say "off". She's getting the message. If its hurting me (aka she's biting my toes etc) Ill try to take her away 3 times saying off while giving her another toy, and if that doesn't work she gets a time out in the next room.

Im changing her food at the moment to Pro Pac, recommended by my vet as he specialises in skin problems, and I have never seen a puppy to wolf down her dinner so fast! I have been strict with the schedule always, but she always picked at her food. She is on day 3 of the new food now, so she is about half way switched over and she really likes it. She'll even eat the JWB mixed in because it must smell like it

Still a bit of scratching, but not as much, and Im sure ill notice the difference once shes completely on it.

Started obedience classes yesterday with her, he said she is one of the smartest puppies he's had through there She is so smart and energetic that she really needs to be kept active and challenged to keep her occupied! She was a sleepy puppy yesterday

Thanks again for all the help.