There are three cuts available for West Highland Terriers. They range from the normal shaved back and long sides look to a total shave. But did you know that the traditional way of caring for a Westie’s coat is not to clip it at all?

The ideal West Highland Terrier has two types of fur, a long hard shell coat on top and soft warm fur underneath. The shell coat is supposed to be very hard and straight. This helps to shed water and keep the little Westie dry in the rain. Clipping compromises the shell coat and the hair that grows back is soft like the undercoat. In order to maintain the shell coat, a Westie purist will have the coat stripped to maintain it. Stripping means pulling the hair out from the root.

This procedure will be familiar to you if you’ve been around show horses. There they pull the mane to thin it instead of cutting it. If you’ve ever been involved in this you know that some horses don’t mind having their mane pulled at all and some of them hate the process with a deep, purple passion. Its the same with Westies when it comes to stripping. Personally, I wouldn’t like it at all. I’ve always felt sympathy for women who have to wax. It just doesn’t seem like a fun process to me.

We’ve decided to go with clipping for our dog. Once you know how to clip a Westie, it isn’t that hard. You can easily learn to do it yourself and save the  grooming fees, except on special occasions. If you just want to keep your white terrier looking good, buy a good set of clippers and do it yourself.

Hand stripping is really just for the ultra-purist. Plus its very hard to find a groomer who knows how to do it, and they charge you an arm and a leg if you do find one. For all practical purposes you have to clip, at least in North America.

So don’t let the Westie snobs get you going. The main thing is to keep your dog comfortable and looking good. If he isn’t waterproof like a real Westie, well, that’s what dog coats are for.

Some advice from a West Highland Terrier owner…West Highland Terriers can get along very well with cats and once they have grown used to each other they make excellent companions for each other. The integration needs to be performed carefully, though, because of the nature of Westie Terriers.Because they are a small breed, people often perceive Westies to be lapdogs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. These dogs were bred to hunt and they remain hunters and fighters to this day. One trait that all the terrier breeds share, Pit Bulls to Yorkies, is that if something runs away they will chase it. If they catch what they are pursuing they grab it and give that terrier headshake that kills so fast. So, when you try to bring a cat and a Westie together you need to do everything you can to protect the cat. There are two basic situations:

• Introducing a dog into a household with an established cat.
• Bringing a cat into a household that already has a Westie.

In either case, the main thing you must ensure is that the dog learns to submit to the cat. This may not meet our standards of fairness, but its the only way to guarantee the safety of the cat.You also need to know for sure that you can control the dog under all circumstances. In practice that means the dog needs to be leashed in the house for the first while. The best way to do this is to put the dog on umbilical. Get a six foot leash and tie it around your waist with the dog attached. This keeps your hands free to do other things and also means that you can’t accidentally lose your grip on the lead if the dog gives a sudden lunge.So, put the dog on umbilical and just sit on the couch with both animals in the room. What we want to see is that the animals first ignore each other, then become curious and sniff each other. You may be able to hasten the process somewhat by presenting each animal with the others butt and letting them get a good sniff.If your Westie starts lunging and snarling, lay it down on its side and make it submit ala Cesar Millan.There really isn’t much more to know or do for success. The only caution is that the process takes at least a couple of weeks. Before that time has elapsed you really can’t count on the dog. Keep him on umbilical whenever hes around the cat. This training is good for him in many other ways anyway and you’ll find he’s much more respectful and attentive to you after a couple of weeks of umbilical training. Westies and cats can definitely be friends. Look here for more information about the training of  West Highland Terriers.

If you have a problem with balloons attacking you or your property, this video shows how a Westie could save the day…