I rescued a Westie 5 days ago, Now he has turned vicious, What do i do ?

Question

I rescued a 3 year old Westie from a bad home 5 days ago he was very loving and calm till 2 days ago now he growls and snaps at us for no reason. He has not been nuetered yet. I really want to keep him and give him a good life. Every time any one gets up from their seat or comes into the room he tries to attack. Please help as he is a lovely dog.
Thank you in advance.
Smurf

For Triskelio... When i said i rescued him i meant i took him off of an abusive owner who treated him very badly

For happycamp... I saw the Dog being Kicked down the stairs by its owner for following him. Please ask me a question and do not jump to conclusions

Answer 1

The Westie is not an aggressive dog but, being a terrier, will always be prepared to stand its ground. Many Westies have been released from owners to rescue organizations due to them “nipping”, “growling” or acting aggressive especially towards small childern. Terriers, in particular, will be in charge of the relationship, if you are not. So the dog must be trained in a positive manner what the rules of the home are. It possesses the bold, dynamic terrier temperament, and has to be trained in a manner appropriate for the breed. Your West Highland Terrier training begins from the moment you bring your terrier home. Westies are stubborn and clever, and considered a bit naughty. They will become demanding and ill tempered if they do not get their way, so you must teach them from the start that you are in charge. From the beginning, treat your terrier in a firm, consistent way. Regardless of all this, I am afraid that your dog seems to have gotten its way at its other home, and thinks he is going to get it at yours and attacks you guys to try. Some professional training would help curb some of this as you won't be able to stop it as this behavior has been formed in him early. This is what happens when you get any rescue dog. You never completely know their true past, and they come with their own issues. Its like you will be starting completely over but with an older dog. And if you don't plan on breeding him (which I hope you don't as I wouldn't want his ugly behavior going to the puppies and I son't think you want several of his evil twins running around) then please get him fixed asap. They say this also helps with the hightened testesterone you seem to experiencing with him. I posted a great link below about it. Its a moble low cost clinics for my area that go to certian areas to spay\neuter animals. I don't know where you live, but that would be a good option for you instead of a reguar vet, since your dog is so aggressive. Search onlne for a moble low cost spay\neuter clinic and find where they will be and when and get him fixed and see if it helps his aggression any. Good Luck! :)

Answer 2

Well done for offering a loving home to an ill treated dog! My mum rescued a beagle a number of years ago who had also been badly treated. He was generally a lovely dog but did have some agressive tendancies, mainly as a reaction to the treatment he had received in the past. It was a long process but we began with building trust with him, for example giving him a treat (ie a chewy bone) and after a certain amount of time taking it away from him to get him used to who was boss in his new home. To begin with he was very possesive and aggressive but by praising the good behaviour and ignoring the bad we managed to calm him down.
When taking him for walks we started on a short lead, moving up to one of those extendable ones so he was still under control but had more freedom.
As it is difficult to know what bad treatment your westie has been subjected to and agression is often triggered by nerves; get him used to being left for short amounts of time so he dosn't over react when new people enter a room. Always remember to praise the good behaviour with lots of soothing words and small treats. You may find a training cage helps - you can get him used to having his own territory and being confined for short amounts of time without the stress of having to restrain him.
By the time a dog is 3 much of their behaviour is learned and can be difficult to change however if you hang in there you will get there in the end.
Trust is the issue here and with patience, kindness and love you'll have a loyal friend in no time.
Oh, one other thing - Westies can be prone to skin conditions that can make them itchy and uncomfortable, which may be making him grumpy. Check his skin is not sore, red or inflamed and if he is showing any of these symptoms a quick trip to the vet should sort him out!

Answer 3

there Will be a reason - you just don't know him well enough to know what it is yet. A vet should help and a private dog behaviourist too. enrol in obedience school - that will offer help and support and socialisation. Don't smack him as you need to build a good rapport with him for training, and smacking him will only make him confused and upset - and he sounds as if he has enough of those feelings already! watch the DVD the Dog Whisperer, or read anything by Jan Fennell - that will help as both have much experience with 'problem' dogs ( and problem owners!) basically you are now responsible ofr sorting out someones Else's mess ups, and you ow it to this little guy to help and teach him to trust. Good luck!

Answer 4

It takes a long time for abused dogs to get over their pain, much like abused humans. He may have been abused by someone of your gender, or you might have done something that frightened him. Make sure to move slowly, not make loud noises. Give him treats to let him know that you are caring.

Do not crate the dog. Chances are if he was abused, crates might have a negative image to him, and this will just make matters worse.

There are a few great websites on how to train abused dogs. They helped greatly with our dog. She is still very skittish, and if you yell or make a loud noise will run, but she is now very loving towards our family. This will take lots of time, and patience however. There are also people who do this all the time. Your local shelter or animal safety group should have lists of these people. You can either contact them for information, or if this is not for you, they will help you find another owner.

I hope it goes well. It's very rewarding in the long run!

Answer 5

He needs to be limited to the space he can have in your home.I would confine him to the kitchen & outside for a while.He is dominant & now his foot's in the door he is going to show you who's boss!You have probaly been making too much fuss of him since he arrived & he has misread the signals.This dog didn't become a killer overnight.He has always been this way.I think he is probaly very unsettled at the moment & he is also trying to defend his self.Did he come from a home where there was alot of conflict between family members?If he did the chances are he probaly ended up getting involved somehow & got hurt.He has learnt to look after himself.Be patient with him.He will be ok when he knows you won't hurt him & he knows the house rules.

Answer 6

Hi, she won't eat food because the milk is filling her up. Why eat when your belly is full from the whole milk. What I did with my little girl was take her off of whole milk and put her on 2% milk and she is allowed to have it at breakfast and when she gets sleepy for nap or nighttime. Remember your are the mommy (AKA: the Boss) remember that. You run the show not her. You may have to deal with a few temper tantrums but they go away with some time. Usually after a couple of days. With less milk she will get hungry and eat more. Good Luck!

Answer 7

You said that this dog was rescued from a bad home. It sounds like the dog was mistreated and if he was it will take a really long time for him to trust humans again. Dogs don't forget stuff like that and some dogs it ruins for life. Try to be patient with the dog, talk to him, feed him, and try not to scream at him or hit him, you'll never earn his trust if you do. Also ask a vet what they think. They could probably give you some helpful suggestions. Sometimes neutering helps, again ask the vet. I wish you luck with your dog, God bless.

Answer 8

Well done Smurf for giving this dog a chance. I guess you've no idea what horrible experiences he may have had to endure in his life. If I were you I would take expert advice - an experienced trainer might be able to help you.

But unfortunately some dogs are damaged beyond recovery and will never stop being aggressive. In these cases the only thing that can be done is to have them put to sleep, particularly if you have children.

Hope it works out. All the best x

Answer 9

He is frightened, he has been taken away from his home even tho it was bad, but thats all he knew, he needs to be shown love and a firm hand. i would image you will have another week of this then he will settle down, but he needs to be taught that you are a higher rank than he is when he no's that he is not the boss you would have cracked it, i hope this is of help and good luck i am sure he will be a great little dog

Answer 10

He is probably reacting to his previous bad family life. He might have been good for the first couple of days because he was still assessing things. He apparently doesn't trust you and he is letting you know that. It will take some time to gain his trust.

You might try ignoring him for awhile. Let him investigate you some more. Don't try to respond to his sniffing you or being close to you. Let him choose how long it will take to trust you.