Grooming West Highland White Terrier photo Moscow - Vestika trimming

Trimming features

Trimming is in great demand among West Highland White Terrier owners. This procedure involves uniform plucking of the guard hairs. With the help of trimming, you can keep your dog's hard coat in perfect condition. Often, owners resort to light trimming, during which all dead guard hairs are removed, carefully capturing only the upper part of the hairs.

Living fur remains intact. This grooming option is suitable for the cold season because after the dead hair is removed, the remaining coat can be smoothed out using a clipper.

The number of hairs removed depends on the regularity of the procedure. If the haircut is done every month, about 15% is removed.

If light trimming is carried out, the maximum interval between haircuts should be 3 months (30% removed). Otherwise, with a large amount of hair removed, the animal will become bald and unattractive. If you take proper care of the coat, it will not fall into tangles or get wet. This coat effectively protects the dog from cold weather, heat and other weather conditions. A “plucked” West Highland White Terrier will not get dirty or freeze so much and will acquire a neat appearance.

Trimming can be of several types.

• Plaking. It is a pinch that uses only your fingers.

• Stripping. During this plucking, the master uses a special stripping knife.

• Poster. The hair is removed using a sharp and quick movement.

Description of the breed

These little dogs are pure charm with sparkling, curious eyes. However, their appearance is deceiving: the animals are quite strong physically and are excellent guard dogs, so no one will cross the threshold of the house unnoticed. The compactness and original appearance of the dog make him a good companion and “apartment resident.”

Appearance: size, height, coat, color

The West Highland Terrier is a small dog. Height at the withers is 25–28 cm. The weight of an adult dog is 7–10 kg, boys are heavier than girls. The characteristics of the breed are presented in the table:

The color of a purebred dog can only be white, a light shade of wheat is allowed. The wool is hard, the top layer is dense and up to 5 cm in length. The coat falls on the belly, has light curls on the limbs, and the hair is shorter on the back, bridge of the nose and ears. A feature of this type of terrier is a beard and prominent thick eyebrows. The undercoat is soft and dense.

Character traits and specialization

Westies are very active, cheerful and energetic dogs. They love adventures, walks in new places, and enjoy chasing a ball or stick. Animals are smart and sometimes it seems that they understand their owner perfectly, but for this, a person needs to become a leader for the pet.

The dog is loyal to its owner and is ready to obey any of his commands. She becomes very attached to her owner, but she won’t make a bodyguard, but the dog will notify you of the approach of a stranger with a ringing bark. The dog is wary of strangers; if it suspects hidden aggression, it may attack.

The Terrier is a sporting breed, so it never sits still. Dispelling boredom in the absence of the owner, he can damage any things. The animal cannot tolerate loneliness and, due to lack of attention, becomes depressed and loses its appetite. The dog is jealous by nature and is aggressive towards any other pets. She perceives rodents and birds on the street as potential prey, so she hunts them with pleasure, while losing the ability to respond to the owner’s commands.

Small terriers have a special relationship with children: the dog perceives them as equals. The dog will protect the baby, but will never obey him; he can only be friends with the child as equals. Since dogs cannot tolerate rough handling, families with children under 10–12 years of age are better off choosing a different breed.

The dog's fearlessness is its huge disadvantage. She loves to explore places unfamiliar to her, which often leads to injury before the age of one year. A brave dog can get into a fight with its larger brothers and get hurt.

West Terriers originally specialized in hunting, so the breed's hunting instincts are very developed. If the owner is an avid hunter, the dogs will be happy to accompany him - they are hard workers who are ready to track prey all day long. However, these animals can also be kept simply for company, providing long walks and interesting outdoor activities.

Basic haircut rules

The West Highland White Terrier must be groomed according to the rules.

• First of all, the animal should be combed with a brush from the back of the head to the tail. After this, combing is carried out in a vertical direction along the stomach and paws.
• If the owner does not have experience in trimming, you should not use special knives to prevent injury to the dog. It is best to pluck with your fingers.
• A small amount of baby powder can improve grip.
• After the preparatory measures have been carried out, you can grab the skin fold with the fingers of your left hand, pulling it upward. Due to these actions, the longest hairs will become noticeable. It is most convenient to grab them with the thumb or index finger of the other hand.
• Several hairs should be caught, after which they are pulled towards themselves with a sharp jerk.
• First of all, the back is plucked (from the withers to the tail). The fur grows quickly in these areas, so it needs to be thinned out regularly.
• When plucking is done, the coat must be constantly combed. This will allow you to consider the result of the process.
• The bangs are carefully cut with scissors, after which the hair on the ears is removed. You should leave 1 centimeter from the tip of the ears. It is advisable to have an assistant hold the terrier's head to ensure a neat trim.
• The fur on the chest and throat should be trimmed using thinning scissors.

Feed

1. For puppies (up to 12 months) ARDEN GRANGE (GB) Puppy/Junior for small breed dogs (blue package)
2. For adult dogs (after 12 months) ARDEN GRANGE (GB) lamb with rice, for small breed dogs (light green package). You can give other food (at the owner’s discretion), but all food must be SUPER PREMIUM CLASS! New food should be introduced gradually, adding a small amount of new food to the old food over a period of two weeks. In this case, it is necessary to observe the dog’s reaction to the new food.
3. CALCIDEE (calcium supplement), 1/2 tablet per day up to 3 months, and 1 tablet after 3 months to 1 year.
4. Gelabon 1/2 tablet per day up to 3 months, and 1 tablet after 3 months to 1 year.
5. Both a puppy and an adult dog can be given various fruits and vegetables as treats, little by little (a piece of apple, cucumber...), carefully observing the reaction of the dog’s body to a particular vegetable or fruit (presence of allergies, redness...). Treats - cheese (17% or less). PROHIBITED - sugar, sweets, colored vegetables and fruits, citrus fruits and anything that can cause ALLERGIES.
6. A puppy and an adult dog should always have access to WATER!!! The dog always needs a full bowl of clean, boiled or bottled water! The bowl should correspond to the dog’s height, so bowls on a tripod are very convenient. There are two of them at once (for water and for food), and they can rise as the puppy grows, without forcing the adult dog to bend down to the floor to eat or drink. There must be at least two - for food and for water. If the bowl is not on a tripod, but an ordinary one, for example a ceramic one, then it is advisable that it be heavy in itself so that the puppy cannot drag it from place to place.

Haircut options

For shows, there is only one option, which is breed grooming. Some owners explore non-standard options that are also suitable for their dogs but do not fit the breed standard. You can choose haircuts for other breeds and experiment with your pet, but experts distinguish between 2 types of hair work: for exhibition and for home.

Home grooming is designed for dogs that will not attend exhibition events.

They differ from standard grooming by having shorter hair length, which makes the cover more practical. Some owners clip their animals, which is not advisable. Experienced groomers recommend resorting to this option only in the following cases.

• When an animal suffers from skin diseases that are in the acute stage. Do not pluck damaged skin.
• If the pet has never been plucked and its age is more than 5 years.
• The owner likes the appearance of the animal.

You can simply shorten the length of the coat a little, creating rectangular shapes without resorting to the chrysanthemum head shape. Also, owners of dogs of this breed experiment with bangs, emphasizing the gender of their pet.

For information on how to cut a West Highland White Terrier, see below.

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History of the origin and development of the breed

The exact origin of the West Highland Terrier could not be established, since this breed has been living in Scotland for a long time, and scientists began to study issues of selection only in the 19th century. There is an opinion that the first description of this breed was made back in the 12th century. However, no one managed to prove that we are talking about a white terrier. Only one thing is clear - these dogs were the result of mating a variety of terriers that lived on the islands of Great Britain.

The West Highland Terrier used to be a highland hunter

For your information! The main thing is not to confuse this breed with representatives of the Staffordshire Terrier. The closest relatives of this breed are the Black Cairn and Scotch Terriers.

Breed characteristics:

Western boys haircuts

Although cutting a West hairstyle at home is a fairly simple procedure, it will be difficult to do it perfectly without special skills. Therefore, it is better to either go to a salon or take a grooming course that teaches you how to do professional haircuts for dogs.

A West boy named Giovanni (after a haircut at the Behemoth salon).

Haircut for West boy Leo.

Summer haircut for West Highland White Terrier.

Boy Denny, photo after grooming.

Photo of the haircut of a West Highland dog named Richie.

Photo of a Vesti boy's Amiga haircut (at the “Together with Vesti” salon).

We've seen examples of boys' haircuts, now let's see how dog owners cut their Westie girls' haircuts. By the way, there are even more photos of the boys below, in the “before and after haircut” section.

Character

A mischievous mischief maker who sticks his nose into everything - this is about the West Highlander. The dog is sociable, with a friendly attitude towards people. Westies adapt to their owner, they are unobtrusive, but will gladly take part in games and other activities. Its funny appearance and playfulness make the Westie a good companion for a child. He is devoted to his family, but also treats strangers kindly.

Animals of this breed are suitable for any person who is ready to pay attention to them. The dog is convenient for travel, suitable for agility, freestyle, frisbee and search work.

The dog is convenient for travel, suitable for agility, freestyle, frisbee and search work.

Some breeders test their pets for working qualities by bringing them in for training. Here the dogs are trained to work on animals in an artificial hole. Few people get to the point of actually hunting.

Westies have a pronounced hunting instinct. Leaving him alone with pet rodents and ferrets is risky. This dog is loyal to “his” cats if he has been accustomed to them since childhood.

Westies love and do not hurt children

This little white terrier is self-confident and has a sense of self-esteem. The enemy's attack will be met with a fierce attack, and its size does not matter.

Western girls haircuts

A girl named Olivia, after a range of trimming services.

Girl Bonya after a haircut.

Photo of a Vesta girl named Nordika after her haircut.

A beautiful Westie named Xanthi.

West Highland White Terriers are very active dogs; after all, the breed was bred as a hunting dog. The longer and thicker the fur of an active pet, the more dirty it will get when walking outside. This is another reason to trim your Westie regularly.

Health, illness and life expectancy

Highlands rarely complain about their health. These are quite strong, hardy dogs with good immunity. However, they have their own hereditary diseases and predisposition to a number of ailments.

Westies are susceptible to allergies, often to food, various dermatological diseases, and are sensitive to parasite bites. They often suffer from tartar, oral diseases and ophthalmological diseases.

Hereditary diseases include:

• Pulmonary fibrosis;
• cardiomyopathy;
• Diabetes;
• Congenital deafness.
• Legg Perthes disease (necrosis of the femoral head);
• Hip dysplasia;

An important health issue is prevention: timely vaccination, deworming and treatment for external parasites. The average life expectancy of Westies is 14-15 years.

Photos of West Highland White Terriers before and after haircut

Photos of a Westie before and after a haircut (at the Khvostovil pet salon).

Doggie Westik Cupcake, before and after the complex with trimming (master - Irina, pet salon "Khvostovil").

Photo of Vesta Littlefoot before and after a haircut (at the Behemoth salon).

Boy Cedric after trimming (photo from the Behemoth pet salon).

West Highland White Terrier named Casper (photo from the Behemoth salon).

Photo of the boy Giovanni before and after his haircut.

West Ozzie before and after trimming.

Video: white terrier grooming lessons

You can see how the West Highland White Terrier is groomed in the video below, which was filmed at the Chara pet salon. On it, the master gives the dog trimming and a muzzle cut.

Also, this video is a clear example of why it is necessary to carry out regular haircuts for Westies. The difference in how a pet looks before and after grooming procedures is huge.

In the second video you can look at the result of West groom trimming from groomer Olga Cherpak. After the procedure, the fur looks much more beautiful and well-groomed.

This concludes our selection of photos of West Highland White Terriers haircuts. We hope it was interesting and you found ideas on how to trim your pet!

Grooming of West Highland White Terrier (Vestik) from 1200 rub.

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• The work is performed by certified specialists (dog handlers, handlers, groomers, veterinarians)
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• Professional equipment.
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• Individual approach to each pet and its owner.
• High quality for an inexpensive price.

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