Westies and Cats

General March 19th, 2010

People often ask about good companions for West Highland Terriers. Can a Westie Terrier be friends with Guinea Pigs as an example.

Well, I don’t know anything about how a Westie would get along with an Iquana or perhaps a Guinea Pig, but I’ve got a wealth of information about Westies and cats..

When Willow came to us last summer one thing that she had to adjust to was a household already inhabited by three tomcats ranging in age from four years to around ten. The cats definitely rule the roost here and the new little Westie just needed to find her place. She’s done that now. There are certainly occasional spats to decide who’s going to be top dog/cat on any given day, but that’s normal and the cats jockey backwards and forwards amongst themselves whether the dog is there or not.

We weren’t just dropping a dog into the midst of a bunch of cats who had never seen a dog before. Our Norwegian Elkhound, Saladdin was a key part of our family structure for years and actually helped raise two of our cats from kittenhood. He’s gone now and the cats haven’t had to handle a dog for a while, however the  old tapes were still there. They weren’t overjoyed to have a brand new dog to contend with, especially an energetic pup, but it really wasn’t the end of the world for them either.

One thing that we insisted on in the beginning was that a new dog had to submit to the cats. This runs specifically true when dealing with terrier dogs such as the West Highland Terrier. Regardless how lovable and cute they can be, deep down in their heart and soul they are hunters. They need to get in and duke it out with game animals, and basically anything that runs from them qualifies as game. It does not mean they aren’t great dogs, but there is no way around it: the terrier breeds from Pit Bulls all the way down to Yorkies are scrappers. So our job as owners of terriers is always to define the things they can chase and fight with and the things they can’t.

That is why I was so strict about making Willow submit to the cats from the beginning. It wasn’t hard to do. If she got too frisky we had to lay her down until she settled and calmed, but mostly a sharp word and a tug on the leash was enough to get the job done. It certainly helped that our cats were not particularly impressed by dogs and don’t mind demonstrating the use of their claws if she gets too feisty.

Things have settled into place now and we’ve been able to relax some of the boundaries we laid down to start with.  We have chases in the house now, up the stairs, around and down. Its equally likely for Willow to be chased by a cat as it is for her to chase one. In actual fact it looks like it’s really a game of tag than anything else, and nobody gets hurt. When they aren’t chasing one another throughout the house its not unusual to discover Willow curled up with one of the cats, or perhaps hanging out on the windowseat with one. And, you can never tell which two animals will bond. Our oldest cat, Whiskey, was the first to really chase Willow (I think she pissed him off, to tell you the truth) and that set the stage for the others to follow.

Your position may be quite different from ours, because our cats were already familiar with having a dog around. If your cats have never had anything to do with dogs, you will probably want to follow a rather different course. In a case like that I would suggest keeping the new Westie on umbilical for a couple of days while the critters get accustomed to one another. Umbilical training, where you have your dog on a long leash and keep the leash tied around your waist, is an extremely good training method under any circumstance. It provides control of the situation without having to hold the leash, or even pay much attention to the dog. Keep with the umbilical work for at least 7 days and keep your dog in its crate when it isn’t on the leash. The cat will quickly settle down once it realizes the dog isn’t a threat to it.

Precisely the same things apply if you want to introduce a cat into the house. I’d recommend a kitten when possible, since they are more malleable which will make the situation more managable. Make sure that the dog and cat are able to sniff each others butts so that you have the nose engaged, then keep your dog on umbilical for a time.

Cats can definitely coexist with Westie Terriers. They may not become buds in the same manner our animals did, but peaceful respect for each other should be possible. Use the umbilical, make the dog submit from the beginning and all ought to be well.

Anxiety and Depression – A Combination Problem

General March 19th, 2010

Anxiety disorders are more widespread than you would imagine. They are, as a matter of fact, the most common of all mental health problems that affect the population. However it happens, depressive conditionsproblems}, the ones that affect the most people, trail behind only anxiety disorders, and wherever they appear in people, they follow anxiety disorders closely. Doctors frequently discover that the one problem will usually appear with the other. Two crosses together – that would be hard for most people to shoulder. It is never possible to tell which of the two comes first either. But whichever way it plays out, dealing with the one, often makes it easy to deal with the other as well.

Some folks are genetically given to reacting to life events in one of these two fashions. Since anxiety attacks and the blues are at times the normal reaction expected in certain situations, people who suffer from long-running versions of these, find it difficult to tell the difference. Are they just sad in the regular way, or do they remain in this way for no real reason? The lack of conclusiveness they may have here can often be aggravated by another factor. People who are anxious and depressed, often pass a very introverted and self-focused existence. And there is some self-worth attached to the level of personal candor and self-knowledge they accomplish. When you see that you are capable of mustering such painstaking analytical conscientiousness, you might find it difficult to believe that there could be anything wrong with your mind.

But being too close to yourself removes your ability to have a frame of reference. You would be incredulous how effortlessly a mental health professional could break down the illusion that your personal knowledge is perfect or adequate. Depression can often manifest itself in a variety of physical ways too. Often, anxiety can manifest as an endocrine problem. But anxiety and depression, are eminently curable, and quickly too. People carry this impression that they just give you a few drugs to unnaturally make you buoyant, and they scornfully, liken them to the mood lightening action of alcohol or amusement drugs. Psychiatry doesn’t merely “treat” these problems the way alcohol does though. It remedies anxiety and depression well enough for the survivors to go on to live well help others around them.

Advantageous Guidelines For Retaining A Nice And Clean Lawn

General March 19th, 2010

If you ever have a very backyard but you certainly not take the time to tend it, it is going to only seem regretfully neglected. By cutting the grass frequently, you can make important improvements to the wellbeing and presentation of this grass. Carrying out so will help you enhance along with keep the well being of your respective grass not to mention help remove weed development.

Depending around the kind of yard you happen to be coping with, you may would like to obtain a cordless trimmers in the event you would like some mobility while you are trimming the grass. The a good number of favorite energy application for trimming turf edges is the string trimmer which uses a nylon plastic cord spinning at high speed, whipping plus slicing the grass. If you don’t thoughts trimming the turf edges manually, you might use grass shears not to mention half moon grass edger to get the work completed.

In the event you run a company that offers with plenty of coins, undoubtedly you tend not to such as the idea of keeping track of the coins every day? As an alternative to wasting all your time keeping track of the coins not to mention performing everything around once again when you make a slip-up, why not get yourself a coin counting machine which may well flawlessly count the loose adjust not to mention give you an precise report whenever completed? By accomplishing so, you might have more time for yourself which you can work with for other issues including trimming the grass within your backyard.

If you are a scientist or somebody who needs to work with dried out ice to your project, you can understand how depressing it may be whenever you work out ice. Instead of having agitated and even feeling helpless about it each time, why not get yourself a dry ice machine which you can make use of with ease to produce as quite a few dried up ice as you need? Be confident to pick a machine that you just come across uncomplicated to operate not to mention also help make certain that its safe and sound to utilize.