Articles

Every guide we have written, grouped by subject. These are written by the people who foster and place these dogs, and they are updated as our own practice changes.

There are 83 articles here. If you are at the beginning, how adopting from us works is the place to start.

Adoption

What adopting from a rescue actually involves, from application to the first month at home.

• 5 Reasons to Adopt a Senior Dog — 5 Reasons to Adopt a Senior Dog In my 10 years of doing dog rescue, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than a senior dog who finds himself homeless.
• Adding a Second Dog: Is Your Dog Ready? — How to judge whether your current dog wants company, what a second dog actually costs, and the reasons that turn out badly.
• Adopting a Bonded Pair: What It Really Involves — What a genuine bond looks like, the real costs of two dogs, when separating a pair is the right call, and why they wait so much longer for homes.
• Adopting a Deaf or Blind Dog: What It Actually Involves — How dogs adapt to sensory loss, the practical changes a household makes, and why these dogs are easier to live with than most people expect.
• Adopting a Dog When You Work Full Time — What rescues actually assess about your hours, the options that make a working day workable, and which dogs suit a full-time schedule.
• Adopting a Dog in Later Life — Why older adopters are often the best homes for senior dogs, how to match on energy rather than age, and the contingency planning that makes it work.
• Adopting a Westie vs Buying From a Breeder: A Straight Comparison — Real costs, waiting times and trade-offs for adopting a Westie against buying from a breeder — and when a breeder is the honest answer.
• How Rescues Assess a Dog’s Temperament — What foster carers actually observe, what “cat-tested” and “untested” mean, and the real limits of any temperament assessment.
• How to Find a Westie Rescue in Your State — Four reliable ways to find a West Highland White Terrier rescue near you, what to check before you contact one, and what to do when there is none.
• Retired Westies for Adoption: What “Retired” Really Means — Retired breeding Westies and elderly Westies are not the same thing.
• Understanding Your Adoption Contract — What the standard clauses in a rescue adoption contract mean, why the return clause exists, and what you are actually agreeing to.
• Understanding Your Rescue Dog’s Paperwork — What should be in the folder you go home with, what each document means, and the three things worth doing in the first week after you adopt.
• Westie Puppies for Adoption: What Rescues Actually Have — Why Westie puppies are rare in rescue, what actually comes in, how to spot a puppy scam, and why an adult Westie is usually the better match.
• Westie Rescue Near You: How It Works in New England — Which New England states we cover, how a foster-based Westie rescue works without a building, and what to do if you live outside the area.
• What Actually Happens at an Adoption Home Visit — What a home visitor is really looking at, what they are not, how long it takes, and why almost nobody actually fails one.
• What Makes a Strong Dog Adoption Application — What rescues are actually assessing, the answers that help rather than hurt, why applications stall, and what to do if you are turned down.
• What to Buy Before Your Rescue Dog Arrives — The short list that actually matters, the three items worth spending real money on, and the popular purchases you can skip entirely.
• When an Adoption Is Not Working — What to try first, when returning a dog is the right call, how to do it well, and why rescues would far rather hear from you early.
• Your First 30 Days With a Rescue Westie — What to expect week by week when a rescue Westie comes home, what to buy before arrival, and how to tell normal settling from a real problem.

The Breed

What a West Highland White Terrier is really like to live with.

• Are Westies Good Family Dogs? An Honest Answer From a Rescue — Westies suit some households and struggle in others.
• Westie vs Cairn vs Scottish Terrier: Telling Them Apart — Size, coat, temperament, grooming and health compared across the three Scottish terriers — and how to tell which one you actually have.
• Why Are Westies White? The Breed’s History Explained — Where the West Highland White Terrier came from, why the coat is always white, and how the breed’s working past explains its behavior today.

Behavior

Training and behavior, written for terriers rather than dogs in general.

• Building Confidence in a Fearful Dog — Why exposure makes fear worse, how giving a dog choice builds confidence, and a realistic timeline for an under-socialized rescue dog.
• Car Sickness and Travel Anxiety in Dogs — How to tell motion sickness from travel anxiety, why the difference decides the treatment, and how to rebuild a dog’s tolerance of the car.
• Crate Training an Adult Rescue Dog (And When Not To) — How to introduce a crate to an adult dog, realistic timelines, and the dogs for which a crate is the wrong answer entirely.
• Dog Body Language: Reading Stress Before It Escalates — The ladder of signals dogs give before they growl or bite, what a wagging tail really means, and the myths that get people bitten.
• House Training an Adult Rescue Dog: A Practical Method — A schedule that works, why accidents happen, when to see a vet first, and how long house training an adult rescue dog realistically takes.
• Introducing a New Dog to Your Resident Dog — The neutral-ground method step by step, what good and bad body language looks like, and how to manage the first month without creating a rivalry.
• Leash Reactivity: Why It Happens and What Helps — Why dogs lunge and bark on lead, how to find your dog’s threshold, and the counter-conditioning method that actually changes the behavior.
• Loose Leash Walking With a Terrier: What Actually Works — Why terriers pull, which equipment helps and which makes it worse, and a training method that works with the nose rather than against it.
• Noise Phobia in Dogs: Fireworks, Thunder and What Helps — Why noise fear worsens untreated, how sound desensitization works and where it falls short, and what to do on the night itself.
• Separation Anxiety in Westies: What Helps and What Does Not — How to tell true separation anxiety from boredom, the desensitization method that works, realistic timelines, and when medication is appropriate.
• The Five Cues Worth Teaching a Rescue Dog First — Name, look, leave it, come and settle — the five cues that matter most for a newly adopted dog, and how to teach each one.
• Understanding Aggression in Dogs — What the word actually covers, why growling should never be punished, the medical causes to rule out first, and when to get professional help.
• Westie Behavior Problems: Barking, Digging and Prey Drive — Why Westies bark, dig and chase, what actually reduces each behavior, and which methods make things worse.
• Westies and Cats: Can It Work? — How to assess prey drive honestly, introduce a dog to a cat safely, and recognize when the answer is permanent separation rather than training.

Everyday Care

The ordinary business of looking after a Westie through the year.

• 6 Great Brands of Dog Kibble — 6 Great Brands of Dog Kibble Next to religion and politics, selecting food for your dog can be one contentious decision.
• Apartment Living With a Westie: What It Really Takes — Space is not the problem; barking is.
• Are Westies Hypoallergenic? An Honest Answer — No dog is hypoallergenic.
• Cold Weather Care for a Westie: A New England Guide — How cold is too cold for a small dog, protecting paws from de-icing salt, winter coat decisions, and the hazards that put dogs in the ER each winter.
• Dog Parks and Terriers: An Honest Assessment — Size-mismatch injuries, parasite risk and prey drive — why dog parks suit some terriers and endanger others, plus safer alternatives.
• Dog-Proofing Your Yard: A Practical Checklist — Fencing against a digger, the plants and chemicals that matter, water safety, and how to give a terrier somewhere legal to dig instead.
• Escape-Proofing for Terriers, and What to Do If Yours Gets Out — Why terriers escape, how to secure a yard against a digger, and the first hour of a lost dog search — including why you should not chase.
• Feeding a Westie: Weight, Portions and What Actually Matters — How much to feed a Westie, how to judge body condition, what food claims are worth ignoring, and why weight is the breed’s most preventable problem.
• Foods and Household Items That Are Dangerous for Dogs — What is genuinely toxic, why small dogs are at far higher risk, what to do in the first ten minutes, and why you should not induce vomiting at home.
• Holiday Hazards for Dogs, Beyond the Chocolate — Rich food, decorations, guests and disrupted routine — the holiday risks that actually send dogs to the emergency vet, and how to plan around them.
• How Much Exercise Does a Westie Actually Need? — Realistic daily exercise by age, why sniffing tires a terrier faster than walking, and the enrichment that prevents barking and digging.
• Preparing Your Dog for a New Baby — What to change months ahead, how to introduce a newborn safely, and the supervision rules that matter once the baby is mobile.
• Renting With a Dog: Landlord Letters and Leases — How to get a landlord letter for an adoption application, what pet clauses actually mean, and how to present yourself as a low-risk tenant.
• Senior Westie Care: What Changes After Ten — Mobility, cognition, diet and pain in older Westies — what is normal aging, what needs a vet, and how to judge quality of life honestly.
• Summer Heat Safety for Dogs — How to judge ground temperature, recognize heatstroke early, and keep a double-coated dog safe through a New England summer.
• Tips to Protect Your Pet This Summer — Tips to Protect Your Pet This Summer Every year, thousands of dogs suffer injuries, health problems, and even die from heat-related issues during the summer.
• Traveling With a Westie: Cars, Flights and Boarding — Car safety, what cabin travel actually involves for a small dog, choosing between boarding and a sitter, and the paperwork to sort early.

Grooming

Coat, skin, nails and the decisions a Westie owner has to make about them.

• Choosing a Groomer for a Westie — The questions that separate a competent terrier groomer from a generalist, what a first visit should look like, and the warning signs.
• Keeping a Westie White: Stains, Bathing and What They Mean — Why white coats yellow, how often to bathe without wrecking the skin, and when staining is a medical sign rather than a cleaning problem.
• Nail and Paw Care: The Problem Hiding in Plain Sight — Overgrown nails are the third most common finding in the breed.
• Westie Grooming: Hand-Stripping, Clipping and What the Coat Needs — How the Westie double coat works, hand-stripping compared with clipping, realistic costs, and the grooming routine that protects the skin.

Health

The conditions this breed is prone to, and how to plan for the cost of them.

• Arthritis in Older Dogs: Spotting It and Managing It — Why arthritis is missed for years, what multimodal management actually means, and the home changes that often help more than medication.
• Choosing a Vet for a Rescue Dog — What to look for in a practice, what the first appointment should cover, and the questions worth asking before you register an adopted dog.
• Diabetes in Dogs: What a Diagnosis Actually Means — The early signs, what daily management really involves, realistic costs, and why a diabetes diagnosis is far less limiting than most owners fear.
• Dog Dementia: Recognizing Cognitive Dysfunction — What canine cognitive dysfunction looks like, the treatable conditions that mimic it, and what genuinely helps an affected dog.
• Dog Dental Care: The Problem Westie Owners Underestimate — Dental disease is the commonest problem in the breed.
• Dog First Aid: What to Do Before You Reach the Vet — Bleeding, choking, heatstroke, seizures and bloat — what to do in the first minutes, what not to do, and what belongs in a kit.
• How to Tell When a Dog Is in Pain — Dogs in pain rarely cry or limp.
• Kennel Cough and Contagious Illness in Dogs — What kennel cough is, how long it lasts, when a cough is something else, and what to do when a newly adopted dog starts coughing.
• Living With a Dog on Long-Term Medication — Building a routine that holds, giving tablets to a dog that spits them out, monitoring bloods, and planning for the cost of a chronic prescription.
• Pet Insurance for a Westie: What to Know Before You Buy — Why timing matters more for Westies than most breeds, how pre-existing exclusions work, and the policy terms that decide whether a claim pays.
• Planning for Veterinary Costs Before They Arrive — What dog ownership actually costs across a lifetime, how to build a reserve, and what options exist when you cannot afford treatment today.
• Spay and Neuter: What Adopters Should Know — What the surgery involves, the genuine health trade-offs, why rescue dogs are altered before placement, and what recovery actually looks like.
• Vaccinations and Preventive Care for an Adopted Dog — Core and non-core vaccines explained, what to do when history is unknown, and a realistic preventive care schedule for an adult rescue dog.
• Westie Ear Infections: Why They Keep Coming Back — Recurrent ear infections are usually allergy, not bad luck.
• Westie Eye Problems: What to Watch For — Dry eye, cataracts and glaucoma in Westies — how to tell them apart, which are emergencies, and why a weepy eye is often not an infection.
• Westie Health Problems: What the Breed Is Actually Prone To — Dental disease, ear problems, joints, Westie lung and diabetes — the conditions West Highland White Terriers really get, with real prevalence data.
• Westie Skin Problems: Why Westies Itch and What Actually Helps — Atopic dermatitis, yeast and food allergy explained for Westie owners — symptoms, treatment options compared, and what management really costs.
• When Your Dog Gets a Serious Diagnosis — What to ask at the appointment, how to weigh treating against palliating, when a second opinion helps, and how to decide without deciding in a panic.

End Of Life

The last part of a dog’s life, and the planning that makes it kinder.

• Helping a Dog Through the Loss of a Companion — What grief looks like in a surviving dog, how long it lasts, what helps, and when a change in behavior is illness rather than mourning.
• Hospice and End-of-Life Care for a Westie — What hospice care for a dog involves, how to assess quality of life without guessing, planning the day itself, and where support exists afterwards.
• Planning for Your Dog If Something Happens to You — Pet trusts, wills and informal arrangements compared, what an emergency card should say, and why a written plan keeps dogs out of shelters.

Supporting Rescue

Fostering, volunteering and where the money goes.

• Fostering a Westie: What It Actually Involves — Who pays for what, how long a foster placement lasts, the time it takes, and whether you can handle saying goodbye.
• Volunteering With a Westie Rescue: The Roles Beyond Fostering — Transport, home visits, intake calls, fundraising and admin — the volunteer roles a small breed rescue actually needs, and what each involves.
• Where Rescue Donations Actually Go — What it costs a breed rescue to take in one dog, how to check any animal charity’s finances yourself, and which forms of help matter most.

Rehoming

If you can no longer keep your dog, or you are worried about where one came from.

• How Commercial Dog Breeding Actually Works — What a USDA license really means, how the breeder-broker-seller chain works, and why the reassurances buyers are given are mostly meaningless.
• Rehoming a Westie: Your Options and How to Choose — Breed rescue, private rehoming or a shelter — what each route means for your dog, how to prepare, and how to check the organization taking it.