Activities For West Highland White Terriers

This activity is a minor version of Treibball - where the dog is trained to herd a bunch of balls! The word Treibball is German, and means 'driving ball'. The idea is to get a bunch of large balls and bunch them all together, and then train your dog to move the balls in a certain direction to coral them in a 'pen' - or in this case -  a circle of rope on the floor or garden.The beauty of this game is that it can be played inside or out, regardless of the weather. But it does take time to teach your pooch to move the balls along. Give plenty of praise for making a good move, and lots of little treats. West Highland White Terriers are intelligent little dogs, and they will pick this game up quickly. No cheating though, they are not allowed to pick the ball up and take off with it! Larger balls with a hard outer shell are best as they won't be able to get their mouth around or their teeth into it. This activity will get their mind working. It takes quite a bit of ingenuity to move a herd of balls, probably as much as it does to move sheep!

There is nothing like a good game of soccer with your dog. But it may take a bit of time and patience to teach your dog the game. Naturally, they will want to hog the ball, but the beauty of the hard shell ball is that they can't get their teeth into it and keep a grip on it. They have to move it with their paws or nudge it with their head. The game aims to teach your dog to let you play as well and to share the ball. Once they get the hang of the game, you can set up a goal area where you want them to help you get the ball over. This activity develops teamwork and cooperation. Once your West Highland White Terrier gets the idea of the game, be prepared for an active game. They are competitive little champs and will have a ball (pardon the pun) as they race around the back yard maneuvering the ball. You may have to call time out to have a break! This activity is ideal for a sunny day but can be a good way to warm up on a dull, boring day.

Here is an activity that will really work on your dog’s obedience and their confidence. The activity requires a number of props such as a chair, where you can train them to first go around the chair, then crawl under it and hold their position, then on your order they crawl out. You may need to lay a trail of goodies to get them to crawl. Make sure you use one word to describe the 'crawl' position - don't confuse them with several commands that all mean the same thing. Then, teach them to jump up and sit on the seat for a few seconds, before jumping off for a treat. As your dog gets used to the commands and words, you can add to the course. From the chair, to crawling under the table, but perhaps not up on the table! But they can go around it. Then under, around and up on a bed. Get them to hold their position at certain intervals. It is a fun game and one that teaches your dog new commands, and it reinforces the command to crawl, hold, and stay, all valuable obedience skills.