At long last, you have trained your westie to be an apartment dog. But then again, keep in mind that you have a terrier housemate, and that this breed was a ratter for hundreds of years. This albeit angelic looking breed had no qualms inserting itself into nooks and crannies just to pursue and root out cute critters and pests. Westies are true-blue terriers, and without proper socialization and dog training, their restless terrier temperament will literally send them through the house like a mini-whirlwind!

On to the crux of this discussion: is it alright to leave westies all alone in the house the whole day, while their humans go to work or school?

The first thing to keep in mind is that every responsible house owner needs to dog-proof, or make the house free from any untoward incident while everybody is out. Here are 5 tips you cannot miss:

1. These are critical household objects that your dog must not be able to reach: electrical cords, all seasonal decors and trappings, candles, medications, cosmetics, and cleaning supplies.

2. Keep the cover of the toilet seat always closed. This applies also for trash, garbage cans, bins, cellar doors, and upper story windows.

3. Know more also about the chemicals that your dog is interacting with inside your house, and if there is one, in the yard: e.g. pesticides, insecticides and other household, yard and garden chemicals.

4. If there are some toxic, or even medicinal plants in your house, ensure that your westie has no way to access these.

5. Keep all anti-freeze out of the dog's reach, and clean up all automotive drippings.

If your dog is going to be all alone at home, a solution that comes to mind is of course the crate. Now, the compartment needs to be spacious enough to allow the dog to move around, stand straight, and stretch. But on the other hand, many people also frown on leaving dogs unattended inside crates. Furthermore, for a dog, it's a real disaster to have no choice but eliminate in its den, considering dogs hate dirtying their living space.

If westies need to be left at home alone, the puppies or dogs need to stay gated in a secure room with a water bowl, safe toys, newspaper, no dangling electric cords, and absolutely nothing within reach that can be nibbled or chewed on.

But we need to revisit time and time again the main idea that no dog ought to stay home alone for stretches of time, e.g. more than 8 hours a day. But if you still think you need a westie and will balance this with long absences, think of getting a partner dog to your westie, or of having someone take it out to walk it or keep it busy while you are away.