Oh no! I'm bow legged

She says that I'm the most beautiful dog in the world. Then she tells me that I am bow legged. How can you be the most beautiful dog in the world if you are bow legged? And your owner laughs at your bow legs. Make up your mind. You're giving me an inferiority complex.

I wouldn't know. I can't see myself from behind so I have to trust her when it comes to bowleggedness. My old friend Milou definitely had bowed legs but he was nine years old and had a crucial ligament problem so I figured that made him bow legged.

Let's be honest. Westies have very short legs. We have robust bodies. My thinking is that the weight of our bodies on our little legs pushes the legs down and at some point they start to bow. Any structural engineer will tell you that. It's all about loads and downward pressure.

A lot of the bowedness is covered up by my Westie haircut because we West Highland Terriers traditionally have long hair around our legs and our tummy. It's called a skirt. Bertie's human mum doesn't like him to have a skirt so he is short all over. But I am proud of my heritage and if it was good enough for my ancestors, it's good enough for me, I say.

I like my bow legs. They hold me up very well. They can run, jump, scratch earth, lift and crouch when I need to sit or lie down. I can stand on three legs at any time, usually when having a pee. I can stand on two legs if I choose, but I don't. I don't do party tricks.

So what is the problem? I can tell you about her mother who made friends with a standard poodle. Both of them were in their eighties in human years. When they went walking, they both had bowed legs. It was like human and doggie bowed legs. They had a special bond.

My human mum is too young to have bowed legs. So when we walk we don't walk anything alike.

Think about it. A human leg is almost half of its body length. A Westie leg is about twenty percent of its body length. We are not going to walk the same. I bounce. She strides. Standard poodles stride because they have long legs. There is no right or wrong way to walk. We all do our own thing.

So what does it matter that I am bowed legged?

Sometimes, I really wonder what I am doing with her as my owner. Doesn't she have more important things to do that pick on my bowed legs? (PS I never mention her cellulite)