we have a year old westie who chews his paw and it discolours his hair, can anyone suggest something to stop this. also what can we use to clean the paw to make it white again.

we also have a westie bitch aged nine half months and we are taking them both on hoilday with us in april. we are not sure if it will be ok for them to go into the sea, will the salt water and sand have any effect on them

thanks neville and denise nutland

neville.n@blueyonder.co.uk

It may be that your westie has a fungal infection. Usually the hair turns a reddy/brown colour. The easiest way to treat it is through the use of Maleseb shampoo which can be purchased from your vet. Once the condition clears up the hair will return to it's normal colour. Obviously this needs to be looked at by your vet because he could just have dirty feet and be trying to get little bits of mud etc from between his toes.

The reddish colour is probably saliva staining. This will gradually fade when the underlying cause has been cured, but it may take until he has had a complete moult.

Hope this helps.