I bought my Westie puppy from an Accredited Kennel Club breeder back in 2011. For the first 6 years of his life, he was ok.  Then the itching began with loss of hair and elephant skin.  We were reluctant to give him steroids and many drugs were a worry with potential side effects. We tried natural remedies for a while, but soon turned to Apoquel and the Cytopoint injection.  Now as a last resort we have put him on Atopica.  His skin is pink again and much more fur is growing back.  He still has a long way to go and smells awful and sheds skin everywhere.   The dog insurance won't pay out for a pre existing condition, so he has worked out an expensive dog in more ways than one.

The vet gave him a blood test which came back with many things he is allergic to. Some of them have been - wheat, chicken, duck, turkey, rye grass, certain moulds, horse dander, oak trees, dust mites to name but a few.

It has been a stressful time and I feel sorry to say that I no longer enjoy having him. He is part of our family, so we won't give up on him.  I can see his personality coming back which is a good thing. 
Years ago I owned a Golden Retriever and German Shepherd, even though they had their problems, never have I come across something as terrible as Atopic Dermatitis. Its all about managing it, because I am told there is no cure.

I have never seen another dog like mine, so it feels as if we are the only people with a dog like him.  I have only seen dogs with this problem if I look up images on the computer.  I suppose the owners either have them euthanized, or give them to a dog rescue.

Does anybody know if the Kennel Club now have tests to see if this problem is in the genetics before you buy a pup?  I don't think they had such tests when I bought my Westie.

Sadly Westies as a breed are renowned for having skin troubles, and very many need longterm medication as well as careful management of their diets. This is wh we always recommend that people take out a 'lifetime' insurance policy that covers conditions year on year, but thats not possible now. I hope you can get into a regime that keeps him comfortable.

I have two dogs with similar conditions. It took as many many months to identify exactly the issues and what treatment would control it , most of which has been done with a specialist . Something I am so grateful we did. I assume you are under a specialist ? if not I would certainly consider it 
Sadly we lost the gsd last year to cancer so not related to this.My flat coat is now on immunotherapy specifically tailored to her allergens, which are many and cant all be removed from her life like your dog. as I raw feed I gave been able to identify and exclude the food items fortunately.

I had life time insurance for both dogs but once the  premiums went up to £400 per month and £300 per month respectively I cancelled the policies and took the exclusions for skin on a new policy. It works out far cheaper although not cheap although I am paying for all her skin treatment .

After many discussion with our dermatology specialist there is research being done , particularly for westies  ,to find if there is genetic component and I assume if so to be able to identify and in the future develop an appropriate test for breeders . Currently it doesn't appear anything like this is available. Certainly nothing you or the breeder has done wrong .
I know of many dogs having AD in various degrees some far worse than others  due to my experience now and have not heard of people choosing euthanasia or rescue. I think most of us plod on looking for a way to make the dogs comfortable.

Atm I am being successful although I do have to keep a close eye on her.  We have been to the point of having to consider having both ear canals removed but luckily the  help and subsequent treatment  we got pulled us back from that situation.

|I know some of these treatments have bad press due to side effects but for me I would rather have the dogs being comfortable with a good quality of life so have and would again use things like steroids if needed   Just like skin conditions in humans unfortunately most don't have cure. Just a thought have they also checked for demodex on top of the allergies , when a dogs immune system is demodex can appear too

Yes with Westies and skin conditions.  Have you tried a fish and potato diet - you could make it up yourself using Coley and Mashed potato although you'd have to source the extras complete diets of similar have.  I made up my Basset's food after his bout of Giardia as a puppy, not for a skin problem but giving this would probably make a good elimination diet, using something your Westie has presumably never eaten.

> I would rather have the dogs being comfortable with a good quality of life so have and would again use things like steroids if needed

Totally agree with furriefriends.  I have a 7 year old bitch on long term steroids and it's a joy to see how much they help her.  I would never discount steroids, seeing the immense help they can give when there is no satisfactory alternative.

I seem to remember we had our vet inject with a 'slow release' steriod when, after being castrated (for medical need and he was elderly) he started having the itches.   That worked.

It's well-known that Westies have skin problems - a quick google of 'Westie and 'health problems' will bring that up.

It's very important to research the health of any breed you choose....

Not all Westies have skin problems.  I have one who has never had an issue with his skin, he's a very healthy boy.

No, but it is a known health condition in the breed and if it's important for someone to avoid health conditions, then they might want to consider what breeds are predisposed to, before choosing.  It's really pretty easy to find out these days with the internet.

> I know some of these treatments have bad press due to side effects but for me I would rather have the dogs being comfortable with a good quality of life so have and would again use things like steroids if needed

Ditto.  I have a highly allergic dog too, although thankfully only with food triggers but she can be very hard to manage.  Steroids give her quality of life.  During a flareup she can be absolutely miserable, and because she is so sensitive, I struggle to address her joint pain too - she can have green lipped mussel powder but as yet, I've not gotten her stable enough in a couple of years now to test painkillers.  The steroids do that job as well, though, temporarily.  I'm trying yet again to wean her off them at the moment (and winning this time I think - she can develop new triggers at any time so I've had to remove a couple of extra things from her diet after months of failure).  I have tried her with apoquel, and it was no good; she could either stay at double dose and have no itching but multiple hot spots, or go on normal dose and have no hot spots and suffer the itching.  So, back to steroids.  I've thought about trying atopica but if I can get her weaned off and I'm right about the new triggers, then I should be able to get her back to stable without meds.

Obviously your littlun is a much more challenging case with the environment allergies, and I second FF's suggestion of a specialist, if you can (and if you haven't already).

If you're on Facebook or you have any friends who are, join the "dogs with allergies community forum" group.  Very knowledgeable and helpful people.

My dog has atopic dermatitis which also affected his feet and he has pododermatitis and grew lumps between his paw pads that were painful. had them removed by dermatology vet at Edinburgh Dick veterinary school about 8 weeks ago and what a difference relieving that pain has been to our dog.
He said the blood tests for allergies esp food are unreliable, I had already paid out  for these and stopped all the foods that showed he was sensitive too. made no difference though. He itched lots.
My dog was shown to have yeasts in feet and ears which now we manage by washing feet in neat hibiscrub, again the vet said no point in diluting, and we also use an ear cleaner twice a week.
He has cytopoint injections as apoquel didn't agree with him and cyclosporin(atopica) didnt help and the side affects weren't good. The cyctopoint works really well and he stops scratching, it also lasts much longer than the info says.
His eyes were also very dischargey all around top and bottom lids which must be the environmental allergies he has along with food.

I tried a food trial of Hills ZD but no difference. Previous to this he has single protein foods and raw, no difference. The vet at Dick vets suggested Royal Canin anallergenic and this is what they advise for food trials. I have carried on giving him his treats which are often just veg or cheese, he also eats loads out on walks of sticks, wood and dirt and pony poop(we live in the new forest)! pointless doing a food elimination trial when he always finds stuff to munch on outside.
All I can say is that since the RC food his eyes have completely dried up and look lovely, his ears have improved as well. I am truly amazed and wondered if just coincidence, but I'm not stopping the food just yet as he's doing well on it.
When you look at the ingredients its not what I would ever go for but most it is hydrolysed and apparently won't cause reactions. No idea why it would make him better when I had eliminated everything that the blood test showed and was feeding carnilove which is meat and veg, no potato or rice or maize or soya etc.

You could  try this food (nope I don't work for them!) and washing him in hibiscrub. If steroids work for him then just give them, every drug has its side effects and long term issues but these need to be weighed up against the dogs quality of life and yours! You need to enjoy him and if he feels better then you will.