I have an 18 month old male westie and we have recently discovered he has allergies to something. They have shown up as raised round sores on his back, along his spine, and also he bites/scratches his feet a little. So far, under vet supervision, we are proceeding with an allergy food elimination diet to begin to determine which foods may be causing his reactions. I am skeptical of the veterinary industry, and am looking for more information from experienced breeders about possible causes and cures. I am gathering info from various westie sites on the internet also, which have so far indicated that flea bites, beef, wheat may be the cause. Any more information and advice would be very much appreciated.
JOn, jonnypeso@yahoo.com

Welcome to the Forum Jon :-)

Leigh

I recently got a Westie puppy from a breeder and she advised never feeding the dry complete foods to a Westie as this can cause skin problems.She advised feeding Butchers tinned foods and a good quality small bite mixer.Our Westie also gets Goats milk for breakfast.
Our vet tried to push us in to buying complete foods (sure they are on commission!!) but we just ignored it as the breeder knows best.
Don't know if this helps but hope your dog gets better soon.
Ailsa

They are Ailsa ! lol

Hi Jon, if the food elimination trial doesn't work then its worth considering that many dogs have allergies to varies things even in the home. For instance, washing powder, carpet fresheners etc can cause allergies along with things outside like grass seeds, plants, the list goes on. Something else (though you have probably done this) is checking for fleas/dirt too-the areas where your Westie has sores are common areas for flea bites.

Just one thing, I know most people know about it but it stands repeating. Your not using "Shake And Vac" are you? It's caused so many people problems in the past!

Regards, John

Hi, I do sympathise with you, it can be very hard to find out what the cause is for exema- if thats what it is. "raised round sores" sound a bit like ringworm, though most vets would spot this as its common on lots of mammals.
Did he "chew at his feet " before the patches came along? as they may not be linked. Sometimes dogs chew at their paws when they have full anal glands, or ear problems, full nal glands can be a sign that the diet is too high in protein or carbo with not enough fibre. He'll scoot accross the floor on his bottom if they are very full, some people think this is due to worms-but its usually the glands. I have always fed my Westies complete foods and never have any skin problems (but I'm not disputing what your dog's breeder says).
I stongly suggest that you feed him only real chicken ( I buy a bargain bag of chicken joints from the supermarket, boil gently for 20 minutes then take it off the bone) and plain boiled wholemeal rice for about a month, together with a recognised vitamin supplement, say SA37 and evening primrose oil. Raw carrots are much enjoyed by mine, sliced lengthways. If it is the diet, this diet should fix it.
Alternatively you could try Burns dog food, the maintenance one, yes I know its a complete, but it is designed to rid the dog of toxins that are building up in the body from the present diet, and has stopped my only "itchy/scratchy" Westie from scratching. I would definately stop feeding the Butchers Tripe, it is a great food, I also use it, but IMO is too rich for a dog that is having skin probs.
If it were a grass or bedding allergy I would think the irritation would be underneath his tum and on his groin armpits areas.
the only other thing that I can think it might be is mange, though that usually starts on the head, chest, armpits, but not always. there is usually an acompanying "mousey" smell with mange. A skin scraping can be done to diagnose it, though occasionally the "scrape" will not show mange mites, even when there are some present, as they live deep in the skin.

I assume you use frontline or something simaliar on a regualr basis to keep fleas away. flea allergy dermatitis is very common in dogs that are not given 100% protection. It could be that.
Please dont be too sceptical of the vet industry, I like to use low tec methods too when possible, but if your vet doesn't get to the bottom of it fairly quickly, or he is getting worse I would ask for a second opinion. Skin probs if not diagnosed and treated fairly soon can snowball into general secondry problems quite quickly and although you may find the original cause, sometimes the secondry dermatitis takes over and is hard to shift. Very best of luck. I hope the cause is found soon. Dont be afraid to discuss everthing you want to with your vet, i.e. what it could be ,if he/she resents your input I'd find another vet, you need to feel confident that you are being taken seriously and that your ideas are valuable - same as finding a doctor with the right attitude to you!! I.e. you are not a moron!! Good luck, keep us posted.

Have you considered an allergy to yeast? Does your Westie get any pink patches under his neck or arms? If so a yeast called malassezia pachydermatis may be the culprit. Get a shampoo from your vet called Malaseb. This is anti-fungal and anti-bacterial and is excellent for these proiblems.

Welcome to the Forum Pod :-)

I have a westie who is nearly 3 and for the first time ever he has developed skin problems similar to yours, Iwas at the vet on Friday and he got an injection to stop the scratching and Maleseb shampoo, i've to use the shampoo every 3 days and if this does not help to take him back in a week, if it helps he goes back to the vet in a fortnight. so far so good, he has not been scratching. His diet has also been changed to something he has not had before, so I am now feeding him minced Pork and boiled rice, you can get this in Safeway, i've also had to change my pups diet as well just in case the older dog ate any of hers, he is no longer allowed any kind of titbits, so I am feeding two small meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening, I personally think my dogs skin infection came from rubbing himself up against rose bushes in the garden and this has broken the skin and an infection has set in. The rose bushes have now been removed from my garden just in case, My vet did discuss with me going to a skin specialist, so if the treatment does not work I will think about this, but it will be expensive. and the only thing he is allowed to drink is water, so the cups of tea he loves are now out of reach. Hope this helps you, please keep posting as it is nice to hear from other westie owners i've had westies for a long time and as I said before have been very lucky never to have had skin problems.

Irene;
Thanks for your post. Based on the research I have done and hte posts I have received I have determined that my dogs skin allergies are food related. We are pursuing an eliminatin diet to try and zero in on the cause(s). Its been three weeks removing his old food and replacing it with a protein and a starch has cleared up his symptoms. I am avoiding further veterinary advice soncerning medical solutions to his allergies; no antihistamines, no cortisone shots, etc. It may be environmental (fleas, grasses or pollens) but so far it seems as though its the food. I truelly beleive in the homeopathic approach,and offering my dog an animals diet, as apposed to what's in the manufactured foods these days, and avoiding anything out of the ordinary (cups of tea...). I beleive the vets will bilk us out of $$$ when really its much simpler than all of that. Again, thatnks for the reply, they all help as I navigate through the education that this is developing into. Jon.

Just spotted this web site while looking for a possible source of Malaseb. My 14 year old Black Lab developed lesions that looked like ringworm and had deposits of a dandruff-like substance in close proximity to the lesions. He also started biting his feet, severely. Our vet couldn't diaganose it closer than an "unknown allergy" but did come up with a multi-approach attack against it. Prednisone was given for about 6 weeks, cephalexin (an antibiotic) was also given for the same time frame, I shampooed him with Malaseb every 3 days, and his diet was changed. Results were just short of miraculous as he stopped itching within 3 days and all lesions were gone in 7.

Two weeks after the treatment ended, the allergy re-appeared. I shampooed him with Malaseb for a week before taking him to the vet. The shampoo helped with the external symptoms but he became increasingly lethargic. The vet started the antibiotics immediately and Omar started recovering, but when we started the Prednisone 4 days later he became a new dog again. Plans are to keep him on prednisone for 4 weeks and then reduce anti-biotic medication to twice a week for presumably the rest of his life. Shampoos will also be continued.

Welcome to the forum Omarsdad :-) Leigh