hi,
I have a five and a half month old westie named bobby,and he,s full of energy,
happy and very loving,but since we have had him his stools have been very loose to say the least,and he goes quite often during the day,we have changed his food at least three times even at the vets request,but to no avail he is now on Burns mini bites,and nothing else,a few days ago he was very sick vomitting throughout the day,he never eat anything that day,we kept a close eye on him,but the next day he was as normal as he has been,i have noticed he has been smelling very strong doggy smell even after you have bathed him,and his breath is bad!,we have also bought a scottie pup from the same Breeder we had bobby from as a companion they get on fine but jock the scottie only toilets twice a day and does not have any bad odours,i have wormed bobby,but he still has the above problem's,i have booked him into see the vet on Tuesday next,so fingers crossed it may only be somthing simple,he is lively and full of mischiff,if anyone has had similar problems i would be intrested to hear.
                                                                steverobo

Can I ask they day he arrived did he have loose stools?  If not what and when did the change happen?

If it was only the loose stools I would suggest that he is perhaps being over fed but not the sickness also.

I would try not to keep changing the food. Get a good brand a stick to it.

If he is sick and loose both ends then it may be something more than food.

Thanks Blue,
Bobby started with loose stools the day after we brought him from the Breeders,he seems to have a delicate system,the vommiting started after a long walk in a Country park locally,he may have drunk from a dirty puddle or eat something that dissagreed with him as he loves walking off the lead ,running and exploring but never to far out of site!,as for his coat and body and breath ouder,im at a loss,being new to this breed,i know that dogs can get similar problems like humans do and it maybe that this little fellow has been blessed with a dicky tummy,it may be "suck it and see",as long as we are not contributing to his problems,its a great help when you can speak to more expeirienced owners on similar problems,as they say we are always learning from others ,Bobby's diet has ranged from Pedigree all in one puppy mix,as used by the breeder,to Hills complete puppy solution,sugested by Vet,to Burns mini bites at present recomended by other owners.
as i am writing this message Bobby and Jock are playing in the garden and soaking up the sunny weather we are having,ps they get a 3mile walk every day.
                                                      Steverobo

Hi again.

I was concerned that the sickness and loose stools were connected but it doesn't appear to be.

Is it possible he is getting a little too much food. This is generally the most common cause for an upset tummy and loose stools.

If he was fine the day he arrived this is what makes me think it could be the food or volume of the food.

When puppies leave their siblings they tend to eat anything and it takes a bit of time for the race to eat the food to slow down. Remember that they would have been competing with the other pups for the food in the dish.

I personally also think some of these high protein diets are not that great for westies. Burns and JWB seem to be OK with them  if a complete diet is used .

I tend to advice people for the first 2 weeks to be careful with the water if the breeder was quite far away from it's new home as water supplies are all different.

starting off with bottle then adding the normal tap water.

Steverobo,

In addition to the excellent advice above,
Are you sure that your Westie is only eating his own food??  they can be greedy and it could be that he's eating far too much and this is causing the diarrhoea.  If this isn't the case it could just be that his tum needs to settle, you could try some plain Bio Yoghurt (a few teaspooons on his meals) this usually sorts simple tummy problems.  You may find that splitting his food into more meals (eg. 4 instead of 3 ) could help. 

I would cut down on the length of the formal walks as 3 miles is too much for pups of that age unless broken into smaller 'bites' and over-exercise can cause diarrhoea ;)  they could be built back up to that by the time they are 12 months and would probably enjoy even longer walks when 18-24 months :)

Thanks Dill,
Your comments were very intresting especially the water change,i never gave it a thought,as i have had problems when i visited other areas in the country!!,
as far as Bobby eating other meals as well as his own,i do seperate both Jock and Bobby when its meal times,one indoors and the other outdoors,untill theh ave both finnished,then the bowls are removed and washed and returned to a safe place out of reach from both dogs,i am taking both dogs to the vet tommorow,so hopefully i will be alot the wiser on Bobby's problems,you and many other experienced people have been a great help to me,as i have grown very fond of my two young companions,my wife bought me bobby as a companion and a way to exercise,as about 2yrs ago i suffered a massive heart attack,and only by the grace of god i am hear today,they also found that i was diabetic insulin dependant,and other complications,so my medication is like a shopping list,but the best medication has to be Bobby and Jock,as you can imagine being housebound and isolated for sometime,these little guys have given me a new lease of life,i am as eager to get out for walks as they are.
I will keep you updated as to the dogs welfare and health,and once again thank's and  look forward to hearing from you again.
                                                                  Steverobo

Thanks again Blue,
i do appreciate your advice,i probably am giving him to much,and i have cut down the portions alot,i always feel quilty that he's not getting enough,we are used to having a full table as we are always getting meals for our children and grandchildren,when they visit which is quite often!!,who said they are off your hands when they are grown up and flown the nest!?,we have a large family,so the house is always full of grown ups and children,both Bobby and jock seem to love this fact,i am taking both the dogs for a check up tommorow and i will keep you updated .
                                                   Once again many thanks
                                                             Steverobo

Hi blue,and Dill
well both Bobby and jock have been to the vets today,both dogs have been microchipped,and jock's had his final injections!,the vet examined bobby and sugested that by the sound of the continues loosness he could be suffering from an alergy to wheat glueton,? so i have  ventured on the internet to see what foods were acceptable,and spun off to the nearest large pet food stockist to find some suitable food,he's had his first session of non wheat glueton food and to our suprise eat the lot,were he usually leaves some in the bowl,its now time to monitor his reaction to yet another new food,i know changing his diet constantly,is not the done thing but in his case its finding the most suitable food,with little side affects and maximum benifits,well that all i can tell you for now will keep you posted !.
                                                           
                                                                             Steverobo