hi i have a 11month old westie,and he has developed a heavy discolouration to his lower legs and paws,inc his lower jaw and underbelly,i try and stop him licking himself,but i cant stop him 24/7,he also seems to be of an out of sorts dog and i have tried in vain to find a suitable diet,when he is washed and brushed he looks the part,but within 15mins he looks like compo,we have a black scottie one day younger and he looks magnifisent,glossy coat cold wet nose and an appitite to match,poor old bobby tends to smell quite quickly after being groomed within a day or so,and no matter how you try to mask the odour,it just keeps on smelling not a nasty smell but a strong dogy smell with him being so young im a bit concerned,they are both groomed daily,and are on a wheat free diet because the vet suspects Bobby to have a wheat or Gluton alergy,iv'e tried various diets and now have been on Burns complete puppy mix and are at present bieng turnned over to adult Burns complete feed,slowly mixed with there puppy mix,although Jock the Scottie is suffering abit with loose stools now,both dogs are very well bonded,and have brought us so much enjoyment even though they are alot of work,is there anything that i can mask the staining or remove it,i am thinking of having them nuted if thats the correct word at 12months?,any views on that one please!,so if anyone could help me with the above problem i would most appreciate it,
                                                                                    Thanks Steverobo

Hi Steve, i've got two westies myself, my bitch suffers with a skin allergy in spring and autum.  She's fed on wafcol hypo allergic food salmon and potato, this does really help her out in spring and autum when her skin starts playing up.  The thing is though they are white and i have to bath mine every couple of weeks or they end up completely flithy.  Also male dogs they do tend to spray alot marking their territory so this might make them stink abit, so neutiring them can help stop them from spraying, then it wont get on their fair.

Warm regards Susan

hi Susan,thanks for your reply,Bobby has been on Wafcol salmon and potatoe,but we found that it was not helping his body odour,in fact when we took him off it his odour reduced dramatically,i will agree with the fact of scent marking when we take both Bobby an jock out on there daily walk they insist on marking every couple of yards!! i am booking Booby in with the Vet next week and try and get to the bottom of Bobby's Problem,he's fine in himself,and is not showing any discomfort at present,but im worried if unattended it will develope into something more serious,Many thanks Susan,and i will keep you posted on any outcome.
                                                                                                                               Steve.

hi steve.
we have two dogs, one is fine the other is a german shepherd who constantly licks and scratches himself to the point of making him self bleed, i tried the wafcol range but it seemed to make my dog worse so i changed him over to pero hypoallergenic chichen and rice, this and some piriton tablets seem to help my dog alot. my vet says my dog has atopy  which is why he is so itchy, . i think it is best you are going to the vets then they can get to the root of the problem.  do let me know how you get on 
                                                                                                                              lyn.

Hi Lyn Leicester,
                          Took Bobby,to the vets today for a closer look at the Discolouration to his feet and lower legs,front worse than back,the vet examined him and found that he had some inflamation to the inside of the paws left front being the worst,he's prescribed a course of antibiotics,and a course of tablets to prevent the itching,he also noticed that the left ear inside area was slightly red so he has prescribed som ear drops,we discussed his problem with smelling so quickly after being washed and groomed,his diet was disscused and finally his anul glands were tended,to some discomfort to Bobby,also some shampoo with antiseptic properties were prescribed,i am to return for a further examination in3wks time,there can be a number of causes why this soreness can develope,he could have grass seed alergies,or the damp grass can cause problems, i suppose like the poor old soldiers who had trench foot during the first world war standing in damp conditions day after day,lets be honest its not the best Country for a warm dry inviroment, unfortunately unlike mungrels,these breeds suffer with skin problems due to years of strict Breeding!a price we pay for perfection!,well now that ive taken out a second mortgage to cover the vets bills,we must soldier on and hope Bobby has a more comfortable time ailment free.
                                                                                                                         Steve.

If breeding was that strict surely breeders would make sure they did not breed from dogs that were predisposed to skin complaints?

>unfortunately unlike mungrels,these breeds suffer with skin problems due to years of strict Breeding!<

SORRY IT IS LONG!!!

Unfortunately Steve that is a big generalisation and a very wrong one :-) , ethical breeders know the history behind their dogs or as much as possible to them , they would never use never mind double up on any known faults. Sadly there is quite a few westies with skin troubles and hopefully I won't be alone saying this that the biggest percentage of these dogs come from backyard breeders. ( Please note I say the biggest percentage NOT all because nobody can guarantee a 100% healthy puppy we can only hope and do ALL we can to prevent it)

One thing people forget when they make these sweeping generalisations is that there were 16,000 westie registered with the KC last year ( think that figure is right off the top of my head) and probably nearly the same again unregistered. This puts them sadly into one of the most popularly bred dogs.   The worse thing of all is Westies are a Puppy farmers and backyard breeders dream.   Thinking of my own personal experience when I see how many litters are bred in my own area along and I know that in the county I live I am the ONLY person who shows them I think it is a disgrace.  To me that will tell you how much thoughtless breeding can and does take place. It isn't by the ethical breed enthusiast , I am pretty confident about that.  The internet lists are full of breeders only a small amount show the dogs. 

Just this week I have been involved with 2 people who just coincidently bought their puppies from a breeder who I would say most would not put in the ethical breeder catagory.  Well put it this way the people have called me a couple of times for advice and not the breeder as the breeder wasn't interested. One puppy has died after only being with the new owners a short time , the second has been diagnosed with addison disease.  I would be devastated if I had breed these puppies and would do all I can to help. That line would be either nipped in the bud and subject to all radical testing I could do.

When I was at the vets the other day getting one of mine vaccinated there was 2 pitiful "westies" there .I use the name westie loosely as they were awful examples of the breed. Hey you can't tell people sometimes!!. I say it till I am blue in the face buy only from reputable breeders do they all listen .. no.  One of them hung their head as they had called me looking for one. I knew of a litter but it was young so what did they do go and buy from an ad in the paper and bought from a very unknown source. It has a skin complaint, not allergy but Mange I think  grrr I sometimes get mad at myself for taking the time to help but I hope if it is only one I help it is one less bought from a puppy farmer.

Anyway back to the thread and off my high horse, sorry  ;-)  :-D :-D

It sounds yeasty if it is smelly.  I would keep him as dry as possible keep him off the grass and start a process of elimination. Wash him underneath when he has been out and gotten overly wet with something like hibscrub or malaseb. I personally would possible take him off the diets and if you want something convienent try something like Butcher tripe in tins. You have to continue with a food for long enough for it to help. Not just a week or so but a month or so . At 11 months he is still young.

Make sure all his bedding is washed every other day in non Bio wash powder.  Keep his ears clean also. Diluted Hibiscrub can be used as a gentle wash in the ears cleaned gently with a cotton ball.

If you do bath him which you shouldn't be doing so often you have to rinse and rinse and rinse as the double coat holds the soap.. Use only Malaseb or Hibiscrub for washing.

Hi Blue!,
            thanks for your reply,i agree with most of what you say,but unfortunately,myself as many other people im sure collect puppies,from not the best sources,with being ignorant,and keen to have a pet which they believe to be the best for there situation,you are so correct and spot on when you say about puppy farming,i feel that Bobby and Jock may have fallen to this bad practise it is only since reading internet sites and views of caring breeders that the horrible thought that these little innocent fellows may be the off spring of overbred mothers!,i just hope that they dont fall to long term illnesses,however they have great temprements and we never bought with the intension of showing them just as family pets,the breeder they were bought from was very professional,her kennels if thats the right word was well eguiped and spotless,but as many have said,since i have bought them and not cheap may i add! Business first puppies second,also when i stated mungrels,it was said in the loose term and not directed at either non pedergree owners or pedergree owners,i dont know enough about breeds ,breeding or dogs in general,although i have owned a springer spanial,and german shepard,in years past again only for pets,these are the first terriers i have had,and what little charicters!!they are very much loved and accepted into the family home and i feel treated better than some poor children,by using sites like these and speaking to people like yourselfs it helps people decide on the best way to purchase and look after there new arrivals,maybe a bit late for me ,but it certainly helps me with problems i may have with my young dogs
many thanks to all who have replied and helped me.
                                                                                       Steve

Hey Steve,

A huge % of people will have done the same thing as yourself bought with little knowledge. I know when I bought my first dog I was a bit ignorant but it turned out I had found ONLY per chance to be  a good breeder. Not the breed I am in just now though.

Just as another little side then and it is another trap WE as people fall into. So Often people say " ah they have great natures"  This is  honestly no disrespect to you or your dogs  but ethical breeders who perhaps show also put temperament , Health etc all at the top of the priorty list also but they breed quality dogs also.

You have to remember that breeders who showthere dogs breed for the pet market as 99% of dogs bred will become peoples pets it is only the few that end up in the ring. By buying from reputable breeders you get good health ( as much as can be guaranteed), You get good natured wonderful temperaments but in addition to this you get a dog like looks like the breed it should be.

Sadly PF westies seem to end up twice the size and twice the length they should be.

Hopefully your little lad will get better with some of the advice you have been given.

thanks for letting us know  how you got on at the vets.im sure the antibiotic tablets and the antiseptic shampoo  should help your dog, let me know how you get on at your next vist to the vets in 3 weeks time . ii am sure Bobby will be fine ....lyn

Good luck

warm regards susan

Once a dog has already started cocking his leg castration is unlikely to change this.

Hi my Hubby had a Westie with TERRIBLE skin problems that improved greatly when changed onto Nutro Dog Food (at my reccomendation I hasten to add...no-one loves a smart ar*e do they???LOL) But seriously he had paid an absolute fortune to see Dermatologists etc, for a problem which settled within a couple of weeks on Nutro.

http://www.nutro.co.uk/

All the best, Dawn