Hi All

Just thought i would update you all on robbie's progress since the last post, apologies if i caused anger amongst the posts with some people i never meant to cause any problems.
Well this week to went to another homeopathic vet for a 2nd opinion as i wasn't happy when the previous homeopath send he had come to the end of the road with robbie and said 'yes his feet are puffy and sore but its not something he is gonna die from and he wouldn't worry too much about him' yes i agree that he won't die from what he has got wrong with him but its uncomfortable for him and not nice, so i had no intentions of leaving it at that, this homeopath has come recommended to me from a few people that have used her so i thought it was worth a try and nothing to lose, everything to gain hopefully.
From what i told her she said the 1st few lines told her everything that he had had this near enough from birth as the signs were there from 12 weeks of age, she said that it is definitely an immune system problem that we are dealing with, she agreed that his feet are very puffy and sore but said the rest of his skin is fine at the moment she said she expected him to look really bad when he went in and said she thought whats actually wrong with him from 1st looking at him, as usually westies are far worse to look at them they have bald patches everywhere and black skin, i must admit at the moment the rest of his skin does look good. She emptied his glands and they were full but not infected, she feels the lipfold anal gland and skin issue are all linked together where his system is not working properly, she has told me to stop all remedies from the previous homeopath and said to carry on with the piriton and garlic and fenugreek, she has suggested a new remedy to try and also has ordered a homeopathic ab that should he get smothered in pustules again to start using this as soon as we spot anything forming, she said ideally we don't want to rely on conventional ab's long term and certainly not atopica or steroids at this point, she said atopica is not a good drug for them to go onto as it is an anti cancer drug, she feels steroids on a short term basis would be a better idea if he gets really bad but in her eyes at the moment his skin doesn't warrant either of them. She has given me some aloe vera liquid to put him onto as she said they have had very good results on this in the past and wants him to go onto a dog probiotic which she is writing to my vet about, she feels the holland and barrett acidophillus isn't the right 1 for him, she said we need to kickstart his immune system and hope that we get it working, she said i must understand that there is a chance seeing as he has had this problem right from young that he may not react to this treatment and i am not to build my hopes up too much but she feels there is a strong chance it could work and she is hopeful, i admire her for her honesty and she said she feels robbie is lucky having an owner looking into alternatives for him and not just accepting what vets are telling her, she said its nothing i am doing wrong so i need to stop beating myself up about it, as i told her i thought it was me after having 2 westies with the same problem.
I am still using the thornit powder we have been using it now for 2 weeks and at 1st it seemed to stop him licking at his feet but over the past week he is slowly going back to doing it again and the front paws are sodden, she said to keep using it for another week or maybe to try the diamateous earth powder as she had heard of this but didn't know the useage of it so said to find out before introducing this, also she said the diluted hibiscrub washes may help him so to go back on these but again she said to find out whether its 1.5 or 2% diluted in water as she said if its too strong it can do more harm that good, if anybody knows the useage of these i would be very grateful. She said with robbies lipfold problem and where he has had ear infections in the past an elizabethan collar is not advisable so sorry to everyone that wanted me to use these, i am using a comfy collar at the moment and have got a bite not collar that i am gonna try but when i put it onto him he could still reach his front feet so don't think this is gonna stop him either, she said hopefully these remedies will kick in and stop him of this if his feet feel better soon.
The diet she wants us to stay on at the moment as changing too much too soon isn't a good option but she said raw was the way to go with robbie.

helen

> From what i told her she said the 1st few lines told her everything that he had had this near enough from birth as the signs were there from 12 weeks of age, she said that it is definitely an immune system problem that we are dealing with

So after his puppy vaccinations then? Years ago I had a puppy(not a westie) which I got at 7 weeks,she had her 1st vaccinations at 8 weeks and started scratching and nibbling herself a few days later.She had her 2nd vaccinations and 5 days later she collapsed.Well to cut a long story short the vets couldn't find the cause,all blood tests were normal and fortunately after a couple of weeks she made a good recovery.But she always suffered from skin problems,was always very itchy and spent most of her life on steroids.At the time I thought her itchiness was just one of those things but I always wondered if it was a reaction to her puppy vaccs. I will never know but it all seems to be too much of a coincidence and there is increasing evidence to show that vaccinations(especially the lepto vaccine) can cause auto immune problems.
Poor Robbie,I know you have tried so hard-I really hope you find a solution for his problems.            

Yes, good luck Helen, you and Robbie really deserve some! It's all very well saying a dog won't die of this, but honestly, the thought of a young dog becoming unhappy, anxious and frustrated through this must be very upsetting for you both.