Hi All

My westie Hamish has been a problem lately with his food, i had to change him over from Eukanuba to Nutro because i found he was getting the runs a lot, he seemed fine on this food for a while but in November his motion was runny again, on speaking to the vet they said it could be something in the Nutro, so i was advised to change him over to Natures diet but since he has been on this he has started to scratch his skin quite a bit and i have noticed he has got spots on his belly when you turn him over, could this be linked to the food as nothing else has changed other than his food, he does not have treats other than denta stix that he has always had so it cannot be these?
I wish i could find him a dry kibble food that he got on with okay and that agreed with him, i thought that the Nutro was good but if it gives him the runs i cannot leave him on this, somebody told me that Burns or Royal Canin were good but are there any other westie owners out there with any ideas as to what i can try him with, he is a very picky eater but if i can find a kibble that does not give him the runs i will make him eat it even if it takes me a week, as he is the sort of dog that holds out to get something better if you give him the option, but i have learnt now to hold out and in the end he gets so hungry that he has to eat it, i just cannot keep giving him this other food if it is causing him to either have the runs or making his skin itchy. If it wasn't for the Nutro upsetting his stomach it would have been fine as his skin was perfect until i gave him the Natures diet, unless it is just a coincidence, he is nearly 2 years old incase anybody wonders.

Thanks
Helen

Hi Helen,

Re. skin problem - have you changed any household products, chemicals, soap powder for use on his bedding?  Any of these could cause skin problems too - not just obvious things like diet, treats etc.

Alternatively if it is diet related and also his runny tummy is a regular feature, check the ingredients of the products you are giving him.  No offence - but there's little point in changing brands if the ingredients are virtually the same :(

Meant to add that I'd put him on a new (for him) diet, give no other treats or titbits etc so that you're not confusing the issue, and see if there is any change in his symptoms.  Obviously a vet check might be in order to rule out anything serious though - only you will be able to tell that from how often/severely it's bothering him   

Teri :)

Helen,

There as so many things to consider when trying to find and elimate causes for allergies.

Westies do not require high protein diets , the nature diet should have been ok which makes me think it could be something else causing the trouble.

Is he getting wet underneath more than he usually is?  Have you used other products around the house and or on him??

Pam

Hi Pam

Thanks for getting back to me, he isn't wet underneath at all but he has been licking his feet a lot which are now starting to go a bit browny, i have been told that they are prone to doing this as there are some other westie's in our area that have got brown feet aswell. I am still using the same shampoo to bath him in and we have not changed anything that we use around the house, so we are not sure what is causing it. He seems fine in himself apart from this and is lively enough. The only thing i can think of is i have not been very well over the last five/six months and have not been able to pick him up and make a fuss of him as much because i have had eczema very bad and my hands have been so sore, i think he thinks that he has done something wrong as i have always picked him up a lot and made a fuss of him, do you think it could be this that he senses there is something wrong, other people in the household are giving him loads of fuss but he keeps coming up to me nudging me as if he wonders what is happening? What do you think, could this be part of the problem? I am in a very awkward situation as i have got to use special cream on my hands and leave to soak in for quite a while and i found that he wants to lick this off when he smells it if i put my hands down to him that now i have just got to keep my hands away from him as much as i can, it breaks my heart that i cannot touch him but i have not got a lot of choice in the matter!!! My family said that it would not be this causing it but it makes me wonder!!!
Thanks
Helen

Hi Helen,

sorry to take so long to reply.   I personally don't think it is that for what it is worth. 

I do know it is hard to find out the root cause though as I am on quite a few groups.

Have you joined a few westie groups yourself, were you not on Westhighlands or I am getting you confused?

I have touch wood never had any trouble at all. 

The wet weather can cause the licking of the feet and to be honest a lot of breeds chew their feet more so when they get wet but we are unfortunate in the respect of having white dogs.

Not sure what to suggest but if you like send me a mail and I can give you a few links to some groups who may be better equipped to advice.

preidie@yahoo.com

Pam

Our bichon has just the same problem as your westie is having.  He started scratching at just 16 weeks old and he is now ten months.  He even pulled all his fur out of his back end and legs last summer.  We have been backwards and forwards to the vet and just end up having steroids and antibiotics. 

He is on James Wellbeloved lamb and rice kibble and he seems a lot better than he was a few months ago.  I decided to change him to Naturediet a couple of months ago.  I gave him the lamb and rice one and then I tried the chicken and tripe one and he started scratching his ears like mad.  He made a big sore on his ear and had to go to the vet for steroids and antibiotics.  He has now recovered from that but sometimes scratches his ears a lot.  The vet cannot see anything wrong with his ears and said they don't smell and looked clean so we don't know why he was scratching them.   I have put him back on the lamb and rice kibble which is specially for itchy skins and he has two piriton a day (1 in the morning and 1 at night) and he has been a lot better this last couple of weeks.  

He is bathed in Malaseb shampoo from the vets about once a month and he has an evening primrose oil capsule every day.   They also do a shampoo called epi-soothe which is quite good as well.

Hope this helps a bit.

Forgot to say, licking the feet is common with a dog with skin allergy as is scratching the ears.   Our dog made his feet pinky-brown with licking them last summer.   The pollen also seems to affect him so he will probably be worse in the summer.  He does seem to have stopped the feet licking now though.

Hi, I have a friend who has two westies that had skin problems and spent a fortune at the vets.  He changed his dogs diet from commercial to a natural diet some 12 months ago, consisting of raw meats and natural choice holistic mixer, and he hasn't looked back. Clean skin and gleaming coat.  he said he would never go back to feeding a commercial complete food.  I must admit I agree with him I saw the dogs recently and they are no comparison from 12+ months ago - no bald patches and red skin.  just a thought!

Helen - I did read on one group about a dog who was allergic to the bonemeal in that food. As soon as they worked out what was causing the problem and took the dog off the food the skin problems/itching stopped.

I have 2 westies myself and we have had to get rid of all our grass and carpets as one of them is allergic to grasses and house dust mite. The change in her is phenomenal as a result.

Hi

Hope you don't mind me asking but what do you feed your dogs, i am at a loss as to what food to change him onto as it seems whatever brand i choose he then starts with the runny motion again, he has had Eukanuba, James Wellbeloved, Nutro and the Natures diet. Can anybody else come up with any ideas, i have been told that burns is a very good food and also Royal Canin and Wafcol but don't know personally what they are like.

Any ideas i would be very grateful for
Helen

How many brands of food have you tried since this could be causing the problem?  I sold a puppy once who had been reared on a natural diet (raw meats and holisitic mixer as well as other supplements).  She rang me a few months after she had the dog and said she had been back and forth to the vets with upset stomach and the dog was on steriods.   She had carried on feeding him on the diet that I had recommeded but then decided to change it once, then twice and again etc! and had effectively upset his digestive system.  I demanded the dog back to sort the problem out and within a week he was fine. he was returned to her on the strict understanding that she stopped jumping from one food to the next. The dog has been fine since. Just a thought. 

I agree Ruggrott.
I haven't looked back since putting my 2 on raw meat & veg 2 weeks ago. If you read my other thread you'll see I was having similar problems with my TT. Now I wish I'd done it sooner. The difference is phenominal!!!!!
I had tried all the decent makes of complete food, same ones that you mention.  Not one after the other but over a period of time on each, and things were just getting worse and worse. At least with feeding raw you know exactly what you are giving your dog, and there is always someone on here to help you along with it. As I have found out :)
Good luck Anne

Hi

It is only the 4 different foods that he has had the Eukanuba he was on from a puppy and i changed him over from this about April last year because he continually had the runs, we went onto the James Wellbeloved for about 5 weeks and then onto Nutro which he has been on since about August last year until December time and then he went over to the Natures Diet, but only for a few weeks because i have found that his skin has become itchy, he is now back on the Nutro, i have been told that this is a good food and that it should not be causing his upset stomachs but i am concerned that if he is allergic to something in the food he will keep on getting it all the time he is on it, the vet does not seem to think it is food related but i cannot see what else it would be. i have not been changing his food every few weeks as i say this has been going on for about 10 months now.

Helen

I think you need to decide how you wish to feed your dog commercial/natural or barf. Personally I would try natural/barf you may find the results good.

Hi Helen

What kind of Nutro are you feeding Hamish?

I fed my girl (labrador) Nutro Choice Lamb&Rice, and she started itching, so I've changed to Nutro Choice Chicken&Rice 3 weeks ago.

She hasnt had any probs with a runny tummy, maybe you should try another kind of food, not brand but maybe the Nutroo maintenance or something.

I've heard that it could take up to 2 months before the lamb&rice is completely out of her systeems, so I have a while to go yet, but if she still itches after this, I'm going to switch to either Regal Sensi Bites or a danish brand called Olivers, as both of them are soy, wheat, fishmeal and glutenfree...

Hi Helen - I feed raw tripe and holistic mixer.

I personally think that complete (dry) food is purely for the convenience of humans (it keeps for a long time) and doesn't strike me as a suitable foodstuff for dogs.

Hi Helen, have you not spoken to your vet about allergy testing to find out what could be causing the problem?

what is holistic mixture?

I would definately feed Burns to a dog with itchy skin if you do not have the inclination to feed a raw diet ( ieBARF). Do not feed anything else at all for 1 month and see if this makes a difference. Biting at the feet is often accompanied by anal gland problems and in my experience is directly related to diet. Dogs bite/lick  their feet because of irritation elsewhere and when there is too much protein in the diet.

Bath as little as possible ( in plain water or with the timyiest amount of hyp allergic puppy shampoo and rinse and rinse and rinse, if you have to bath). Unless you have been given a prescription shampoo  by your vet. Make sure your dog is always up to date with Frontline flea drop on as one flea bite ( from a neighbours cat?) can start off a flea bite allergy which if not treated immediately can cause long term problems. If you have your Westie clipped ( they should be scissored or hand stripped really) dont have them clipped too short as this can cause irritation.