Avoid bathing a Westie too much, unless there are sanitary -) reasons. A Westie is double coated and dirt will wipe off the hard outer coat, while the dense soft inner coat protects the Westie's skin from dirt, mold, fleas and pesticides. If you bathe a Westie too much you will wash out the protective oils in the outer coat! When a Westie is dirty from playing outside, rub him in a cotton towel for some minutes (he will like it). After doing this I'm sure you're Westie is clean again. To keep a Westie really white you can buy some white grooming talk and put it in his coat once a week. But remember do this outside, unless you love the dust.How do I stay white?
Very simple, just make your Westie unattractive to fleas. Go to your local pet supply store and be sure you come out with a reliable product (there lots of them). Frontline and Advantage for instance are reliable products. Just check your dogs weight for the right dosage. A very good and simple product can also be the anti flea bandage. Mostly a tick bite isn't very bad, but watch out for ticks which are contaminated. A tick bandage (Preventic ®) is a good way of prevention. To remove a tick, please use a tick remover pen for it. It is the easiest way to remove a tick. Don't use alcohol or ether for this purpose, because there is a big chance the tick will put his (maybe infected) stomach in the wound. There also never was a prove that such "drugs" are a solution for tick removal.Fleas and Ticks.
Some skin problems are attributed to so called grass allergies. In spite of caring your Westie it is still possible he's having skin problems. What you can do is to put your Westie on a special diet that eliminates wheat. Wheat seems to cause some Westie's to be more susceptible to grass allergies. Change your dogs diet to one based on chicken and rice or lamb and rice. I'm sure your local pet store can supply you with both.Skin Problems.
Living together with other animals.
If you have other animals (e.g. cats), it will be (in most cases) no problem at all to let them live together. But notice; don't give either of them weapons like knifes or guns. Okay now seriously, I have no problems with other animals at all. Maybe because I grew up with 2 cats and 2 parrots, but I think Westies can make friends with many other animals. Mostly the other animal has a problem. On the picture on the left I am sleeping on a pillow which looks like a black cat. My 2 bosses called that thing Coco, the other cat was called Chanel (Isn't that a perfume???)
As you probably know Westies are earth dogs, bred to go underground and kill or flush fox, woodchuck, badgers and other vermin. So the instinct to dig is part of being a Westie.Digging, digging and digging.
Hint: if your Westie is trying to dig under your fence, fill the hole with concrete or bricks. Or if you do not like a little Westie with a black face just don't get you a Westie. Because it is almost impossible to break a Westie of digging. Maybe you could consider a Toys R us Westie? :-)
An excess of wax building in your dog’s ears will increase change of infections. To avoid this problem you must check your Westies ears regularly. When possible every week.Ear Problems and Ear Mites.
If you notice this start of wax-collecting at the top of your Westies ear, you should remove it very gently with the use of an Ear Wipe. This weekly check will discourage infection and smelly ears.
If your Westie has to visit the vet regular with ear infections, it may be worth using a preventative treatment from time to time. Some ear drops, available from pet shops, are suited for keeping wax build up under control. Ear Wax Drops contain some stuff (pyrethrum) which kill ear mites and soften wax. So you happy, Westie happy, mites not happy at all :-)).
Ear mites, also know as Canker is not really a skin problem but close. Ear mites cause loads of wax to form in the ears, are very irritating and are very infectious indeed.
A indicate of an ear problem you dan detect if your Westie is head banging or ear scratching.
Regular inspections and gentle cleaning when required can greatly reduce the incidence of ear infections. But always remember the ear is a very sensitive area, so always be gentle taking care not to cause abrasion during cleaning. Never poke anything down the ear, only clean debris from the top. Make sure that you plucks any hair from your Westies ear canal at the same time. If your house is terrorised by some cats (or other dogs) watch for which dogs regularly catch from cats. Ofcourse you must treat all dogs and cats in the household for earmites at the same time. If your are not sure about what you're doing don't hesitate consulting your vet.
I am receiving often e-mail with question concerning skin problems. Often the reason for this skin problems are allergies. But there are just so many allergies your dog can suffer from. Allergens can be inhaled, ingested, or touched by the skin.Allergies.
Flea saliva
House dust mites
Pollens
Dietary proteins like dairy products and gluten
Grass
Household chemicals
are just a few, there are many others. Allergies are suspected if your dog has an itchy skin problems when other infectious causes have been ruled out. Tests can be done to attempt to identify the allergen involved. If you can identify the allergen you can avoid it. I.e. flea prevention, use of vacuum cleaners designed to suck up house mites
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