Below is a summary of antidotes and tips that I have collected, discovered and learnt through my years with westies. This page is design for those who would like to give our tips a try however they are not to replace professional veterinarian care. I must point out in no way are we trained health carers, we are breeders who wish to share some of our knowledge with westie lovers.

Westies as you are now probably aware have a predisposition for allergies which usually manifest as skin problems itchiness and eczema. However there are alternatives for many dogs for those owners willing to spend a little extra time and effort.

Skin. Many Westies skin complaints are a symptom of a poor diet. I have yet to meet a westie that does well on a full commercial diet of course this does not mean that such westies do not exist. If your westies is fighting fit you have no real need to change however for those who have itchy westies I invite you to give the BARF diet a try.

The BARF diet is made up or raw meats, vegetable and grains. However over the years I have found the standard BARF diet too high in protein for westies making their coats greasy looking and smelly. I have altered the diet over the years and found the introduction of a higher quantity of carbohydrates tends to suit westies better.

A diet needs to be balanced, convenient and not excessively expensive. Raw is the best, offering a mix of raw meats with bones such as chicken carcasses wings and necks. Pork, rabbit, lean beef and roo meat are other good menu choices. When feeding bones make sure that there is ample meat left on the bones, and that the bones are not so big that your pet is unable to consume them.

Beef bones are great teeth cleaners but are often to large and hard for most dogs, as beef is generally a lot older than other stock before slaughter the bone are of less nutritional value. Meat cuts should be lean often our pets are feed the fatty scraps, these are just as bad for them as for you. These meats should be served whole and not cut into small bite size pieces. By leaving whole the pet is having to work at his food, this aids with dental care, digestion and is giving the pet a work out through the jaws and chest region. Offal should also be included into the diet a couple of times a week rich in vitamins.

Raw vegetables need to a part of the diet and should include celery, mushrooms, pumpkin, avocado, carrots, spinach and broccoli. These can be pulped and added to quality lean mince to be more attractive to the more fussy palate. Alfalfa feed daily aids in cleansing the blood and helps with the detoxification processes.Foods to avoid chocolate and other products with caffeine. Caffeine can react in dogs as well as cats causing heart failure. Onions, Chilli, tomatoes, potatoes, soft cheeses and pate. Yellow cheese in moderation along with cottage cheese is high in calcium.

Garlic is high in organic sulphur and aids flea control beautifully. Kelp supplemented into the diet is a natural source of Zinc, Iodine and Potassium amongst other minerals. Zinc deficiencies can also lead to skin problems. Other supplements include Omega oils 1,3 & 6 Omega is free radical that scavenge throughout the body and are need for optimum health. Cider vinegar is a valuable supplement rich in potassium and is used successfully in the control of arthritis. Raw honey and molasses are rich in trace elements. Yoghurt natural, fresh and with acidophilus is also a great source of calcium, and restoring the gut bacteria. Brewers Yeast is high in B vitamins especially B1 thiamine required by the nervous system.

A typical diet week here could very well look like this:

DAY 1: Chicken wing or 1/2 a carcass

DAY 2: Mince mixture

DAY 3: Beef Bones only (teeth)

DAY 4: Mince mixture

DAY 5: Fish either fresh or tinned human grade oil type fish (We use home brand sardines)

DAY 6: Chicken wing or 1/2 a carcass

DAY 7: Mince mixture

Mince recipe We make this up in bulk and freeze in smaller containers making it a lot easier.

however the biggest question we get is how much for each ingredient. It is far from an exact science and is a case of throwing things in, however roughly to give you an idea you could look at a mixture that looks like this.

3 cup of mince (we mainly use chicken or beef - finding roo meat to strong and causing tummy upsets) to 2 cups of bran (We buy the bran at a horse or stock feedest, it is cheap and great for bulk lots) 1 cup of pulped veggies and fruit (what ever is looking a little old in the fridge or fruit bowl. Also as we do bulk lots we often buy silver beet as it is bulky, cheap and offers the green leaf veg that is desired. ( when doing dog mince look for marked down fruit and vegetables in your supermarket). Dogs need the enzyme in over ripe fruit and veg to be able to absorb vitamins and minerals that they have to offer, this is why it is essential that fruit and veg is pulped to release the enzyme and not served fresh.

Feet licking. This is a westie past time, along with other breeds. Often foot licking is put down to allergies or even boredom however I have found that mostly foot licking is due to thrush that builds up in the paws, in that wet warm environment that paws create. Here at Celticbrae we foot dip once a month as a maintenance program in a mild bleach solution. In about 1 litre of water we add a capful (tablespoon of household bleach). Stand paws in the solution for aboput 20 seconds. You may need to use the solution as much as 3 to 4 times a week at first until you have this infection under control. Also it is important that at the same time that you remove all yeast products from the diet as yeast and thrush go hand in hand. Yeast is often found in commercial dog food, treats and vitamin supplements, often given to improve coat shine.

NOTE:If you westies is licking around his anus area sponging the mild bleach solution can also soothe and solve this problem.

NOTE: do not leave bleach mixture lying around westies like to drink it!!!!!

Arthritis. This works for all, firstly introduced to me as a horse remedy, I then learnt that my grandmother had also used it for arthritis for years and appears to work as well in dogs. Apple cider vinegar for the prevention and for the relief of arthritis is just a teaspoon of good quality Apple Cider Vinegar into drinking water (a litre minimum size bowl). As wonderful as this stuff is do not double dose or use to heavy handed, over dose of cider vinegar causes cystitis so use sparingly on all.

TIP:We have found a new product on the pet market call ‘Stockgain Animal Sweet Feed’ it is made up from Molasses, cider vinegar, kelp, yeast, salts, vitamins, and minerals. Though being marketed for the horse owner it’s an excellent all round supplement we now use instead of individual supplements. Note that it  contain yeast so do not use while paw licking is a problem as it will aggravate the problem.

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