Skin disorders in Westies

Can anyone help,my friends Westie has really bad exaema,he has been to the vet but isnt responding to his prescribed cream (cant remember the name). Has anyone else had a Westie with this problem? Any help appreciated.

Have they looked at the dietary aspect of things? A diet change might help.

Westies do have skin problems. Have a chat with John at Lintbells about yumega plus seems to help.

Westies are notorious for skin issues and their diet and environment often have to be managed carefully because of it

My Westie bitch will be 8 years old this August and apart from a minor skin issue at about 3 years old (that was because of the food though), she has been fine (touch wood!).

I'm careful not to feed them food such as Pedigree, Bakers, Butchers, supermarket own branded stuff etc. Steer clear of foods that have a lot of additives and colourings in them - Bakers are notorious for this.

Suggest foods to her, such as:

Burns
James Wellbeloved
fish4dogs
Nature Diet
Applaws
(and their treat ranges as well).

I also feed plenty of fresh fish and tinned mackeral, sardines and tuna (though no more than once a week for the tinned tuna). I add the fish in with their dry food and mix it all trough, they love it!

Adding a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in their food once a day can help also. Evening Primrose Oil is also good too.

I make sure I feed a complete dry food etc that is no higher than 18-19% percent protein as well, which does help. My Molly is on Burns and has been for a long time and she's thriving on it. Their moist range is also good, especially the Penlan Farm range.

When I bathe my Westie, I only ever use Malasab shampoo. It's a prescribed anti-fungal shampoo but as agreed with my vet that to keep skin issues at bay, this is what I use. In saying that, she's not bathed that often - about every 2 - 3 months or so and usually just her face and underneath parts - about once a year she gets a full bath.

If they take the dog to a groomers, inform them of the dogs skin and give their own shampoo to the groomer and also their own towel just to be sure it has been washed with non-bio.

I brush my Westie out with a slicker brush and comb her out afterwards every 1 - 2 days and occasionally use a chalk powder on her coat (pet shops may sell it, if not it's available online) and ensure it's all brushed out thoroughly as well, it keeps the coat nice and clean and white.

I also wash the dogs' bedding, car blankets and any other fabrics they touch, such as cushion cover and bed clothes in non-bio washing stuff.

If they have carpets, ensure they're well hoovered but unless it's a serious skin complaint, there is usually no need to go overboard.

Don't use things such as fabric sprays, fragranced carpet poweds etc either, they can aggravate the skin.

This above has been working for years now with my Westie with great success so we are able to manage it and stop her getting Westie skin! It isn't that difficult to do.

It also could be a particular food intolerance such as chicken, pork or beef but that isn't the case with my Westie and if they are happy that that is also not the case with your friend's Westie, they trying the above ideas should.

Lots of Westies unfortunately have skin problems and in a lot of cases they cant be cured but can be conrolled. Hope your friend can get it sorted

Unfortunatly its very common in Westies and diet can be a big factor.
I havn't done any research in Westies as a breed and vaccinations, but a lot of skin problems in many breeds, especially white ones, seems I believe to be the vaccination messing up the immune system and I wonder if this is why westies have so many problems.
All I can say now regarding boosters is your friend should not get her dog done anymore as it will just cause the body to attack itself further. Any dog with any allergy should not recieve boosters.
Piriton may help and a wheat gluten free diet with a change of protein source.

I have met this boy. Such a lovely boy who had a bad start in life, (before his current owner took him in). I really hope this problem can be kept at bay at least.

As others have said, a good quality food and Yumeg plus are good. I have also used Homeopets skin and itch relief and Bionic Biotic on my EMD girl who has skin allergies. A waterproof bed is also a good idea, as it won't harbour dust mites.

My Westie has never had any sort of reaction to vaccinations in 7 years.

thanks everyone that has replied,you have all been very helpful. I shall pass all this on and hopefully we will be able to get the little chap right.