Does anyone own a Westie dog who has a very bad itch and found something that either cures it or relieves the scratching? We have been advised to put ours on steroids for the rest of his life and really don’t want to. Westies are prone to a bad itch so we have been told Thank You. – PAL, Christchurch.
21
Jun
12 Comments
For PAL Christchurch – Itchy Westie Dog
My dog is a spoodle and suffers from itchy skin. First I changed her diet to wheat free food, as wheat allergies are a common reason for itching. There are quite a few brands out there. I use Canidae. Its online purchase and although it seems expensive I worked out the cost to be the same as supermarket food as they need less of it. Now I also use Flaxseed oil in her food and this has helped a lot. –
Andie, Christchurch
We had a Westie, Kate, who also suffered from skin irritation. We found flaxseed oil really did help. We used to sprinkle it onto her food and also dabbed it straight on to reddened itchy areas. Our present Westie, Meg, fortunately, does not have any skin problems. – Margaret, Havelock North
Regarding the Westies skin problems. They as a breed are notorious for skin troubles. That said, my Lhasa Apso had terrible itching a few years ago; he was almost bald and his skin was bright red. I took him to Sandra at The Animal Health Centre in Orewa and she gave him some homoeopathy remedies and changed his diet to a natural one and he stopped itching and grew the most amazing coat back. –
LG, Warkworth
Long time ago my landlady had a terrier with itchy skin. He got raw sheep fat cut up for relief. I suppose that has something to do with lanoline. – Dot, Southland
For dogs who are very itchy, some dog food brands are made for this and the itching stops. Other than that an animal homoeopath can work wonders. Often it can be the colouring in biscuits or gluten/wheat content that causes the itching. – Faith,Central Hawkes Bay.
This is for PAL from Christchurch. My dog Meg always got a rash when we took her for a walk down the river there is a certain weed that a lot of dogs react to. The vet put her on little pink pills that made her into a zombie dog and she was a bit incontinent from them. I heard many people say Dr Pottle’s Aloe & Tea Tree cream was good, can get at vets and animates. It worked to a degree but our new vet suggested Neosoothe it actually cleared the rash in a few days and was soothing instantly. Can only get at vets with an appointment about $30-$40 100gm Antibiotic Anti-Inflammatory with a local anaesthetic. So good was at my wit’s end and had used up all my spare socks on her so was brill. Hope this helps. Also, some dogs are just allergic to certain foods eg beef. – Love Dogs, Kapiti Coast.
Replying to Itchy Westie: we’ve had Scottish Terriers for over 30 years, and one with hypersensitive itchy skin. We solved her problems by feeding her chicken/rice/vegies in biscuit & fresh forms and by frequently bathing her in mixture of 1/2cup rolled oats +1/2 baking soda in hot water whizzed with blender, then when dry brushing her with a homemade conditioner of witch-hazel + aloe vera gel (interior of one leaf off plant) + few drops of lavender essential oil in a spray bottle. This regime served us well & kept medical intervention at bay. Pat, Waikanae.
For itchy skin in dogs, we used to put a spoonful of brewer’s yeast in their food. – Lin, Whangarei.
Pat from Waikanae writes, “We’ve had Scottish Terriers for over 30 years, and one with hypersensitive itchy skin. We solved her problems by feeding her chicken/rice/vegies in biscuit and fresh forms and by frequently bathing her in mixture of 1/2 cup rolled oats +1/2 cup baking soda in hot water whizzed with the blender, then when dry, brushing her with a homemade conditioner of witch hazel [the product of the witch hazel plant] and aloe vera gel (interior of one leaf of a plant) + few drops of lavender essential oil in a spray bottle. This regime served us well and kept medical intervention at bay.”
Lin from Whangarei recommends using a spoonful of brewers’ yeast in their food to treat itchy skin.
Adelle from Whangarei writes:
Hello if nothing else seems to work we found a trick to work with our itchy boy.
Get a firm fitting coat and put this on the dog. Make sure it firm as this calms the dog down. If this works it could be it is a nervous dog.
Another trick if this is the case is to get Pheromone Collar or spray this will revert the dog to a feeling of being back with it’s mother.
Third thing we found to work was Applaws Dog Biscuits these are half meat half fruit and veg. It could be that you have a dog with allergies to beef if so avoid all beef treats and get a list from your vet of other meats to avoid.
Janice writes, “Itchy skin on dogs? Try looking at a fungus problem. Sorry I can’t remember what treatment helped our old dog.”