West Highland White Terriers tend to be predisposed to numerous health issues, such as skin allergies and intolerances, however, many of these issues can be supported via dietary support.
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Skin allergies and intolerances can plague our dogs causing hair loss and dry irritated broken skin. The root cause for much of this is internal inflammation. When dogs are fed a high carbohydrate, highly processed diet along with a myriad of other environmental factors it is an internal inflammatory storm. Once the internal inflammation has occurred the gut is directly affected meaning the gut is compromised. Anything that passes via your pet’s mouth into its system is entering a compromised gut and therefore enters the blood stream. Once in the blood stream the immune system recognises the protein and attacks it, this is where intolerances occur.
Healing the gut is key to then introducing diversity into the diet, which is exactly what different dog does for optimal health. Their starter protocol recommends a probiotic called Animotics followed by whatever protein you feel your dog is least reactive too. In general, most skin cases are improved by a fish-based diet, therefore Stay Supple Fish Supper which is rich in Omega-3 anti-inflammatory fats, would be a good recipe to choose. This recipe is also great for dogs with arthritis and joint issues as it contains added glucosamine and chondroitin to support joint function.
Directly linked to skin issues are gut issues which also poor westies suffer from as with the skin it comes from internal inflammation and therefore this needs to be the focus of fixing the issue, so a good quality probiotic and a diet like Comforting Chicken specifically designed to be gentle on the gut, with ingredients like slippery elm, a mucolytic to help soothe the gut as well as egg powder to offer an easily digestible protein source.
Pulmonary fibrosis is unfortunately also something our wonderful westies suffer from as they get older, now although this is a chronic progressive disease supportive nutrition for the respiratory organs is always helpful. Different dog designed Hearty Beef & Berries with this in mind. The respiratory organs are not usually thought of in relation to nutrition however in some holistic practices it is believed that feeding the organ can support the organ in need, the Different Dog team have seen this first handed in some of their own dogs, which is why this recipe is high in heart and low in sodium to support optimal respiratory organ function.
Unfortunately, urinary stones can also be something this breed suffers from which are not only incredibly painful for your dog, they can easily re-occur and have a direct relation to diet. Low Purine and Phosphorus was made with this in mind, ensuring it has bladder, kidney and liver nourishing herbs and nutrients like dandelion, nettle and green tea. We suggest serving this food mixed with probiotics and warm water for best results.
Feeding variety and giving supportive lightly cooked nutrition to this wonderful breed can assist in nourishing your westies health, but more importantly they will love every meal, making for one very happy pup!
