What Health Problems Do West Highland Terriers (Westies) Tend To Have?

The most common serious illness that West Highland Terriers are susceptible to is mandibular osteopathy.
Also know as Lion Jaw, it is caused by a faulty gene which must be carried by both parents in order for it to pass to the puppy. The way to identify carrier though is to note whether an affected puppy is produced. Therefore, breeders may be unaware that their breeding stock are carriers.
Mandibular osteopathy is extremely painful to the puppy. Affected animals will most likely display signs of pain or discomfort, such as yelping when their head is touched, and when chewing or eating. It may also be lethargic and be reluctant to eat.
The condition usually manifests when the puppy is around 3-6 months of age, and regresses spontaneously around 12 months of age. Treatment is all about managing the symptoms to improve quality of life.
Also, Westies are purebred dogs and as such suffer with health issues that are common amongst other breeds.
Some of the most common conditions include hip dysplasia and progressive retinal atrophy. Deafness and epilepsy are common in a lot of purebred dogs too.
As with most other dogs, Westies generally require around 13 hours of sleep each day and regular walking. They have lots of energy which you will find out every time they see another dog. Owner surveys in the USA note the average lifespan of a Westie is between 12 to 16 years, although some live beyond this.
Originating in Scotland, the breed was initially used to seek and dig out foxes and badgers. They are small but are known for their strong-willed and self-confident personalities.

I have two westies, a male and female.  The female has been afflicted with the terrible westie skin condition Malassezia dermatitis.  She was diagnosed with allergies and a yeast infection of the skin at four months of age, when she had an open lesion on her head and an ear infection.  She was given anti-fungal shampoo, ear drops and told there was nothing really they could do as this was just a disease of West Highlands.  I continued only this course of treatment for a couple of months until she began to lose her hair on her limbs and then her neck, back etc.  She was so uncomfortable and would look at me as if to say “why can’t you help me?”  It was so sad!  Fed up, I began doing research of my own and found some additional holistic treatments for her.  First of all I took her off any food which contained any grain (corn, wheat, oats, barley etc), chicken or potato (sweet or regular) as it feeds the yeast in their bodies.  She is now on Canine Plus Wholesome Blend grain free fish formula.  Next, I started her on the NZYMES program which detoxifies the body with four products from the inside out.  Additionally, I feed her plain organic yogurt twice daily and mix some organic coconut oil with it.  I also still give her two baths in the anti-fungal shampoo (dermazole) twice weekly.  She is improving greatly every day.  My once black skinned, flaky westie is now turning pink and is growing back her hair!  They key to this disease is killing the yeast in their bodies from the gut first and the rest will heal.  Many westies are misdiagnosed with allergies when in reality it is an overgrowth of candida in the body from a suppressed immune system (inherited or causative from ‘routine’ vaccinations) .  If you are frustrated with your vet, try the Nzymes program with the other therapies I’ve suggested.  They have a web site or you can get it from select pet retail stores.  It’s a little expensive (around $120) for the four products, but it lasts a long time!  I'm not a vet, but I do love my dogs and this has worked for me.

We just recently had to put our 9 year old Westie down due to Auto-Immune problems. It started when she was just 2 years old, eating and licking her paws. She was diagnosed with mild allergies then seborra. Over the years she began to loose her hair and then only had hair on her head and back. We battled skin, ear and eye infections. Then, because her immune system couldn't balance mites that every dog has, it went into demodex manage. We saw all types of specialist and vets. In the past year we have spent close to $3000, now that may seem crazy. But what was the underlying factor was that we had a dog that still had good days were she wanted to play and run, and then on bad days would barely get out of her bed. Her skin was very red and inflamed, we medicated, bathed, and went to all natural dog food. For seven years, nothing worked for long periods. Sadly we had to make a decision based on her quality of life. I warn anyone who looks at buying the breed or any "low shedding/no shedding" breed. Take the time to exam the parents and litter mates, look at their paws, under their arms & stomachs even call clients from previous litters for reference. If you see staining or hair loss...WALK AWAY. I hope our story helps one person, because our Zoey was a wonderful dog and family member. We miss her greatly.

My westie is 16 years old, she is very restless and is panting very heavily. Can anyone help me please.

I have a 8mth old westie who has an extremy sensitive tummy!! I tried everything the vet told me ie EXPENSICE food, lots of EXPENSIVE blood tests, I was then recommended to try him on Chappie dog food by a friend, within a day he was absolutly fine!!

I need a book to describe my two westies problems:  My 10-year old has ear infections, swollen paws for YEARS, and dry eyes.  I'm at my wit's end.  My 9-year old has digestive problems, now arising almost once a week.  Stomach growls very loudly and she won't eat for about 1/2 day and then it goes away.  So sensitive.  I'm giving up on vets!  Anyone has advice out there?  We've tried everything for the 10-year old, who needed knee surgery in the past, too, and I am restricting the 9-year old's diet.  I am experienced with dogs and health having had a retriever mix, a german shepherd, a scottie (with a congenital disease), and a yorkie.  These westies have me so concerned!

Westies are worse off than most other pure breeds. This may relate to their colour; albino and near-albino animals tend to have more health problems than specimens with lots of melanin (skin pigments).

Some examples of relatively common inherited health problems in Westies:

Skin disorders, such as puritis or seborrhea. Often triggered by allergens such as grass pollen, dust or mold. Females are worse affected than males. Large range of treatments.

Tremors, that in worse cases progress to convulsions: this is actually termed "White Shaker's syndrome" because it tends to happen in white animals. Usually manifests before the age of 3 years, and reflects dysfunction in the nervous system. Treated with sedatives.

Dry eye: the eyes stop self-lubricating, requires frequent eye drop applications to treat.

Autoimmune disorders, such as inadeqate Adrenal gland function.

The breed is also more than averagely susceptible to ear infections, diabetes, skull deformities, hip and joint problems.

Kidney, heart and lung disease also occur relatively frequently.

My 5-year old Westie had blood work done and the vet called me to inform me that she had mildly elevated kidney levels. What does this mean and how serious or fatal is this? She is have X-rays of the kidneys and tests performed tomorrow. I am really upset since she is only 5 years old.
Thanks.
Carol

I was just old that my 5-year old Westie has mildly elevated kidney levels. She just had blood work done. What does this mean and is this serious or fatal?
Thank you.
Carol

My westie has brown like pigments around his groin area, is this o.k.

I have a west highland white terrier that has small white bumps developing in his groin area. He is 8 years old and has pink skin. Can you help me

Most westies are healthy, but(as other whit breeds) chronic skin problems and are not infrequent. Other disorders include legg-perthes diesease(hip problems) hernias,liver diesease and craniomandibular opeopathy("Westie jaw), a painful bone deformaty in puppie.
That sound very confusing, but with lots of cheak ups at the vets most westies are healthy!

My dog white highland terrier died when she was 10 just yesterday and I was wondering what would of happened her? She did have some heavy breathing at times.

My West Highland is about 1 yr old.  Lately, he has developed red rings around his eyes.  There also is a red spot above his eye brow.  He does have the back skin under his belly.  He has all his shots and is neutered.  Does anyone know what this could be?

I need a book to describe my two westies problems:  My 10-year old has ear infections, swollen paws for YEARS, and dry eyes.  I'm at my wit's end.  My 9-year old has digestive problems, now arising almost once a week.  Stomach growls very loudly and she won't eat for about 1/2 day and then it goes away.  So sensitive.  I'm giving up on vets!  Anyone has advice out there?  We've tried everything for the 10-year old, who needed knee surgery in the past, too, and I am restricting the 9-year old's diet.  I am experienced with dogs and health having had a retriever mix, a german shepherd, a scottie (with a congenital disease), and a yorkie.  These westies have me so concerned!

My nine year old westie has started going to the toliet in doors when his walking around I don't think he knows his doing this?

Also when his asleep the back end of him is jumping about and twitching not like when he is dreaming more like his nerves are moving