Westie has "rust" stains

dusty&lulusmom · 10-01-2007, 06:17 PM

I just adopted a three year old Westie. He is a wonderful dog. Although I have always owned dogs this breed is new to me. I set an appointment for him to be groomed in Nov. He was recently shaved before I got him so I will need to wait until he can have a more "stylish" haircut. Anyway he has rust stains on his front paws and on the fur around his mouth. I have read that this is from saliva. I just placed an order for "whitening powder" and shampoo for white coats. Are these the products that are used on these dogs? If anyone has any experience or info with caring for a Westie's coat I would appreciate the input. Thanks.

Renoman · 10-01-2007, 06:43 PM

I am not at all familiar with Westies, but I might guess that rust stains on his paws might be from licking his paws - which would coincide with the rust stains on his mouth.

My guess, it's the food he was eating. Do you know what he was eating before you adopted him? What's he eating now?

I know lots of small dogs that get the red 'tear stains' in the corner of their eyes - this can be and is often caused by the beet pulp in lower quality foods. Once the food is eliminated, no more stains. Could be the same thing here.

dusty&lulusmom · 10-01-2007, 06:52 PM

I know he was on a poor diet, a combination of dry and wet food of very poor quality. I am now introducing him to a diet I feed my other two dogs. A combination of quality kibble and homecooked diet. I did notice the first day I got him that he had terrible smelling breath...this seems to have subsided with the new diet...maybe the stains are from a poor diet and hopefully I will see a change with this as well.

animalcraker · 10-01-2007, 07:14 PM

The whitening shampoo may help, but you need to find out why your dog is chewing at his feet in the first place. Chewing on the feet can be caused by various things like bacterial/yeast infection, allergies, boredom, etc...

dusty&lulusmom · 10-01-2007, 07:20 PM

He is not chewing on his feet. I have not even seen him licking his paws. I just read that the red stains come from saliva so I assume that he at some point has licked his feet and this is the result. I know that chewing on the paws can be attributed to allergies/poor diet so I have been watching to see if this behavior is happening but I have not seen it. Overall he appears to be in fairly good shape. He was a bit dirty and smelly when we got him. A good bath took care of this but I would like to have his coat cared for properly. I have changed his diet and I have seen some positive changes already with this. He is a purebred and I would like him to look and feel his best.

Curbside Prophet · 10-01-2007, 08:16 PM

Check his teeth, he may need a cleaning.

DivaDog · 10-02-2007, 05:39 PM

Dogs sweat through there feet by a small percentage - so it stands to reason if his body fluids are staining his face they will also stain his feet- even if hes not licking them. Itsmost probably not helped by the poor diet and hopefully with a good new diet and regular grooming you will notice a difference.

007Dogs · 10-02-2007, 08:06 PM

The whitening powder is just a cover up used for the show ring aka chalk. I would not use a whitening shampoo with blueing, as most are, but rather use and enzyme shampoo that will work to remove the enzyme stains as saliva. I use E-Z Groom brand whitening shampoo. But it is best used by following the bottle directions(with hot water).
A properly groomed Westing is not clippered but rather pulled. Clipping the coat destroys the natural harsh outer coat. They are a double coated breed with a soft dense under coat and a harsh outer coat to protect them from the elements. They like most of the smaller terriers, were bred to hunt below the ground.
If you want to have real fun, apply for a ILP number from the AKC so that you can do Earthdog trials. If you were in my area, I could help you with grooming and point you towards Earthdog events.

dusty&lulusmom · 10-04-2007, 06:12 PM

Thanks for the info 007dogs. I am going to look into the shampoo you recommended. I will also look into earthdog trials. I hope the groomer I have set the appointment up with is knowledgable about this breed. I assume she is. She really did a great job on my cairn/westie mix.

flipgirl · 10-07-2007, 01:19 AM

These red stains may also be due to a food allergy. With my shih-tzu x bichon, Merrick made her tear stains worse. They were better on Eagle Pack Chicken and Rice or What she is eating now, Innova puppy. There are products available like the whitening shampoos mentioned in previous posts but I find that the products which you apply right on the stains make the problem worse. So I just wipe her eyes and face with a warm washcloth and comb it out. It doesn't get rid of them but it diminishes them. I also talked to someone whose dog has the same problem and she had changed her dog's food to EVO, which is a high-protein, low-carb premium food. It's supposed to be kibbles answer to raw.