" White Westie "

[scarett]

How do you keep a white westie clean. Mine looks as if he has brown knee high boots and a brown beard. I was told to wash him in peroxide, would this not burn him. Thanks.

[PurplePixie]

I would contact a Westie breeder, they are bound to know the right thing to use. I wouldn't use peroxide tho, remember that whatever you use your dog will lick off the residue, especially around its mouth & paws & certain things that are safe for us can damage dogs or cats organs.

It sounds like your dog might be over licking itself & what you describe sounds like saliva stains. I have used a product called Diamond Eye which worked very well around my dogs eyes....I bet they also do something suitable for your dog. 

[Vetstudent]

sadly westies are very prone to licking theselves, they are genetically predisposed to skin allergies. the brown staining you see on the coat is saliva staining and there is nothing you can do to remove that. take it to the vets and get them to do skin allergy testing on it, this might allow you to reduce the exposure to the allergen and thus reduce further licking. good luck! :)

[ProperBoPeep]

I certainly WOULDN't contact a breeder. They will almost certainly tell you their own opinion based on all their experience - most of which is probably nonsense.

If your Westie is brown, it is almost certainly due to saliva staining - especially around the beard area. White dogs that lick themselves a lot will turn brown.

I would probably tackle the root of the problem rather than try to mask the effects - I am guessing that he licks his paws a lot..... perhaps slightly red skin..... does he have sore ears????