Dry clean your Westie. To dry clean your Westie, you need 4 items listed next. Good pin brush, cornstarch, spray bottle, and purified water. Fill the spray bottle with the water and set it to mist only. Brush your Westie throughly first. Next mist your guy lightly all over the entire dog with the water and sprinkle the cornstarch all over the entire dog. Work the cornstarch down into the hair and down to the skin. Sense you only misted the dog, by the time you work the cornstarch down to the skin, the dog should be dry and ready to brush out. Now brush the entire dog again to remove any stains, dirt, smells, and the cornstarch. Be sure to do this outside as the dog will shake and some of the cornstarch that is still there will fly in the air.
Reddish Brown Color on Mouth or Feet If your westie has a reddish brown mouth and feet this is not a cause to worry and can easily be corrected. What this comes from is drinking water, walking on wet grass or ground, licking, and things that get them wet often. To keep this off the mouth area you can simply add a couple of drops of lemon juice to their drinking water bowl each time you give them fresh water. For other areas like the feet, etc., you can put some lime juice on a cotton ball and wipe those areas once a day. The lemon juice helps bleach out the discolor without causing harm to the skin or coat.
Brushing your Westie. You should brush your guy atleast once a week but twice is better. Never use a comb as it will take out the dogs undercoat and this part of the coat is needed to help protect the dogs skin. Use a good pin brush, brush the opposite way of the way the coat grows and then back down to the way the coat naturally lays. This only takes a few minutes to do each time but it also helps to bond your dog to you even more as you spend this time with him.
Trimming the nails. This should be done atleast once every week or two. If you are unsure as to how to clip your dogs nails, ask your Vet or pet groomer to show you how to do this and how far down on the nail to cut. It is simple and easy to do once you know how and it also gets your dog use to having his paws held with out problems. If you do cut into the quick and the nail bleeds, just get a good pinch of flour and hold it to the nail and it will make it stop.
Another way to take the nails down is using a hand held Dremel available at WalMart in the tool section. It is small and rechargeable. At first they don't like it just like the nail clippers but they get use to it and you have no fear of cutting it far into the nail that may make it bleed.
Other Grooming This can be done at any good pet grooming shop. They will take down all the hair very short on the neck, back, and tail. They should not take any other parts very short. This can be done every couple of months to every 4 months depending on how long you like their coat to be and how fast the coat grows. It is best to go to a grooming shop for this and not a pet store that does grooming. Start them by 3-4 months of age to get them off to a good start with the process. Even just dropping by for a short visit for him to get petted and use to the groomers is helpful inbetween the first few grooming visits.
Hand Stripping This is pretty easy to learn and I have copy of instructions and a chart if this is what you would like to do. I start my puppies off at about 4-5 months with their first stripping. It does take a little bit of time to do it the first few times but once the stages are finished, it only takes a few minutes to keep this nice show looking coat for up to a years time. If you would like a copy of these instructions you can snail mail me with a request and a stamped return envelope enclosed.
Clyde Ward
P.O. Box 1824
Titusville, FL 32781-1824
Supplements If feeding a good quality of dog food there is really no need for supplements but if in doubt, it does not hurt to give a multi vitamin daily called "Pet Tabs" or "Pet Tabs Plus". They are both a chewable tablet and the dogs love the taste. There is one thing I do give all my guys once they are 6 months old is Kelp tablets. Kelp helps add iodine to their diet which is good for their skin and coat but can not be found in most dog foods. You can find Kelp tablets at any Health Food Store and some Drug Stores. I give 1 tablet for every 10 pounds of body weight. As I only have food down at meal times, I just drop the tablets on top of the food and feed.
Page Updated Jan 9, 2007
