WESTIE WALKERS - for Westies and Friends of Westies

Hi, My name is Sarah and i have a wonderful 6 month old westie puppy called charlie, we've probably met some of you at the dog park at teneriffe or new farm park! unfortunately charlie has been diagnosed with perthes disease and craniomandibular osteopathy, or in other words, a bad hip problem and a jaw problem. From my reading and the vet's recommendation both require quite major surgery to fix :( Does anyone have any experience with either of these problems? It seems that the jaw problem is congenital and is the result of a recessive genetic condition and that the hip problem can either be congenital or can be acquired by the breed at around this age. If anyone has any advice to give we would really appreciate it! thanks a million, Sarah

Hello Westie lovers, I would just like to share with you our latest achievements regarding the UQ Research Project on Atopy in this breed. We have just excluded a gene previously implicated with similar disease in humans (Atopic Dermatitis) as the main cause for Atopy in Westies. I have attached a copy of the paper on that subject for your interest.

I am looking for Angela, who owns three Westies, she has contacted Dr Caroline O'Leary recently as a volunteer for the UQ Westie Research but we lost her contact. Thus, if she could contact Caroline (0417080987) back, that would be super! Cheers!

DEAR WEST HIGHLAND WHITE TERRIER LOVER, PLEASE HELP US TO IMPROVE THE DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF SKIN DISEASE IN WESTIES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EARLY DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS IN WESTIES REQUIRES YOUR PARTICIPATION IN A CONFIDENTIAL STUDY FUNDED BY THE CANINE CONTROL COUNCIL OF QUEENSLAND. WE OFFER A FREE VETERINARY SPECIALIST DERMATOLOGIC EXAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND OR AT OTHER DERMATOLOGIC REFERRAL CENTRE IN QLD (Stafford Heights or Springwood) TO ANY NON-ITCHY WESTIE OVER 5 YEARS OF AGE. ALL WE ASK IS THE DONATION OF A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLOOD FROM YOUR WESTIE (no clipping necessary!) AND A COPY OF HIS/HER PEDIGREE (if available). YOUR COLLABORATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE GENETIC CAUSES OF THIS DISEASE IN THIS BREED, SO PLEASE CONTACT US: Dr Caroline O'Leary BVSc MACVSc PhD Lecturer in Veterinary Medicine School of Veterinary Science The University of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia 4072 c.oleary@uq.edu.au 07 3365 3192 0417 080 987 Joana Roque BVSc MPhil candidate School of Veterinary Science Otto Hirschman Building 81, Rm 134 The University of Queensland Australia j.barrosroque@uq.edu.au 07 3346 7972 0410968452

our westie keeps getting bad skin problems. we have tried all sorts of different foods- we usually feed her raw meat and bones. we have also tried dog food from the vet which is supposed to be great for dogs. we have tried supplements and things from greenpet but nothing really helps. we have an ointment from the vet which helps after a week or so. does anyone have any idea what to do or what food to give her? cheers sherry