Before bringing a pup home, always request health screening from both parent pups. Westies are prone to the following health issues:

• Heart disease: There’s a myriad of causes of heart disease in dogs. Age, health and nutrition all play a vital role. With 95% of heart diseases coming in small dog breeds who are 5 years or older, thinking about preventative care and coverage is smart to do.
• Patellar luxation: Luxating simply means out of place or dislocated. Patella is a kneecap. A Luxating patella is a kneecap that chronically moves out of its normal position.
• Hip dysplasia: This condition is when the socket joint in the hip isn’t large enough, or more often too shallow, for the femoral head.
• Legg-Calve-Perthes disease: This disease occurs at the head of the femur (the ball and socket joint in your dog’s hips. Here, the femur degenerates which can cause the hip to collapse and can cause arthritis.
• Inguinal hernias: A hernia occurs when contents of the do’s abdomen pushes through the muscle wall.
• Copper toxicosis: This happens when a pup is not able to metabolize copper and it ends up storing in the liver which eventually becomes toxic. This will cause chronic illness.
• Addison’s disease: Addison’s disease results from the body not producing enough specific hormones. It occurs in the adrenal glands above the kidneys, producing too little cortisol and aldosterone.
• Glaucoma: Glaucoma is caused by when the intraocular pressure (IOP) in the eye is increased.
• Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca: Also referred to as dry eyes, this refers to the dryness of conjunctiva that lines the eye under the eyelid.
• Craniomandibular osteopathy: Also known as Westie Jaw, this condition effects the lower jaw. The jaw swells, which causes pain.

While you always hope your pet will live a long and healthy life, it is always a good idea to invest in pet health insurance.

Keeping your dog’s mouth clean and problem free goes a long way to your pup’s overall health. Dental hygiene can be the cause or can be the byproduct of other serious health issues.

Visual inspections can be performed to keep track of the signs of potentially waning oral health. These signs can be anything from bad breath to abnormal chewing to loss of appetite.

Keeping ahead of these warning signs can pay dividends. A preventative approach can delay and stop many of the common dental problems from arising.

Oral health can be tackled in five basic steps:

1. Brushing your dog’s teeth to prevent an undesirable buildup of plaque
2. Feed your dog a diet where the high quality dog food has dental benefits
3. Regularly give your dog dental toys and treats
4. Use mouthwash, to help where brushing misses
5. At the sign of any abnormalities, consult a vet. You can even do it virtually, from the convenience of your home.

Dogs are just like humans in that they can experience anxiety. The degree to which they are susceptible to anxiety and how they deal with anxiety is breed specific. Left unchecked, initial signs of anxiety could give way to an anxiety disorder. The symptoms of anxiety disorders can lead to a myriad of behavior issues.

Knowing the signs and symptoms will best equip you to keep ahead of it and to nip it in the bud at the earliest signs. There are options available to help with anxiety.