# Westie has "rust" stains



## dusty&lulusmom

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.


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## Renoman

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.


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## dusty&lulusmom

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.


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## animalcraker

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...


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## dusty&lulusmom

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.


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## Curbside Prophet

Check his teeth, he may need a cleaning.


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## DivaDog

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.


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## 007Dogs

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.


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## dusty&lulusmom

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.


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## flipgirl

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.


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## GlennGrassi

I have a Westie named Skippy who is about ten years old. She is groomed one a month and has a beautiful white coat. About two years ago she began to develop a rusty beard and her paws became rusty from her licking them. I tried everything that I saw on the internet to remove the stain. The methods had absolutely no effect. Then I changed vets and the new vet noticed that Skippy showed signs of Ehrlichiosis Canis in her blood (caused by Brown Dog Tick). As a precaution the vet prescribed an antibiotic Doxycycline. This was given to Skippy for about ten days. After the ten days we noticed that the rusty beard and paws were fading away. After two months her beard and paws have grown out pure white. I believe that the rust color was cause by a bacteria in her saliva and by taking the antibiotic it killed off the bacteria. She now looks as white as she did when she was a pup. Hope this helps...Glenn...


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## Maryanna

Dogs get these stains for various reasons ranging from medications, seasonal allergies, food allergies, allergies to cleaning products, new carpets, etc. First, notice when she has this problem: is it all the time or only during certain months. If it's all the time, check what's in her food; the common food allergy culprits are wheat, corn and soy, but dogs can also become allergic to foods they've eaten for a long time or ingredients, such as chicken, in those foods. Is she itching when she's on certain medications? They may be the culprit. The staining comes from their saliva; that's why you see it on her mouth and anywhere she licks constantly, such as her paws. Cutting the hair off will get rid of it, but it will come right back when she licks her paws again if the underlying reason isn't addressed. Never use any type of bleach, especially human hair bleach, on your dog; even peroxide shouldn't be used. The first thing I'd do is verify when she has the problem (all year or only sometimes), then if it's all year, look into the food and any meds she's on. If it's only sometimes, look into any new treats she may have gotten, any new cleaning products or furniture (rugs, etc) you may have gotten, etc. If it's seasonal allergies causing the problem, ask your vet what dose of Benadryl to give your dog; this will lessen the itching which will lessen the licking which will lessen the staining. Also, if she has tear stains, look into Tearlax; it helps with tear stains, and who knows, it may help with other staining.


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