Lip Smacking

[Tobex]

I have 2 west highland white terriers (brother from the same litter).

I know westies are prone to allergies (food specifically), but they have been having a problem with lip smacking. Kind of like they have peanut butter on the roof of their mouth. They do it far more than they should, and especially in the middle of the night when we're trying to sleep. Seriously, if we wake up, we can't get back to sleep because of it. Very annoying. :mad:

Anway, they are about 2 1/2 years old. They have always been somewhat unhealthy and I am wondering if this and the lip smacking can be attributed to an allergy? They have always had a problem of throwing up yellow bile (not constantly, but 1 to 3 times a week was normal for them). Along with being susceptible to giardia (spelling?) and other random problems.

For about the first two years we had them they were on Nutro Lamb & Rice formula. About 6 months ago, we tried switching them to Canidae, as we heard is was better for dogs with food allergies. It didn't seem to help them, so 2 months ago we switch them to Wellness Venison formula (has one protein and one carbohydrate). This has helped their vomiting problem tremendously (only once in the last two months). But lip smack and paw licking continues. Lately they have had VERY loose stool (almost looks like a cow pie). They were tested for giardia and it was negative. They seem healthy otherwise, no physical signs they are sick. We are going to get a second opinion from a different vet (ours currently thinks it's stress colitis, but I'm not convinced that's all it is).

It just dawned on me that the loose stool may be some sort of vitamin they aren't getting with their restricted diet. They also get wellness banana/apple treats, and lately we've given them the wellness whitefish/sweet potato treats as well. Come to think of it, since I got those their stool has been somewhat harder. Hmmmm.

Anyone else have any ideas? Otherwise they're happy, healthy dogs. They have a good appetite (about 3 cups a day between the two of them) and drink plenty of water.

Thanks

[rstowe]

Could the lip smacking be tied to dehydration?

[Tobex]

It has crossed my mind, but I really don't think so. They have both been dehydrated before, but we are very careful now to make sure they are drinking plenty of water.

I guess it's still a possibility as it seems worst in the middle of the night when they haven't had water since before they're done for the night, but it just seems like it might be more. I don't know though, I'll bring it up with the vet when we take them in.

Thanks for the thought though, any others?

[NewfieGrl]

Hi,
Have you had them tested for specific allergies? If not you should do so. Skin scrapings are the more effective. The blood test tends to give alot of false positives.
My Koda tends to have allergies, more problems with wheat and corn. He does perfect on the Life's Abundance. I also give him fish oil and the skin and coat supplement. My cocker always itched, chewed his paws and had HORRIBLE ears. He does none of that now.
Is anyone else handing treats to your dog that you might not know about. I have gotten to the point that I have to repeat myself constantly telling people not to give him anything. When we go to the bank, where they always love getting the bones, I put the antioxidant bars in and have the teller slide them back out, so I make sure I know what he's getting.
If you want any info about the Life's Abundance just let me know.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 3 cats.

[rstowe]

If it is only happens at night, it could be an allergy to something in the room as well (air freshners etc).

[NewfieGrl]

If it is only happens at night, it could be an allergy to something in the room as well (air freshners etc).

I agree. That's why it might not be a bad idea to get a skin scraping to pinpoint the allergin. Air fresheners, cleaners, grass, and sooo much more, can all be culprits for environmental allergies.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 3 cats.

[Tobex]

@NewfieGrl
I haven't had them tested for anything specific. We've only recently found that it might be a problem (no thanks to our vet, hence the switch ;) ). I wanted to try changing their diet first as it's less costly. Where would I get that tested? Can a vet do it or do I have to go some place specific?

@rstowe
Sorry, didn't mean to imply it's only at night. They do it throughout the day, it just seems to be worse at night. But maybe that's because we're trying to sleep!!! We are trying to sell our house, and we have air freshners to try to cover up the littler stinkers :), so that is a thought as well.

[rstowe]

It def could be the air freshners. Those have been known to cause issues. We use them all over our house and think that is why our dogs still get ear infections/have ear problems even though we switched foods but we don't want to get rid of the freshners.

[NewfieGrl]

Hi,
Your regular vet should be able to do a skin scraping. I've never had it done, as I took the route you did by changing foods. I actually took Koda off the Life's Abundance last fall because he had started itching again. I tried the Natural Balance allergy formula. Once he cleared up I put him back on the Life's Abundance and he has no allergic reactions. What I found was that I had to watch like a hawk everything everyone else was sneaking to him because that is what caused the flare up to begin with, not the food. But my cocker is now 13 and for years suffered with itching, scratching, chewing his pads on his paws and digging at his ears to the point of crying. No more of that which is a pleasure.
If you do a skin scraping it will give you more specific allergins. If it's one of the common allergins you most likely won't need to use a one protein allergy formula. Those really are not optimal nutrition unless you are dealing with more severe allergies.
Hope you can find something out. It does stink to have them irritated like that.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 3 cats.

[Kippsmommy]

Hi,
Your regular vet should be able to do a skin scraping. I've never had it done, as I took the route you did by changing foods. I actually took Koda off the Life's Abundance last fall because he had started itching again. I tried the Natural Balance allergy formula. Once he cleared up I put him back on the Life's Abundance and he has no allergic reactions. What I found was that I had to watch like a hawk everything everyone else was sneaking to him because that is what caused the flare up to begin with, not the food. But my cocker is now 13 and for years suffered with itching, scratching, chewing his pads on his paws and digging at his ears to the point of crying. No more of that which is a pleasure.
If you do a skin scraping it will give you more specific allergins. If it's one of the common allergins you most likely won't need to use a one protein allergy formula. Those really are not optimal nutrition unless you are dealing with more severe allergies.
Hope you can find something out. It does stink to have them irritated like that.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 3 cats.
In my dogs case a rash formed underneath his front legs, it was a food allergy and a skin scraping was performed. Test results came back ( fungus)
inflamation. Because Kipp my lab was so uncomfertable i switched him to california natural and it seemed to help alot. It has also helped with his flakey skin, but it's so expensive- $ 40.00 for a thirty pound bag!:eek:
Well, i do what it takes to care for my buddy;)
I know if i was having a rash from my food I'd switch in a heart beat:)
Hope things get better for your pooch

[NewfieGrl]

In my dogs case a rash formed underneath his front legs, it was a food allergy and a skin scraping was performed. Test results came back ( fungus)
inflamation. Because Kipp my lab was so uncomfertable i switched him to california natural and it seemed to help alot. It has also helped with his flakey skin, but it's so expensive- $ 40.00 for a thirty pound bag!:eek:
Well, i do what it takes to care for my buddy;)
I know if i was having a rash from my food I'd switch in a heart beat:)
Hope things get better for your pooch

But you probably feed less so it most likely isn't costing you all that much more, and it's making a difference with the rash.
Just curious, does the vet analyze the scraping at the office or send it out?
I've never had one done before.
Michele
owned by 2 Newfies, a cocker spaniel and 3 cats.

[Tobex]

Thanks Kippsmommy,

As far as I can tell, they don't have any rashes on them, and they don't seem be scratching all that much (any more than a normal dog I guess). I will look more closely tonight. I looked last night and they kind of have a darker pigment to their skin, so I may just have to look more closely.