Westie problem

mark17j

I have a female West highland white terrier she is a year and a half, she's a lovely dog, very loving and playful, loves everybody. we've never had any problems with her, she can get the occasional insect bite in the summer months which the vet clears up with antibiotics - but lately, this is a new thing. the last few days When I leave her to go poop in the garden, after she's finished, she proceeds to sniff it, and also rub it into her nose and beard :eek:, I don't understand why she is doing this.. she never did this before, she'd just walk away from it...and ask to come in.
I have to watch her like a hawk now, saw her doing it yesterday and I shouted NO! BOLD! Stop That! she wouldn't stop, the only way to get her away from it was to throw her a doggie biscuit which I know was wrong.. We had to wash her twice this week already and disinfect the place too. anybody got any suggestions? If this a phase?

ABajaninCork

What are you feeding her? Has there been a change of food or routine lately?

I've also heard that giving the dog pineapple in their food puts a stop to this too, but not sure how true this is. One of the mods (think it's DBB) is expert with Westies and might be able to give further advice.

smilerf

could be a potassium depletion. try giving her some banana

DBB

Hi OP,
Problems that combine poop and white dogs are never good
However, I suspect that this is not a Westie-related issue, well not directly in any case. As I always advise here, ANY sudden change in behaviour needs to be investigated by a vet. In this case, a full blood panel, because as has been alluded to here, this could be a problem with something lacking in her diet, or a malabsorption problem (common in Westies).
Almost any dog, of any breed, that I have dealt with who has issues around eating poop, or showing too much interest in their own poop like your lil girl is doing, has turned out to have some problem, to some degree or other, with food. Whether that be malabsorption, food allergies, or just not getting the right nutrients for whatever reason, it almost always comes back to something to do with food. So, to the vet with you! Westies are demons, just demons, for various health problems, but food allergies and malabsorptive problems are wayyy up the top of their list of problems.
Don't try diagnosing this yourself: I can't say if this is a potassium problem as has been suggested, I just don't know, but one thing I can tell you that if it is, you're going to have to feed her a veritable mountain of bananas to get sufficient potassium from them... Better to find out the hows and whys before tinkering about with banana feeding