Are you a dog lover and looking for a friend that is not going to Trigger any kind of allergy to anyone? If anyone in your family has allergies to animals then it can be very concerning for you.
If you are considering adopting a Westies in your home then it is very obvious to know if they are going to be hypoallergenic or not. Plus if they are then maybe Westies is what you need. So, are Westies hypoallergenic?
Are Westies Hypoallergenic?
Yes, Westies is a hypoallergenic dog breed that sheds almost little to nothing. They are one of the most famous dog breeds in Scotland. They are a Scottish breed and anyone can welcome them in their home.
Now after knowing they’re hypoallergenic, it doesn’t need to dictate if they claim the title of hypoallergenic dog breed or not. By looking at its coat, you can learn that they tend to develop a thick wiry coat that sheds less compared to another breed.
So, they are a perfect companion for those who have allergic to animals as there will be less dander forming in the coat and less pet dander abundant in your home.
Due to their less shedding feature, they are also very popular among families who suffer from allergies or have an over-sensitive immune system.
Anybody who suffers from allergies need to consider tons of factors before they adopt a dog breed in their home but when it comes to westies, you can be a tension-free guy because even after knowing, dogs saliva, urine, and danders are the major allergens that often make people feel itch around their bodies, Westies seems to carry the least.
In the case of the Westies, they give the least concern. They are less likely to shed compared to other dog breeds, so there will be left on dander forming on your Westies coat.
However, if you are still worried about the shedding or confused about Westies then stay and go through the whole article because, in this article, I am going to give you some space of information about Westies as a hypoallergenic dog.
Adding to that, you are also going to know about abnormal shedding of Westies and how much they are going to shed In The shedding Caesar.
I hope that I don’t need to tell you that every single dog breed will need to shed sometime and especially in shedding season. Your Westies is also going to shed some of its hair in shedding season depending upon various factors.
Adding to those, there are also some tips that can help you in keeping their shedding at a minimum.
Even they are not going to be an aggressive shedder, you can expect to see some moderate shedding in the shedding season by which I mean, you can expect them shedding once or two times a year depending upon other elements and factors.
However, even they are going to shed, there will be less dander forming and you can be tension free because even they are going to shed, they are not going to spread any kind of danders in your home as much as you or one would think.
Now let’s know something about them as hypoallergenic dogs.
What Makes Westies Hypoallergenic?
if you are really looking for a kind, dominant, powerful, fluffy, intelligent, and medium-sized dog breed then congrats because the Westies can be a perfect companion for you.
If anybody in your family has an allergy to animals then you are in luck because Westies are also the dogs that claim the title of hypoallergenic dog breed.
They have been labeled by American Kennel Club among the 170 other hypoallergenic dog breeds. But there is something that I need to tell you and aware you that American Kennel Club labeled this 170 dogs breed as hypoallergenic only on the basis of their shedding and danders forming.
So, we can say that thair is no such thing as a hundred percent hypoallergenic animal in this world.
However, all of this breed considered as a hypoallergenic dog breed, they are only labeled as hypoallergenic due to their almost little to no shedding feature.
Still, every dog coat needs proper grooming as your Westies coat also requires special care and attention to keep and trim their hair once every two to three months if you want to lessen your effort and time.
Only on the basis of hypoallergenic title, we can’t say that a Westies would be the ideal option for those who suffer from allergies.
They do have certain features that make them a perfect companion and allow them to be a hypoallergenic dog breed, there are some other factors that you need to consider.
However, let’s know why they are considered as hypoallergenic dog breed.
Low Tendency To Drool
It has been observed that Westies don’t drool as much as other dog breeds. After the interview with Westies owners, we found that a Westies is not going to drool.
So, in conclusion, we can understand that drooling is one of the features that make your Westies a perfect companion to those who have allergies. Low tendency to drool makes them somehow hypoallergenic dog breed too.
Everybody knows that dander is not one of the most favorite things to people who suffer from allergies but there are also other things that seem to be the major cause of an allergy to be triggered and it is the protein that is mainly found in the saliva.
We only manage to get two interviews so we can’t say that all of the Westies is going to have a low tendency to drool but still, we can say that a Westies can be safe bet in terms of not to drool.
Plus, if you don’t like to be licked by a dog and hate when a dog becomes too cheesy with you then the Westies can be the safest and the better option than another dog breed.
Somehow, it is one of the most important features that makes your Westies of high-quality hypoallergenic dog breed.
Nonshedding Coat
I hope that I don’t need to tell you that they tend to develop a nonshedding coat in its body.
When you take a quick look at your Westies, you can easily notice that they have a thick coat with wiry hair but they are going to shed less which means that they are less likely to shed any kind of danders.
But however, it doesn’t mean that they are completely void of shedding and dander. Bad grooming factors can also increase the extreme amount of shedding and can also make them shed more hair than expected.
They are not completely void of shedding and dander.
Both of the mates that we have interviewed mentioned that they have kept Westies their whole life and one of the most important features that they notice is their coat needs proper frequent grooming to look good and to keep stay what they are.
So if you really want to keep them shedding less then do put your proper grooming effort. If you neglect proper grooming that it can make your Westies shed like crazy and their danders can get stuck attached to almost everything.
You can find it in the kitchen on the bed, on the couch, in the bathroom, and even in the food sometimes.
In this article, we are going to mention some grooming practices that can really help you to get rid of it and can make you learn how you can make your home more Westies friendly.
Low Danders Forming
Danders is one of the most common things that you can find almost in all dogs. Danders is what that causes major allergies to people who have an oversensitive immune system.
They can make anyone feel irritated and itch around their body. Their dander is alone enough to bother anyone’s allergy. It is one of the major causes that is most likely to Trigger any possible allergies in you or anyone who has an over-sensitive immune system in the future.
Well, danders is not a bad thing because it’s actually dead skin of their dry skin but it is not either a good thing for those who suffer from allergies.
Just like us and other animals, they is also going to release some dead skin which is often known as danders.
Dander can really irritate you and your allergy very badly which can indirectly make you feel miserable in a short period of time. Fortunately, in terms of Westies, they tend to shed less which means there will be fewer danders forming.
They are prone to have low danders on the skin. So, they don’t develop any kind of danders in the skin that is going to shed or spreads as much as another dog breed.
Due to having wiry hair on its body, they can keep the danders to a minimum. But, in the shedding season, if they shed any kind of danders and their danders can get stuck to everything.
That is why it is very important to know what is a good amount of danders forming that can decrease the possibility of allergies from being triggered by them.
Many things are there that can really promote more dander forming on their skin like dry skin, bad dietary routine, not brushing their coat perfectly, wrong grooming method, and many other things.
So, you must do your proper research and learn about the ideal diet routine to make them more allergy free and healthy.
Sturdiness, Smartness, And Intelligence
Having an intelligent dog in your home has its own pros and cons. When you have a very intelligent dog in your home, it becomes very easy to train them and to make them follow your command.
Fortunately, one of the greatest features of Westies is that they are very intelligent and smart. They can also be very loyal and you can also make them stay in one place.
They tend to be very loving patient, willing, playing and lovely dog. Due to their patience level and willingness nature, they tend to learn faster than other dog breeds and also behave very well-mannered.
This kind of feature comes very handily for those who have allergies from pets. You can easily Train Your Westies on how to stay in one place and teach them how to follow your command.
So, whenever you want to make them stay in one place and do your work instead of worrying about where they will be roaming around you can make them stay in one place.
You can also teach them not to lick you and how to keep their tongue to themselves so that you can avoid their harmful fel d1 protein that is mainly found on your saliva that can really make you feel itch irritated and miserable.
Maybe, right now training is not sounding like as significant as it should be but believe me, training can be very important and comes very handy whenever you have a dog in your home and someone living around your pet suffers from an allergy
Your Westies’ Allergy
Before I tell you, how can you make your home more allergy-free and pet-friendly, I would love to give me some kind of information about your allergies.
Talking about Westies allergies, most of the hypoallergenic dog breed seems to have less allergen that can irritate people. Let’s take a look at what are the major cause of allergies.
- Saliva
- danders
- Urine
- Fel D1 protein
These are the major and common allergy that can irritate most of the peoples with an allergy to different degrees depending upon different factors.
These things decide how your allergies is going to react around your dog and how much they are going to affect them. But, fortunately, talking about your Westies, there are a few things that you can keep in your mind.
Helpful Goals To Set And Achieve To Keep A Westies Hypoallergenic
- The first and the most important goal that you should achieve it to make sure that you are making them stay at one place and teaching them how to spend most of the time in their own space.
This is the best way to contain their hair in one place and you can clean it off every single early morning. - You should always be considered associating them with their bed as their sleeping space and make them aware of what is the designated area to pee. Make sure that they are peeing in designated Area
- Always teach your Westies not to lick anyone in your family, not only you but every single one. You should teach them how to keep their tongue to themself so that you can avoid their saliva.
- Make sure you feed your Westies with healthy nutrient-dense food that can make the skin healthy because healthy skin is going to promote more shedding.
- Even Westies are hypoallergenic dogs, your Westies is going to need a proper grooming routine to make sure you groom your Westies perfectly to keep danders forming and shedding to a minimum.
- Always make sure that whenever you brush your Westies coat, you do it outside so that all the mess doesn’t get collected inside or spread all over your home.
- You should bath them properly and make sure that you moisturized their skin properly. Sadly, their natural oils can easily get washed away with the water.
- Avoid handling your Westies too much on your bed or your couch as their loose hair can fall right into your bed where you will be spending most of your time and these hairs can also irritate you.
- Make sure you wash your hands properly after you are done petting your Westies or spending time with them.
- Vacuum your home every single day as it is very important if you keep an animal in your home as a pet.
- If there is more than one person in your family who has an allergy to an animal then it is always recommended to install a good vacuum cleaner so that oxygen in which your breathing is always allergy free and clean.
- Put some bedroom off-limit rule and no dog’s on the couch. You should teach your dog to stay away from the bed and couch so that you can lessen the possibility of getting in contact with any kind of danders.
Tips For Families With Allergies
I already discuss some of the goals that you should set and achieve but there are some helpful tips that can really help you in managing thair shedding and danders forming at minimum.
Plus, it is also important that you groom them perfectly and keep them stay hypoallergenic because bad grooming or bad dietary routine is going to make them healthy and the shedding would be much aggressive than expected.
It is always recommended to follow this because it is going to ensure that they keep the danders and shedding at a minimum. It is going to help your dog stay what they are.
Even they are considered hypoallergenic dog breeds, there are some special care and attention that you should give them if you really want to ensure that your dog stays hypoallergenic all his life and won’t cause any kind of allergic reaction to the peoples around it.
If you neglect any kind of precautions or if you prevent the goals then it can increase the chances of shedding more and they will more dander forming on your Westies coat.
However, the first lesson that I would love to give you is that you should never blame your dog for allergies because if you are suffering from allergies around it then it is more like your fault than your dogs because you may have not taken the right precautions to prevent allergic reaction getting triggered.
That is why you must know how you can take care of Westies to prevent any kind of allergic reaction from being triggered. Here is the tips on their grooming, bathing, and diet routine that you need to learn and take to make your home allergy free
Westies Grooming
Even you may not think grooming is going to make much difference but grooming and effective grooming can make a difference in how one’s allergies react around a Westies.
By applying and using a proper grooming method on your Westies coat, you can keep those danders to a minimum and make them look very clean and fluffy.
Adding to that, there are some important factors that can play a key role in keeping their hypoallergenic feature. If you really want to know about the factors then stay with this article.
There are the two most important factors of proper and effective grooming. One is brushing their coat and the other one is bathing them properly. You may think that brushing their coat would be easy but let me tell you in the case of Westies, it is not as easy as it sounds.
However, I will try my best to make it easy for you and as much as understandable as I can. So, let’s begin how you can brush your Westies coat.
How To Brush The Westies Coat?
First of all, you should always remember that you should brush your Westies coat at least twice or thrice a week.
If you have time then you can also consider brushing their coat daily but twice or thrice away is enough because they are a hypoallergenic dog breed that doesn’t shed that much.
Apart from that, you can also trim their hair if you want to lessen your efforts. But, brushing would be more ideal.
Adding to that, if you don’t know what kind of Brush you should use on a Westies then let me tell you if a dog comes with a single-layered coat on its body then they need a pin brushed.
On the other side, if a dog comes with the double-layered coat in its body then they will need a slicker brush.
However, according to your Westies coat, your Westies need a slicker brush. If you already have a slicker brush then Congrats and if you don’t have that here is the slicker brush that you can buy from the Amazon.
This is the best slicker brush that can help your Westies with their fluffy coat.
Apart from that, this is also very easy to use and can give you a long-lasting effect. This is one of the most popular and the best slicker brush that you can find online.
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Now, after knowing, what would be the ideal brush to brush your Westies coat, you need to understand that you should always brush your Westies coat in the direction of their hair growth.
If you avoid brushing their coat in the right manner or if you brush their coat against their hair growth direction then it would be much painful for your dog.
The experience would be painful & worse for your little buddy and that is why we would recommend you brush your Westies coat in the direction of their growth.
Apart from that, there are few benefits of brushing their coat like when you brush your Westies coat, their natural oil gets released from their body and gets distributed to other parts of their body.
The brush that I have mentioned above is the best one and can help you in distributing their natural oil throughout their body which is necessary to keep the skin from being dry. Natural oil helps them in being moisturized all the time
How To Bath Your Westies?
When I was a first-time dog owner I used to think that if I bath my dog once a week then he would be very healthy and clean and there will be less dander forming on the skin because the danders will be washed away with the water but I was wrong.
The result was opposite because whenever you bath your dog more than once a month, it makes their skin look unnatural and dry which can promote more danders forming on the skin which is never good for anyone.
Plus, you should always remember that the frequency of the Westies bath should be low and should be minimum. You should always Bator Westies if you feel they need a bath.
However, we would recommend you to bath your Westies once a month or every 6 weeks with a good quality of natural shampoo and conditioner.
You should always use a good quality of natural shampoo and conditioner that can help you in washing away all the loose dead hair that is stuck on your Westies coat’.
Here is some shampoos that we recommend you use because this shampoo can help your Westies retain its natural oil and will help the natural oil to get distributed to another part of their body.
This shampoo is also going to help you in removing all those excess dead hair that often get stuck on your Westies coat.
Recommended shampoo
Westies Diet
I hope that I don’t need to tell you that you should always feed your dog with a high quality of food. Most people seem to use or to buy a bad quality of food because they find that food nutritional and cheap.
Let me tell you, most of the times, it has been observed that cheap food does have nutrition but doesn’t have the right balance of nutrition that is necessary for the dog.
So, I would recommend you to choose a high quality food that contains high-quality ingredients in it.
You should also look for a fish ingredient in your dog food if you really want to keep their skin or to make their skin healthy. Healthy skin is going to ensure that the shedding and the danders forming is at a minimum.
Adding to that, you can also feed your dog with supplements like Omega and fatty acid. You need to make sure that you are feeding your Westies with the Omega supplement that has been derived from fish.
Omega supplements should be made from a wild fish rather than a farmed pond fish. Here are the foods that I would recommend you to feed your Westies because it is going to ensure that their shedding remains low as well as their skin always stays healthy.
Healthy skin is always a good sign that shows that your Westies is healthy and is not suffering from any kind of infection. Danders forming is also going to be very low.
94% of pet owners say their animal pal makes them smile more than once a day. In 2007, I realized that I was made for saving Animals. My father is a Vet, and I think every pet deserves one. I started this blog, “InPetCare”, in 2019 with my father to enlighten a wider audience.