Write a Westie entry that fits a busy terrier day
A West Highland White Terrier log works when it is short, dated, and tied to the dog's actual habits. Each day, record the food and amount offered and eaten, walks and garden time, stool, and a note on skin, coat, and ears after handling. Westies are bright, self-assured little dogs who can act perfectly normal while something is brewing, so note appetite in concrete terms: finished fast, ate half, or refused and came back later. Add treats and any scavenged food honestly, because a terrier who has supplemented himself in the garden will look mysteriously uninterested in dinner unless the day was written down.
Weigh a Westie weekly and watch the shape
Small dogs gain and lose in amounts that are easy to miss by eye, especially under a thick white double coat. Weigh your Westie weekly on the same kitchen or bathroom scale, using the hold-and-subtract method if needed, and record the figure beside that week's appetite summary. Feel the ribs under the coat and note whether the waist is visible from above after a groom. A slow rise usually traces back to training treats, dental chews, or a slightly generous scoop repeated daily, while a slow fall deserves attention if it arrives with reduced appetite, loose stool, or lower energy on walks.
Keep skin notes beside food notes
Many Westies have sensitive skin, so the food column and the skin column of the log belong together. Record itching, paw licking, redness, or ear scratching each day in brief words, and mark the date of any new food, treat, shampoo, or seasonal change such as pollen-heavy weeks. Over a month, the pattern becomes readable: itching that follows a food change reads differently from itching that follows a particular park or a bath. Bringing that dated pattern to a vet is far more useful than reporting that the dog has been itchy lately, and it helps separate a passing irritation from a repeating one that needs professional advice.
Note garden time, pollen days, and paw habits
For a Westie, the outdoor column deserves its own attention. Record garden time, the walks taken, and whether the dog came in licking its paws, rubbing its face on the carpet, or scratching after being outside. Note in plain words whether the day was dry, wet, or heavy with cut grass, because a terrier who itches only after certain outings is giving you a pattern the log can prove. Pair those notes with bath dates and any change of walking route, and the monthly picture shows whether skin, appetite, and outdoor life are moving together.
Use the monthly review to decide what matters
Read the month back as a whole and look for linked movement: appetite dipping in the same weeks as skin flare-ups, weight climbing during a rainy spell of short walks, or stool changing after a new treat appeared. Contact a vet when a Westie shows persistent appetite loss, ongoing weight change, repeated stomach upset, or skin that stays red, sore, or infected-looking despite basic care. Keep the record's front page simple, with portion, feeding times, and current watch-outs, so a sitter can follow it. In one place, KinsLe Pet Passport turns a Westie's scattered skin, food, and weight notes into a single record a vet can read at a glance.