Need help for Boo's itching

[nancy in AZ]

For several months now Boo has been licking, scratching and chewing at himself constantly. At first it appeared to be confined to his paws; licking the tops and biting, chewing, licking between his toes. The fur on his paws is all discolored rusty brown. Then he started scratching/chewing all over--at his belly, elbow, tailhead, outer ear as well. He's developed a very flat scab, almost like a burn mark the size of a dime, that he's been scratching at on his left elbow. I can't locate any other hot spots or terribly raw or inflamed skin in the areas he attacks.

 

Early on when I took him to the vet, she found a couple of seed heads that would explain irritation way up between his toes on one paw, but nothing else that would explain the extensiveness of the scratching. He's been on 50mg doses of the antihistimine hydroxizine. He's been bathed at the groomers with an oatmeal bath. I applied Advantix to rule out fleas or ticks, wiped him down with baby wipes to remove allergens, and donned him with booties, which he managed to rip off, though they did seem help calm the inflammation by stopping the moisture build up between his toes. He's been on an all raw diet since the end of June with the exception of one week of going back to a no grain kibble and canned to see whether that made any difference (it didn't).

 

I haven't seen any other obvious change in his behavior, appetite, energy, playfulness etc. He loves going for hikes and playing with Kit and Jill. I've stopped trying to distract him by telling him to "leave it" when he licks because I was doing it so often he started getting nervous and cowering. Now I go over to him and rub his belly, massage or cuddle him to divert him from scratching.

 

I would welcome any insights or suggestions! I feel so bad for him.

 

[urge to herd]

He might have a bacterial infection. Ask if your vet would try him on a 2 week course of cephalexin.

 

Does he smell? If he has a strong doggy odor, he might be seborrheic. I have to bathe Shonie weekly with an anti seborrheic shampoo. She also reacts to most of the commercially available skin soothing shampoos. I use Orvus horse washing paste sometimes when she's really greasy.

 

I did all the dietary stuff as well, nothing helped Shonie either. We finally went to a steroid, it's the only thing that consistenly stopped the itching.

 

If there's a vet dermatologist anywhere within your reach, that is the first place I'd go. Expensive, but worth it.

 

Good luck with Boo. His booties are very cute.

 

Ruth

[bc4ever]

Scooter has always been a licker--feet mostly.We tried antihistamines with some success but when we switched his food about two years ago that seemed to help. He still licks from time to time, but not nearly as bad as before. His paws were all discolored too. They looked terrible. Distracting him with a toy or something if he's really going at it seems to help, as does wiping his paws, and between the toes, whenever he's been outside. Sometimes licking can be a nervous or boredom habit too. Good luck!

[Sue R]

So sorry to hear this - he must be miserable!

 

Could it be an environmental allergen? Grass, detergent, carpeting, and so on? I have one dog who is a bit sensitive and, if there's a flea around, he's the one doing the most scratching. What I wonder is, with this starting at the feet and now occuring more extensively over much of his body, if it could be from an allergy to a surface he walks on - grass, carpet, matting.

 

I certainly hope you can help him - he's distressed, and so are you because you care. Very best wishes!

 

PS - Even feeding raw might still not help the problem. We had one dog allergic to beef and another that could not stomach turkey. Sometimes it can be a food-based allergy and not be one of the obvious suspects.

[geonni banner]

I had a similar set of symptoms with my Lurcher and the vet and I boiled in down to a contact allergy, possibly with an inhalant component. For Grace it was seasonal - she was reacting to pollen in one of the wild areas where we ran her. We put her on pred short-term and just didn't run her there anymore and that resolved it.

 

I don't think you said, but have you put down new carpet, installed paneling or flooring of any kind, or painted in your place? Is this a new place for you? Sometimes these things can trigger allergic responses.

 

You might want to consider testing her for specific food allergies too. The symptoms you describe are classic for allergies - esp. the business of working the paws over. And they can really make it worse by chewing. Anything to stop the itch/scratch/chew cycle would be my first priority. It can become habitual - even when the allergic trigger fades or is removed.

[BCjetta]

They can also get yeast infections between their feet...my hubby's aussie has had it a couple times and we bathed his feet in nizoral shampoo every couple days for a few weeks. With yeast they can get very dark brown material in between the pads and if you smell it, it will smell different than a normal dog's feet. I work in a vet clinic so I can recognize the smell from seeing dogs with yeast infections in their ears.

 

He has a habit he developed over the past couple years of sucking/licking at his feet whenever he gets stressed (whether it be from lack of exercise, boredom, people comming over, him being in his crate, ust getting mad at him, etc etc) and he creates irritation which then makes him lick more. He gets the cone or bitter tasting spray on his feet when he's doing that. He also chews near his bum...chews the fur off on the left side only, and he will chew the hair off both his front legs around the carpus. He does seem itchier than my BC, but I've never been able to find a medical reason why.

[Tommy Coyote]

Have you had any luck?

 

I am having the same problem. It is so frustrating.

 

We have something in the house but whatever it is I can't see it. Little bumps that itch. I know its not fleas so I am trying a mattress cover and washing everything really often. I'm thinking it might be dust mites. The furnace has just been on so much this year and Tommy didn't have any trouble all last summer - just this winter.

[nancy in AZ]

They can also get yeast infections between their feet...my hubby's aussie has had it a couple times and we bathed his feet in nizoral shampoo every couple days for a few weeks. With yeast they can get very dark brown material in between the pads and if you smell it, it will smell different than a normal dog's feet.

 

This brown gummy material is exactly what he gets in between his toes and pads. He's been much better all winter, still licks at his feet somewhat, but not with the same obvious discomfort or intensity and they haven't been constantly moist like they had been at the height of his discomfort last fall.

 

Just this week his eyes started getting gooey and runny again, so I started applying his prescription eye ointment and bought the nizoral shampoo (thanks for that tip!). Kit has started licking her paws and chewing near the pad of one in particular. My allergies have just started to surface as well...ah spring

[hsnrs]

Where did you get the shampoo? We are having the same problems with our Aussies. Nothing new around here. We do have inside and outside dogs. Might be from the cats; don't know.

[rushdoggie]

I had an itchy skin issue (not as severe as yours) with one of my dogs, and I saw drastic improvement by adding really high quality fish oil to his food. He still itched a little but not as severely and I think it helped the skin lesions heal.

 

Starting on his paws would lead me to believe it started as a contact allergy to something he walked in.

[GroomerHasIt]

I had the same type of problem with my Bandit. Poor thing itched constantly and I tried several different things with no luck! However, being a groomer, I had an artillery of different things to try and here's what worked for Bandit:

 

I first used a prescription shampoo and leave-in lotion which helped, although only for a few days. If your interested in that, let me know.

What I had the BEST luck with was regular bathing with a product called Bark2Basics Anti-Itch. It's an oatmeal based shampoo that is made with all natural ingredients. I use several of their products in my shop. I bathed him every 2 to 4 weeks with it and it's helped dramatically. They also have another product specific for itching and allergies that is supposed to be even better. I've not tried it yet though.

 

I also changed his food to a lamb and rice, which helped a little. He also has a hot-spot spray which I used in his tummy area and paws. That helped quite a bit, though it made his skin and fur kinda sticky feeling. It was a tea tree oil, chamomile, and aloe based spray.

 

Now this is just what I've read.... apple cider vinegar applied to the areas of excessive licking/itching. Also adding it to their drinking water. I can't remember why it is supposed to help. I think it's something with helping the discoloring and being a natural antiseptic. I'm sure if you google some keywords you can find some info on it. I'm no vet, so maybe you'd want to call and talk to one about this one.

Also I've been contemplating adding a product to the shop called "Angel Eyes" which is meant to reduce tear stains in small breed dogs, but is supposed to also eliminate the rusty color on fur from licking. Haven't tried that one either, just throwing it out there.

 

I hope some or any of this is helpful!

[nancy in AZ]

Thanks for the feedback. They all get a daily fish oil cap. I suspect the apple cider vinegar neutralizes the ph of the skin, but I could be mistaken on that. Nizoral shampoo is available at most drugstores among specialty shampoos. Since I have had eczema of varying severity for my entire life I can relate to his discomfort. If a shot of pred is what it takes to keep him comfortable this season, that's what he'll get. At present it's still manageable.

[denice]

Dogs usually lick and chew for 2 reasons - fleas or allergies. The allergy can be inhalant ie hay fever, contact allergies or food allergies. Symptoms are similar so you almost need to try either meds or food changes. If the allergy is seasonal due to pollens, molds ect then the dog is less symptomatic in the winter. The meds will help quickly for most - usually an antihistamine and possibly a prednisone or anti inflammatory. Switching food means going to proteins that the dog has Never had before and only eating that food. These days it means something like duck and potato or buffalo... It can take up to 3 months for a different food to make a difference. There is also the possibility of a secondary bacterial infection caused in part to the licking and chewing so watch for that. It usually appears on the belly and between the back legs and is red raised bumps or pusstuals then antibiotics are needed. That is the brief vet tech version of allergies - hope that helps.

 

The brown on the paws or where the dogs licks is from his saliva, it is the same reason white dogs that eyes tear have that discoloration it is in the tears as well

 

Denice, RVT.

[border_collie_crazy]

if its allergies you can try this: http://www.dermagic.com/ I have been using the skin rescue lotion on both myself and Electra with lots of success

[Tommy Coyote]

For several months now Boo has been licking, scratching and chewing at himself constantly. At first it appeared to be confined to his paws; licking the tops and biting, chewing, licking between his toes. The fur on his paws is all discolored rusty brown. Then he started scratching/chewing all over--at his belly, elbow, tailhead, outer ear as well. He's developed a very flat scab, almost like a burn mark the size of a dime, that he's been scratching at on his left elbow. I can't locate any other hot spots or terribly raw or inflamed skin in the areas he attacks.

 

Early on when I took him to the vet, she found a couple of seed heads that would explain irritation way up between his toes on one paw, but nothing else that would explain the extensiveness of the scratching. He's been on 50mg doses of the antihistimine hydroxizine. He's been bathed at the groomers with an oatmeal bath. I applied Advantix to rule out fleas or ticks, wiped him down with baby wipes to remove allergens, and donned him with booties, which he managed to rip off, though they did seem help calm the inflammation by stopping the moisture build up between his toes. He's been on an all raw diet since the end of June with the exception of one week of going back to a no grain kibble and canned to see whether that made any difference (it didn't).

 

I haven't seen any other obvious change in his behavior, appetite, energy, playfulness etc. He loves going for hikes and playing with Kit and Jill. I've stopped trying to distract him by telling him to "leave it" when he licks because I was doing it so often he started getting nervous and cowering. Now I go over to him and rub his belly, massage or cuddle him to divert him from scratching.

 

I would welcome any insights or suggestions! I feel so bad for him.

 

That sounds like Tommy's sarcoptic mange. They bite their feet. Also kindy of a crusty skin on tips of ears and elbows. Also stomaches and underarms.

 

If that is what it is it is easy to clear up. Tommy and Ellie are on Revolution and it is just clearing it right up.

 

That stuff is hard to diagnose until it gets established enough that the classic signs of it are there.

 

Ellie had the round places on her elbows but not on her ears.

 

Mary

[2 Devils]

If the feet are nasty looking I would ask the vet about giving an anti-fungal for a month. My borderjack has severe food allergies and it didn't matter that we switched the food until we got the yeast under control. So we switched food, put him on antibiotics, ear meds and anti-fungal. This wiped it all out and he has had only a couple ear infections since, his feet have not had another yeast infection but he is periodically getting itchy bumps again but that is our fault for him getting something he shouldn't and well he has issues with mold.

 

It could also be an environmental allergy and if your area is anything like ours mold, especially leaf mold is horrible. This causes him and my acd some issues so we have to give benadryl to help.