Sore feet what else can I do?

[Tiga's_mom]

So Tiga's front paws are usually sore. They're red and sometimes get really sore, but not always. Most of the time they're at least pink, but sometimes get really red like they are right now. Not sure what triggers it, but have been told it's his allergies. We're still not sure what he's allergic to, but I'm pretty sure it's environmental. The vet has given us allergy pills, which he takes but don't seem to help his feet. We've tried a spray antibiotic which also didn't help. I've tried soaking his paws in epson salts, putting polysporin on them, and now I've been using something called Buro-Sol which the vet recommended. Nothing seems to be working. I'm getting pretty frustrated and wish I could help him. He will dig and dig at his paws if I let him, so that means that I usually make him stay in the same room as me to keep an eye on him and make him stop digging when he starts. One of my main concerns is that I'm leaving to go away soon and I know my SO will take care of him, but he will be left home alone during the days as my SO will be in school. I've attached some pics, sorry they're a bit blurry. The first 2 are his front paws which are the bad ones and the 3rd is one of his back paws which are fine. Any suggestions?

 

Front paws:

 

Back paw:

[Maralynn]

I believe that the red color comes from licking (something in his saliva). A friend has a spaniel dog with white legs. When his allergies flare up and he is licking his legs more, they turn that same shade of red. Licking is one of the signs of allergies, so if Tiga has allergies, they are probably flaring up right now - I know my dog has been sneezing more the past couple of weeks. The only thing I can think of is a combination of meds and something like bitter apple.

[Tiga's_mom]

Really? I had no idea. Sometimes when he sneaks off to lick at them he licks it raw. That's when I have put polysporin on it and then put socks on him so he can't lick it off. It doesn't really seem to bother him that much per say (except when it's raw, he has limped from that before), just he will sneak off for a lick when he can. It just looks so horrible and it obviously does bug him if he's trying to lick them all the time.

 

Where can you get bitter apple? I might give it a try, but I have a sneaking suspision that he will like it. The only thing that he doesn't like is liver. Other then that, he'll eat anything. But I would be willing to give it a shot.

[Maralynn]

I think you can get bitter apple at most pet supply stores. Or else you can order it from www.dog.com.

 

Allergies can cause the feet/legs to itch, hence the licking. So while the red color lets you know that his allergies are acting up, and he's itchy, the color itself is harmless.

[Tiga's_mom]

That's good to know. I know his allergies are acting up. Mine are too and he's been out in nature a lot the last couple of weeks, so I think that's the culperate. Thank you for your help Maralynn. I will look for the bitter apple. There aren't a lot of pet stores around here, but I'll take a look and if not I will try to get it online.

[bailey44]

Over the years, in discussing allergies that come from the environment with other people with pets, I have heard the following:

wool rugs

hay--my brother-in-law thought his collie/mix was going to go completely bald before he had a "light bulb" moment and realized that Buffy was sleeping on hay!!

floor cleaners

lawn chemicals-home, park, neighbor

fleas

Most used the process of elimination to try to prevent reactions, with varying degrees of success. And yes, I always thought it was the licking that caused the redness. If the problem is JUST on the paws, do you think it might be something in your house or where your dog spend most of its time? My 5month bc just got her bandage off (8 days of restricted activity and misery for everyone)--from a cut paw, so I know how frustrating feet problems can be. Best wishes to you and your little guy.

[Shetlander]

Originally posted by bailey44:

And yes, I always thought it was the licking that caused the redness. If the problem is JUST on the paws, do you think it might be something in your house or where your dog spend most of its time?

Years ago I had a Lhasa who's allergies kicked up in the fall with lots of itching and paw licking. When I started keeping his coat cut short, the allergy problem pretty much went away except for the paw licking. I think by that time, it had become a habit. His feet weren't but the fur on his paws was always discolored from him fussing at them.

[Tiga's_mom]

It's possible it could be something in the house, but it seems to not be as bad in the winter. Seems to act up more in the spring/summer/fall and more when he's been out in nature. That's why I think it's something outside. I'm going to get allergy testing done when I start my new job so there won't be anymore questions as to what it is. It's only really on his paws that it bothers him now, everything else is under control.

[flrpwr52]

Tammy my Lucy had feet that itched her. She would lick and bite them until they bled.

 

We tried all sorts of pills and sprays from the vet. Nothing seemed to work until I tried Benydril and Neosporin covered with socks or vet wrap.

 

It took a few years but we found out she was allergic to the grass or a weed in the grass.

 

I made it a habit to clean her feet in a tub of water after she had been in the grass and it helped a lot but didn't stop it. There was always something on the floor in the house from the other dogs feet or our shoes.

 

I felt so bad for her because it seemed to make her uncomfortable. Good luck with Tiga.

[2 Devils]

One of my dogs have feet that look just like Tiga's. He has food allergies plus environmental allergies. At the worst, he was getting really bad yeast infections in his ears, his front legs were red and his feet looked horrible. He was finally put on an anti-fungal medicine for a month plus antibiotics for a couple weeks. Within days of starting the meds, everything cleared up including his feet.

 

I will be taking him back in soon because his front feet are starting to get bad again and I may ask that they give me the anti-fungal again. I really believe that his is yeast based.

 

It is something to think about.

[laurie etc]

Originally posted by 2 Devils:

I may ask that they give me the anti-fungal again. I really believe that his is yeast based.

 

It is something to think about. [/QB]

Yep - I agree- had a Golden who had terrible systemic yeast problems, that were expressed by lots of licking (mostly "armpit area" and feet) and horrible ears. When it got bad enough, she actually seized from "candida". I think she has mild environmental issues, but mostly she was allergic/reactive to grains in her food. The "environment" was just enough to send her over the edge. What type of food doe Tiga eat? Some dogs are just really sensitive to anything that converts to sugar quickly (processed grains and high sugar veggies like peas and carrots), which feed the yeast in their systems.

[Beth G]

What do you feed for dogfood?

 

I've pinned it down in my house hold. WHEAT is the ENEMY!!(P.S. Corn is a close second- these things are not natural in a dog's diet)

 

 

Both my pups(especially poppy) go at their feet like crazy and the saliva from the licking indeed causes the paws to turn red.

 

They lick their feet like that because they itch, and they can't scratch them.

 

In my case, taking the wheat( as well as the corn) out of their diet fixed it for me. My pup, Poppy's dad had the same allergy and reaction...

 

Now Poppy's feet look awesome!!!

 

We now feed Nutro all natural lamba nd rice and oh what a difference!!

[Tiga's_mom]

Well he's on a hypoallergenic food from the vet called MediCal. We're tried lots of different foods, and this one is the best for the constant scratching. He used to scrath his hair off by his hind legs with foods that have corn or wheat. We tried the Nutro, but it made him get up every morning, eat a bunch of grass and throw up. So we took him off that. Other then that he seemed to do well on it. The medi cal he's pretty much ok, except for his feet. Here's the list of ingrediants on his current food:

 

oat flour, brewers rice, duck mean, oat hulls, natural flavour, vegetable oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract, citric acid and lecithin), yeast culture, herring oil, potatoe protein, flax meal, minerals (potassium chloride, calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, zinc oxide, zinc bioplex, ferrous sulphate, iron bioplex, manganous oxide, copper sulphate, copper bioplex, calcium iodate and organic selenium), vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin E, D-calcium pantothenate, inositol, niacin, ascorbic acid, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, beta-carotene, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin A, folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, biotin, vitamin B12 and vitamin D3), fructo-oligosaccharides, bacillus subtilis dried fermentation extract, dl-methionine, l-lysine, l-carnitine and l-glutamine

 

I'm going to ask the vet about the yeast infection/anti fungal meds for that. The buro sol doesn't seem to be doing much either. Once we can get the allergy testing done, the question of what he's allergic to should be answered so we can try to avoid whatever it is as much as possible. I have a sneaking suspision that grass plays a factor in it. I'm going to start rinsing his feet after being in the grass too.

 

Thank you all for you help and suggestions. I hope I can get this figured out soon.

[Tiga's_mom]

Oh yeah, and Linda, we have him on allergy pills now, most of the year and have tried the neosporin (polysporin in canada) and it only works when he has licked them sore. They still stay red, but the wounds close. So it does work when it's bad, but I'd like to make them not so red and bothering him so much.

[Kerrigan]

Tammy ~ Do you have Bermuda grass in your yard?

 

The reason I ask is that I had one BC several years ago that we did several full allergy panels (every ingredient in is food, supplements, native plants, and most common landscape plants in our area) on and he came up negative on everything. He licked himself bald from feet up to elbows and hocks, plus rubbed most of the hair off of the side of his face. His itching started in the spring and ended in late fall and he was fine during the winter months. It dawned on me that this was the same timing that the bermuda grass either came out of or went into dormancy and I have a hunch that he was allergic to the bermuda grass. We didn't have much else in the yard except for a couple of trees. Unfortunately, it got worse every year and nothing we did for him helped except prednisone. Tiga's case doesn't sound quite as bad, but if you do have bermuda grass in your yard you might try getting rid of it (difficult task, I know Hope you find a solution for Tiga. Its hard when they are itchy like that and you can't help them or find out what's causing the problem.

[Tiga's_mom]

I don't really know what bermuda grass is. I'll do a search, but I live in Canada in the martimes, so I have a suspision that the answer is no. I do think it's grass related though. His case might be as bad if he didn't take allergy pills. They have prednisone in it, but not a lot. The vet said that he's on a pretty low dosage that shouldn't cause long term problems, which I ask about every time we go in. I don't like that he has to take pills all the time, but it really is the lesser of the 2 evils.

 

ETA: I did a search and it looks like it doesn't grow in my province.

[silhouettestable]

Maybe this would be of some help? http://www.canvasbackpets.com/ShopSite/product234.html

I know it won't address the cause of the problem if it's from allergies, but it says it's non-allergenic, so at the very least it shouldn't hurt, and it might give the feet a chance to heal.

[Tiga's_mom]

It might. It sounds like that stuff if more for the pads of the paws? His problem is between his pads. But I'd be willing to try anything at this point. Thank you all!