We have a 16 month old ess, who has had problems with his food and refusing to eat, we managed to solve this by changing him onto pro plan sensitive, he been eatting that great for the last week, with know problems.

The problem that we have now, which started happening when he was on wagg sensitive, is that he is constantly licking and biting his feet, he is also scratching his ear, with regards to his ear, there is no wax in them, there is no smell, but he has scratched that much the inside area is rather red now!!!!!!

We check his feet after every walk for grass seeds etc and theres nothing, I am going to take him to the vets this morning and see what is wrong, I put it down to his food and changed him to the pro plan after my vet recommended this food and thinking it would be best all round.

Has anyone else had this propblem, if so how was it treated, any suggestions welcomed.

Thank you
Lesley & Olli

Hi lesley, i have the same problem with my cocker he is constantly scratching and same again the vet said there is nothing, we have changed his diet as well and sometimes we think great this is the one and after a week or so he starts again, it looks like he is demented sometimes,  also we hear him through the night constantly shaking his ears be interested to see what your vet says.  Let me know.....

has he been checked out for ear mites?? by your vet

do you clean his ears with http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Epiotic-Ear-Cleaner-125ml/productinfo/EPIOTIC125 and cotton wool .

I use Thornit for ears and feet for my beardies,  http://www.petmeds.co.uk/p-528-thornit-ear-powder.aspx?gclid=CJmTtYeyiJwCFUgTzAodaGROzw

THT

Roni

Starryeyes

I am interested in the Thornit for feet for my Beardies.  Sorry if it's a daft question.  But once the foot has thornit on it, would it hurt the dog if he/she started licking his/her feet?

mine dont lick thier feet and I presume its because the thornit stops mites etc irritating them , I just lift the hair a little and sprinkle a bit on after grooming.

the product is adverised for ears and feet in the previous post. :)

Roni

My ESS has the same problems. We have had Epiotic cleaner and Canaural from vet which clears the ear problem up but it returns within a short period of time. I have also used Thornit and whilst it helps a little, it does not cure the problem. We have had Hibiscrub for the chewing of the paws and steroids at one time, when they were realy bad. The same happens, clears up for a little while but then comes back. I have found that if I bathe his feet after walkies in salt water to get rid of the muck from the park and then bathe in Hibiscrub and dry with a soft towel it eases the problem a little and at least we have not needed any more steroids since doing this. My vet just says its a common thing with Spaniels. We changed his food to raw feeding to eliminate any unatural suabstances 6 months ago but does not seem to have had any beneficial results. I have known this to help in another of our dogs but not him. Allergy is the only other thing I can think of, so for the last 2 months I have eliminated Chicken from his diet as some dogs have been known to be allergic to this but no change unfortunateley. Chuck aslo has a problem with yeast infections in the folds of his lower jaw. The Hibiscrub is used for that problem too. I wish we could find a cure because it must not be great for him feeling the need to scratch and chew at himself all the time. Any other ideas to try would be gratefully recieved?

Have you tried Quistel ?

I would speak to your vet, but my dog sometimes gets inflammation on his feet, not to the point he chews them, for this i give him Piriton which clears it, only have this problem in the summer months.

Have you thought about allergy testing? Its something to talk to the vet about if this continues as rather than keep masking the problem with sprays and shampoos it would be nice to know what is the cause so it can hopefully be eliminated. If it comes down to it there is a skin specialist i have been told in Cambridge somewhere who is also very helpful and may be worth speaking to them and see if they have any suggestions at this time?

Thanks Moonmaiden, yes we have tried Quistel. Our Vet has mentioned allergy testing but does not recommend it. He says it is very expensive and not always conclusive, so were trying everything else first. He says it can just be boredom and habit,like a human chewing their fingernails. He is very rarely left alone and then not for more than a few hours and he is exercised every day. We are pensioners so with him 24/7 I have not tried Piriton, how much would you give?

For Piriton i would check with the vet first that they are happy with this and they would advise how much to give depending on the weight of the dog.
I either get mine from the vet which tends to be cheaper then at a chemist or i get Sainsbury's own which have the same ingredient's.
I will give a max of 3 tablets a day to mine depending on how bad it is, but mainly he'll get one a day once it settles down.

one of my girls suffers from pollen allergy during the summer months I give piriton twice a day during this time she weights 20kg this is on the vets advice.
A friend of mine has a ESS who has ear problems which is sometimes exacerbated when she has been swimming, her treatment is to clean the ears reguarily with epiotic cleaner and sometimes antibiotic drops from the vet.

I too have this problem with my oldest goldie male, he recently started chewing his feet, have tried all the hypoallergenic food, JWB, Royal CaninHypo, Burns,Eukanuba,Hills ZD, my vet said for him (40kg) he can have 2 piriton am and 2 in the evening,if they help to keep on them as there are no side effects, but like others have mentioned I would like to get to the bottom of it, he did suggest allergy testing,as the next step...ear problems again Canural, he explained that this is the toxins and allergy coming out of his system and really it is a matter time eliminating the origin...he also said that some dogs dont do well on "good" quality food they can be allergic to that and maybe one of the cheapest may suit....so pause for thought there, anyone any other suggestions, it seems like this is a very common problem, wonder if dogs suffered from this years ago ??, a friend of mine who feeds her dogs BARF has suggested going onto this?? again any suggestions most welcome...

funny that its nearly always ears and feet that are irritated more,with my girl it was her belly , the one bit that didnt have any fur on (Beardie) the piriton worked to keep her more comfortable with the scratching but it doesnt cure. I know with my girl its the grass pollen as it repeats itself at this time every year.
It can be other irritants such as Flash floor cleaner my vet told me flash is know to irritate the feet and tummy of lots of dogs. So then I would look at carpets do you use carpet cleaners floor cleaners , what do you swill your dog area with ?? bedding what soap powder do you use do you use a conditioner on the bedding ???? its not always the food !

Also to note that some dogs are allergic to cats as well, thats also worth thinking about too.
Always use cotton bedding washed in non bio. Get rid of any air fresheners like the plugs ins, don't use shake n vac, again these can all be irritants.

oops we have a plug in air freshner in the lounge, how would that affect him?..dont use shake and vac have a dyson for that :)...

I use Flash a lot. Floors and any washable surfaces including the dogs beds. I will try not using and see what happens.  Don't know what to use instead, I have used this for years and like the smell and super cleaning powers. Mind you I have had to start using rubber gloves for the last 12 months as it started irritating my hands, I dont know if they have altered the formula. Could well be the Flash on reflection, will def try something else, any suggestions? 

good old soap and water I use fairy  and ocasionally a drop of parovircide in the water to disinfect the wooden floors , but I always  dry completely before allowing the dogs back in.
I also clean thier beds (not the bedding) with parvovirocide then dry before use.
I clean the bedding with a non bio persil no conditioner.

I use flash in the bathroom as I also like the smell but wouldnt risk using it elsewhere.