I wonder if any has experience of this...my dobe male has a problem with his feet swelling, it affects one at a time with up to a few months in between. The foot gets very big and the skin breaks down and oozes. He is usually treated with a/b's and nsaids with the foot eventually going back to normal. There is never a grass seed or foreign body present, it just seems to spontaneously start in one toe then spread across 2 or 3 and up the leg slightly. It first started in 2007 but is getting to be a regular occurance.

Any ideas appreciated :)

Could be cellulitis - caused by bacteria entering through a scratch under the skin, causes inflammation, swelling and usually affects the feet and lower legs of dogs. Antibiotics are required to effect a cure.

Do you think this is connected to his pattern of exercise? Reason for saying this is that I have a large male of the same breed who was born with a problem in one fore foot which swelled occasionally as a puppy and will keep doing so when he over exercises in the wrong way. I now let him run in spaces where he is inclined to gallop only in very large circles or straight up and down. I found the running in small circles, which some Dobes like to do when they get over excited, starts the problem over again and rest was the cure.

Now not to do with dogs, but over I year I suffered with swelling of my feet etc due to my back.  Resolved only three weeks ago after slipping on wet tiles, back clicked and no swelling since. 

So could be due to problems elsewhere?

Allergy maybe?

Hi dogsbody100,  I don't think it is connected with exercise...he is quite calm now at 7 years :) thanks for the suggestion though as i will keep an eye on what he is doing for future outbreaks.

Hi perrodeagua, it could well be related to this as we have suspicions regarding wobblers :(

Thanks

Hi dogsdinner, i've just googled this problem in dogs and it seems very close to the problem, with it recurring for no apparent reason in some dogs.

Thank you :)

found this..

Swollen feet can also be caused by an immune system disorder called lupus. When the swelling includes the leg as well as the paw, your pet could have a serious condition called pitting edema, in which fluids -- due to hormone problems or heart disease -- aren't draining the way that they should.

Hi Gabrieldobe,

My Munsterlander had it a couple of times, where an infection entered a crack on her elbow, the whole leg swelled up and oozed a sticky substance, I presume your Dobe does the same, the oozing is from the infected skin.

Do not know how to avoid it occurring, but it would not hurt to wash the feet in a diluted hibiscrub solution, we use that for pyoderma on the chins of young Flatcoats and it clears the pustules up.