My Gsd seems to get itchy paws are you and this time of the year.so far vet doesn't know why and we have settled it with steroid injections up to twice. This time I can see tiny blisters between his toes which seem in some cases to have scabbed over.webare off to vet again tomorrow but just wondered if anyone has any thoughts ? The blisters are really tiny but clearly very itchy

Harvest mites are very common at this time of year and can cause intense itching between the toes. There is no treatment specifically licenced to treat them but Frontline spray can certainly help.

Definitely sounds like harvest mites to me as well.

Harvest mites are pretty easy to spot (orange dots) and any vet worth his/her salt will recognise them.  If the vet is stumped I'd be considering an allergic response.  I'd suggest a paw wash in a dilute hibiscrub solution after every walk whilst you explore all the possible causes.

Incidentally one of my dogs had Harvest Mites only once, when I had run out of Garlic tablets.  Harvest Mites are pretty easy to remove, as they don't hang on, but I used Advocate (cos I had some in the cupboard), then wiped some Dermacton over the spots where I'd seen the mites (front legs), then 24 hours later a Hibiscrub wash. No itching, no repeat, no drama, thank goodness. My other dog, who had been in all the same places, didn't seem to have any HM's but got the Hibiscrub wash for good measure.

Garlic and Fenugreek tablets from Dorwest Herbs are expensive but I feel they work as a good catch all on a host of issues.

By the way, Harvest Mites are more common on chalky soil - is that what you have?

Do they produce little blusters and can they do test to confirm ? I have soaked his feet in hibiscrub for a few days and used thornit but it still continues . front line deals with these ? Is there anything else if it can be confirmed. I try and avoid all those sorts of things if possible

By the way, Harvest Mites are more common on chalky soil - is that what you have?

From what I've been told they like long grass -and ours seem to appear when we let the lawn grow too long. I spotted some on the dogs with white paws (only by using glasses) but could not see any on those with dark paws, despite them itching just as much if not more.

have ordered some neem shampoo to use and also going to soak his feet in cider vinegar, I also have some other ideas to try in the more alternative side of things. Vet has taken a slide on the surface of the skin and is going to do skin scrape probably next week as Saturday morning isnt the best time for  such things and she wants to sedate him to do it. Vet says we are the first case of harvest mites she has seen around here , great ! also  bit surprised as I didn't think t was that unusual but she admitted that she wanted to do some research on treatment before doing anything. I also wanted a skin scrape rather than just treating without really knowing what it is. Someone else has suggested pseudomonas and a couple of other things to consider.
yes Marianne long grass on chalk :(

My dog has had harvest mites this summer and has nibbled the fur off his feet. The vet said its not the actual red mites. They lay eggs and its the larvae that's the problem. The dog reacts to the saliva of the larvae feeding on the skin (dead skin I think) causing it to itch.
I washed his feet after walks with hibiscrub and treated with frontline spray. It has to be the spray the tablets will do nothing against harvest mite. I tried using diluted neem oil but it didn't seem to work and it stinks. Also the cider vinegar but he liked licking that off so didn't really help. Sudocrem in between the toes at bedtime with socks on gave relief.

thank you. yes that's exactly what I understand. done hibiscrub but not the spray, it also seems tha there isno licensed treatment for the mites either. yet I want to know we have the right diagnosis especially as it was me that diagnosed it vet didn't really know. No sign of the actually mite but as you say its the larvae that really cause the problem, just a third year of itchy chewing paws and some some tiny blisters if you catch them before he has burst them and red paws.
Have a number of natural things to try before the vet does the skin scrape. I think it is important that we really know what we are treating

We have a dog who we got about 6 months ago from some people who just decided they didn't want him. We knew him as a pup,and apparently he was destructive etc. Well the poor dog was so anxious all the time that he had a awful habit of constantly licking his feet,he had no hair on his back paws and they would bleed and looked so painful.
We tried all the methods you have to get it to heal and in a last attempt I ordered some dermacton cream. I was very sceptical of all the reviews,but as soon as I put it on he stopped licking,and this is a dog who had done this for 2 years,he is only 2 1/2 now. Well within a week the hair was growing back and now you could never even tell and he never even licks his paws anymore,and as he has exercise and company he is the most laid back dog ever.
Its worth a try of the cream,we found it amazing!

would you be able to see harvest mite?
My girl has been biting her feet for the last couple of months. Ive looked at them and cant see anything at all. I swapped her on to new food thinking it might of been that as we were just at the end of a sack of new food and reasontly and she doesn't seem to be doing it as much but is still having a good lick n nibble too often for my liking. She had little darker patches on her knuckles where the fur started thinning but looking just now they do look better, seems less dark patches and smaller.

it started when we came back from holliday. been thinking about seeing about an allergy test.

Hi Jo, well some people tell me you can see them as little specks of red dust however I gather from reading its more the larvae which burrow into the skin and dissolve the skin as they go with some saliva that causes the itching and soreness. It seem getting rid of the blighters is variable on the orthodox side frontline has bee suggested , the spray I mean however I see it is licensed for use for mites and doesn't necessarily get rid of the larvae just the mites.It doesn't help that I don't like using chemicals if I can help it
I have lots of alternative suggestions to help and am working through them and at the same time having skin scrape done to make sure we know what we are dealing with.
Oh yes and they are seasonal, around now 

furriefriends Do you know how long the larvae stay on the dogs ? I've only used the Frontline spray once, you can use it every two weeks, on the whole of his legs as I'm like you and don't like chemicals. It stopped the itching and nibbling for a time but now he's started nibbling the top of his legs which I did treat. So I'm not sure if its some I missed or its another lot hes picked up.

I can't see anything on her, I'd think if they had the larvae they would also habe the adult mites right?
I'll try some of the suggestions and see what happens.

I've never seen mites which is why I wanted skin scrape in case I am going the wrong way

Benzyl Benzoate, used very diluted, will work. Don't tell the pharmacist that you want it for dogs though!

Benzyl Benzoate, used very diluted, will work.

I thought I'd written on this, but can't find it.   Harvest Mites - nightmare.   When we lived up East, with crops growing, every Autumn we got this - they affected me badly and when I started itching, when I checked my hounds (for some reason they prefer the dark ones) there they were.   Between the toes, and at the root of the whiskers and inside leading edge of the ears.  Red clusters.   Strangely they didn't seem to make mine itch, just me.   And yes, Benzyl Benzoate was what I used, not that it really worked.   I just had to put up with, until the first frosts.

Down here in the West, with animal farming, not crops for the most part, we don't get these.

MamaBas, used to use Benzyl Benzoate but can't find it unless in large quantities, where do you get yours? No Chemist around here stocks it any longer.

Lacy I can't help you because it's been YEARS since I bought this - it was back up in Hertfordshire/Cambridgeshire.   It may well be it's not stocked any longer - probably something to do with European laws!!!   I'd bet you can find it in France!!