Hi All

I expect you remember me posting before about Hamish and my allergies to dogs, well he is still with me as i have been put on new drugs at the moment and the specialists are waiting to see what happens over the next few months. The problem at the moment is with him with allergies now, he had to go to the vet last week because he was biting his back leg and had pulled fur out the vet said it was a dermatitis and gave him a steroid injection and put him on antibiotics for 2 weeks, he said about doing biopsys of his feet and allergy testing if the skin didn't improve, it did start to look better at the end of last week but when we came home this morning he had been licking his front paws and has now made the pad sore and it has bled, he has been licking his front feet a lot over the last few months and we have been telling him off when we are around him but he seems to do it more when he is left alone, the vet said that if he continues doing it he will have to have an elizabethan collar put on but i am not keen as i feel he will have to wear this for ever when he is left as i don't think he will ever get out of the habit of licking his feet when he is left alone and i don't think it is fair to him to always have to have the collar on when we go out!!
I have got to phone the vet back on Monday as he is on holiday this week and he said that he will book him in to take him in for the day and sedate him to take the biopsys and the blood tests to do skin allergy testing on him to try and find out what he is allergic to, thankfully he is insured as the cost of this is going to be £600, but it is worth it if we then find out what the cause of this is.
Has anybody else had this problem with their dog, excessively licking their feet until the skin underneath the pad is so sore and inflamed that is starts to bleed, is there anything else i can do to try and stop him doing this? I just want to make it better for him as he is not a happy boy at the moment, his front foot is so sore that he is hobbling around on it. Will this heal up in time or will he always need to have a collar on when he is left now that he has got into the habit of licking his feet, as i feel will this be a never ending circle of clearing the feet up with drugs and then he starts licking them again and it all starts up again.

Thanks
Helen and Hamish

Hi there my dog Axl who is 3yrs had a problem constantly chewing at his feet.  It kept coming back and we kept on having to give him anti-biotics the vet had prescribed.  The last time it happened we were given an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal footwash aswell as Advocate drops that help with a flea allergy dermatitis and it seemed to have done the trick.  Hope this helps.

Hi, there are so many reasons why a dog may lick and chew its feet. My English bull terrier also had this problem and we went through the whole elimination process, first starting with his diet, he is currently on Nature diet lamb and rice, looking at his environment and then allergy testing. It turns out that our bully was having  a reaction to dust mites because our house is carpeted. Our vet suggested removing all fleece type bedding as this harbours the mites and investing in a Kudos bed which is parasite resistant. We have also moved his crate outside into the garage as the lower temperature can also help improve the skin. Also wash any dog bedding in a non-biological powder as this can also trigger of the skin. We also add evening primrose oil to his food which helps improve the skin. Kind regards, Clare

Hi
Hamish is currently on Wafcol salmon and potato, the vet also said that if he does not improve on this food the other good 1 to try will be nature diet sensitive which is hypoallergenic, he said that until the allergy tests are done we won't really know what it the cause, today his front paw is really sore as he is having trouble to walk on it and i have had to go and buy a collar to put on him when he is left on his own as i cannot let him lick this and make it any sorer than it is now, i don't like putting the elizabethan collar on him but i feel i have not got a choice now. I am just concerned as to how long he will have to have this on for, because his feet were looking better until he starting licking again this morning and now we are back to square 1 again and i feel he cannot have this collar on for weeks or months as this is not a cure to the problem.

Helen

Hi, have just read obout Hamish and his licking problem.  Our Westie/cross is also on the licking game on his front legs. Vet said boredom, unhappiness, stress, pain, could all play a part.

We don't think this is the case, He did this before, first one leg then the other, until they were
so sore!  I bandaged them, he got it off!  I put the collar on, and it just stressed him so much when it came off he tore at them even more . Put cream on he's taking it off! was going round in circles

Then of his own doing, he just ceased doing it, & both legs healed . Guess what.  it's all started again!  I have found that bathing him, almost with very little shampoo and good rinse does help him.

Get some colloidal silver spray and spray it inbetween his pads and wherever else he is chewing. This worked almost instantly for my foot chewer.It doesnt sting on open sores,i tried on myself first :)

Hi

This colloidal silver spray where do you get this from and also what is it? I have never heard of this before, did your dog make his/her feet really red raw with licking, as Hamish's front paw is so sore he is having trouble walking on it at the moment, and i feel that the collar is not a cure because as soon as you leave it off he starts the licking all over again and then we are back to square one again.

Thanks
Helen

Hi

Thanks for your reply, this is what we have found with Hamish, we left the collar off for a couple of hours today as i don't think it is fair to keep it on him 24/7 and as soon as it was off he then started attacking the feet even more than he did before it was on. I just don't know what to do for the best, he is back down the vets again tomorrow as his front paw is really red raw where he has licked it so much before the collar went on, it is just such a viscious circle with them and i don't know what the answer is, as you cannot keep the collar on him like this for months as it just isn't fair on him.
Did your dog have to have antibiotics aswell? Hamish has got these for 3 weeks but at the moment they don't seem to be doing any good, as i said before in my post the vet wants to do allergy testings and biopsys off his feet, but i am not sure whether this will prove anything or not?
Will keep you posted with what happens tomorrow.

Helen

hiya helen,

my friends rottie has atopy, and he used to chew and lick his paws really badly when his anal glands were full-which was most of the time! He's since had them removed and its nipped it in the bud completely.

nicola

Helen put colloidal silver in the search here,there are lots of posts and some good links.It is bacically pure silver.

It is used for treating bacterial infections,it also  has antibiotic properties.It is  good for staph infections,e-coli etc. I also put a tbs in their drinking water,you cant OD on it and it has sno smell or taste.

I got mine from the health shop,but before i bought it the natropath there gave a me a little tester bottle of CS and told me to add some to a bowl of water and put another bowl of plain water next to it and then watch my dogs. Well they drank from the CS one every single time,considering it has no taste or smell i dont know what drew them to it

Did you know Thornit Powder can be used on the paws, not only does it cure ear mites, but as it has milde anti-septic properties it also keeps the area dry and stops fungal infections growing(like our athletes foot). Thought this might be useful to you. I know the constant chewing and licking is a viscious circle . Hope he gets better soon .

Hi All

Just a quick update on Hamish, today he is not very happy at all, he is not interested in eating anything and all he wants to do is scratch and lick, his collar has been on for most of the day and when i got in from work at teatime my Mum said that all he has been doing even though his collar has been on is licking and i must admit since i have been in his tounge is constantly coming out as if he is licking his feet, when i did take his collar off to put his dinner down he ran around the house like a looney itching and scratching himself to death he just rubs up against anything to try and get some relief, it is such a shame as i just don't know what to do for the best, he is just so quiet and withdrawn since having this collar on 24/7 but if we take it off he just scratches and licks so he has got to keep it on but for how long we just don't know. I have got to phone the vet back on Monday to see when we can book him in for these tests to be done but i cannot see that this will be an overnight cure because they have told me it is going to be a long haul.
He has refused his food today which hasn't surprised me as he hates kibble anyway but the vet suggested to soak them in water but even doing this he won't eat them, i did try him on some Natures Diet sensitive earlier in the week which he ate but the vet said not to give him this as it could be something in that that has caused him to be more itchy, but he just isn't eating anything and he cannot go on like this for too long, i am just so worried that he is going to become really ill, i just want to be able to stop him feeling so itchy but i don't know what to do for the best.
The antibiotics he is on don't seem to be doing anything, i just feel so sorry for him.

Helen

Hi All

Since early yesterday morning Hamish has not eaten or drank anything he also has not been to wee since about 9am Saturday morning either, could this be where he is being stubborn because his collar is on 24/7? I just don't know what to do with him he was eating and drinking before with his collar on but since yesterday he now doesn't want anything, i know that westie's are stubborn but surely he wouldn't be doing this to make a point.
I have got to phone the vet first thing in the morning but i am getting concerned about him as he cannot go on like this for long, has anybody got any ideas as to what i can do with him?

Thanks
Helen

>but surely he wouldn't be doing this to make a point.<

Definately not! Dogs dont think like we do ;)

What kibble are you feeding him? Do you give him any supps?have you looked into the CS?

There's probaly not much you can do until you find out what he's allergic to,it could be something as simple as chicken or beef which would be easy to omitt from his diet.

In one way i think it's cruel to make itchy dogs wear E collars,it must be torture being so badly itchy and not being able to itch it. Have you tried bathing him in Quistel shampoo,have you checked out Groomers grooming products? Their poster dog is a hairless chewed up westie?

I would put him on something like Piriton of atopica until you get the results of the tests,even steroids,which i hate, will soothe him for the short time until you find out whats causing his itch.

Hi

He is on Wafcol salmon and potato kibble as the vet said that this was the best hypo-allergenic food to give him but i have tried it dry and also moistened as they said it brings the flavour out and he even cannot be bothered with this, the only way he will eat it is if you sit and feed him each biscuit and then he takes it as if he is starving but as soon as you put the bowl back down he is not bothered to go to the bowl and eat for himself, i don't want to start feeding him as i feel he will get into bad habits. He is lively enough in himself he comes scooting out to the kitchen when he hears us getting our dinner as if he is going to have some of ours and also when visitors come in he goes mad.
He is on antibiotics at the moment, the vet said that he really needs a steroid injection but does not want to give it to him until the allergy tests have been done as this will affect the results of the tests.
He is on a special shampoo from the vets and we have got to bath him every week at the moment.
Helen