i have recently adopted a shih tsu who has awfully sore feet. this seems to be chronic problem, the vet has sent off cultures but i'm concerned that these will not reveal any specific organism. the problem is on the top of his feet, the skin is very inflamed, with some crusty sores. i have started him on flax seed oil and have also tried putting aloe vera gel on the inflamed area but this seems to exacerbate the licking. he has had rather a poor deal from life and i am anxious to improve his lot. has anyone else had such problems, are shih tsus prone to skin problems, any ideas on how to resolve ? i'd really appreciate any help anyone could give me.thank you, liz gabbai, e-mail: gabbai47@aol.com

Can anyone help?

You could try bathing his feet in diluted Hibiscrub (costs around £3 for 500ml). You can buy it from a 'big' High Street Chemist. It is the antibacterial stuff they use in hospitals for medical staff to wash there hands in.

Dogs sometimes chew there feet because they are in pain/discomfort elsewhere in the body and the feet just happen to be within easy chewing range. So the problem may lie elsewhere.

The vet may recommend Malaseb shampoo which is antibacterial and antifungal.

If you want an antifungal shampoo you can easily buy over the chemists counter you could try Nizoral. It is a human anti dandruff shampoo and costs around £5 for a small bottle.

I have used all 3 of the above mentioned products on one of my dogs. I find the Hibiscrub and the Nizoral more effective than the Malaseb shampoo.

Sorry don't know anything about shih tsu's in particular. Trying searching on the web.

Hope this helps.

Ailsa