Itchy paw allergies - steroids

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ChampLucy

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Our two Shelties Champ and Lucy age 20 months are having some issues with allergies and very itchy paws. It started about 3-4 weeks ago. They would just sit and lick and lick and lick. Champ seemed worse and quickly licked most of the fur off of his back feet. We called the vet and they suggested we try Benadryl which we tried for about 5-6 days and noticed no improvement at all. So we took them to the vet. They gave us a very low dose of steroids to try along with the Benedryl. The steroids worked well and the itchiness seems to be almost completely gone. Vet said the allergies probably won't go away until it gets cold which is at least 2 months away! I'm not comfortable giving Champ and Lucy steroids for at least 3 months every year! Plus, even though they are on a low dose they are drinking like crazy which is resulting in a lot of accidents around the house which was not a problem at all before they started the steroids! This morning I cut their dose in half and I think I will slowly wean them off of the steroids. So my question is what else can we do to keep the allergies under control? The vet said we can also keep them out of the grass as much as possible and wash their feet everytime they come inside which I will do except the backyard is where they run around (fenced in) and where they go to the bathroom. Will just rinsing with water be enough? Or do we need to wash with shampoo?

Any other suggestions? Medications?
Thanks!
 
My Danny Boy is having the same problem. I rinse his feet with plain water and spray cortisone on them. If he starts licking and biting still I am going to give him a benadryl. He used to be on cortisone and got real thirsty plus his appetite dramatically increased. Not a good thing since he had to pee so much and started packing on the pounds.
 
Try wiping their feet with baby wipes when they come inside. The water rinse is good but the treated wipes might help reduce the itching, and most of them are safe if the dogs lick their feet. Just check the packaging. I keep a package right by the door. I've used them for years and never had a problem. My vet also sells medicated wipes that we used on one of our dogs when she was licking. They were expensive, though! I'd try the baby wipes first.

You will probably still need medication or at least Benadryl during the bad spells but hopefully you can control it. Good luck!
 
I know I have cats and no dog yet, but my Lance must have been had a flea bite as he had an allergy and I took him to the vet and they did the whole steroid shot thing, didnt really work. He ended up licking his arms that his chocolate brown minky arms were red, raw and bald. He didnt have fleas he had OCD the vet said. I bathed him in an oatmeal bath and he sat there and was an angel, not a peep. Then I had to put a cone on him, which was sad and weird, he walked backwards and couldnt move forward with it. He needed 24 hours to break the habit of licking, he couldnt stop. I took the cone of the next day and he healed, no more licking and he was fine, all the fur grew back.
Lance to this day and that was about 9 years ago, he likes baths and doesnt make one meow or run or anything. He sits quietly and allows me to wash him, he associates baths with feeling relief from pain and healing. Some of my friends are in awe when they see him get his bath, they cant believe a cat is so well behaved like that. NOW Pesterina is another story, oh vey what a pain in the rump to bathe and I need ear plugs and a stiff drink.
 
ChampLucy said:
Our two Shelties Champ and Lucy age 20 months are having some issues with allergies and very itchy paws. It started about 3-4 weeks ago. They would just sit and lick and lick and lick. Champ seemed worse and quickly licked most of the fur off of his back feet. We called the vet and they suggested we try Benadryl which we tried for about 5-6 days and noticed no improvement at all. So we took them to the vet. They gave us a very low dose of steroids to try along with the Benedryl. The steroids worked well and the itchiness seems to be almost completely gone. Vet said the allergies probably won't go away until it gets cold which is at least 2 months away! I'm not comfortable giving Champ and Lucy steroids for at least 3 months every year!

Any other suggestions? Medications?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

For what its worth, here is my contribution on the subject from last year. As we saw 7 cases of 'check itchy ears/skin' Monday and 9 Tuesday looks like we are deep into it. About the only thing I would change here would be to add a little discussion of Allegra and Zyrtec. Hope this is helpful. - Dr. Mac

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=12087
 
The things that come to my mind that I'd try with mine would be wiping off the paws like suggested. If you can find local, fresh, raw honey that would really help with allergies, but it has to be local to get that benefit from it. If you have a farmer's market or Craig's List you could post on there. If you have the money, I'd buy an air purifier. They do wonders for people/pets with allergies. I'd definitely limit their time outside. Environmental allergies can be a big pain because it's so hard to avoid the outside.

I just got back from the vet because my boy was chewing at his back end and I thought anal glands. It turns out like myself and everyone around me, it's allergies. Luckily, he isn't going at it too bad because we live in an apartment and we can limit his time outside so that is on our side.

We only use holistic treatments and she gave me this to spray on him:

1/4 cup aloe juice
3/4 cup witch hazel
few drops tea tree oil

I had to order the witch hazel online so I haven't had a chance to test it.

I was considering buying this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961545208/shirleyswel02-20
It has really good reviews!

Best of luck to you pups!
 
After moving to the prairie from the coast, my allergies exploded. Walking through grass gives me giant hives and welts - even a quick ten second walk. Since it sounds like your pups also have pollen allergies, here's what's helped me -

See if you can find local pollen counts - broken down by plant species. Often, you can go back in time and chart when the outbreak first occurred and which pollens were high. On days when these same pollen counts are high in the future, try to decrease the time the dogs spend in the grass, or even outside at all.

Keep the grass cut short for when they do go outside.

Air purifiers can work, but make sure you find one with lab results behind it. My allergist said that most of them out there don't have fine enough filters to trap the pollen.

The baby wipes sound like a great idea - I was supposed to shower in the am and pm on days pollen counts are high.

Honey works if it's local, as noted, and if it's floral pollen allergies. Since your dogs' sound like grass, it won't be effective.

Keep windows closed, especially at night. After a bad pollen outbreak, you might want to think about washing the dogs to get off any pollen they're carrying around.

Good luck! Our last two dogs both suffered from seasonal allergies, too. Allergies appear to be worse this year - the early warm spells let the growing cycles get longer in some areas, so especially in irrigated areas, the pollen amount seems to be much higher than last year.
 
I would recommend anti-itch spray/ointment. Then cover over with an anti-lick strip (so that pup does not just lick it pff).

I agree - ongoing steroid, benadryl is not a long term solution.
 
Just curious since it is oth dogs, have you changed any household cleaners lately that may be irritating their paws? Have you treated your yard with anything or changed foods? Just a thought.
 
I had a similar problem every fall with my older sheltie (3 yrs old). Vet gave her a steroid shot one year, and having the groomer give her oatmeal baths definitely helped.

I did some digging online and found that a lot of these allergies can be triggered by their food. Why it only shows up in the fall I don't know. I changed my dogs to a holistic, non-grain dog food and the itching is gone. No more shots, no need for oatmeal baths. My daughter-in-law had similar results with her rottweiler that had chronic hot spots for years - poor bugger was going bald! She changed his food and the hot spots are gone.

Don't know if that is the final answer but it worked for us.
 
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