Itchy Paws? Environmental Allergy?

You might see some extra scooting as if his anal glands were bothering him. The lip folds might be irritated and you notice that after he drinks he rubs his face more. The feet might get extra attention if they get wet. One thing that just occurred to me. If you are experiencing all the drought that we are getting the ground will be hard. When he urinates he might get in on his feet as it pools on the ground before it sinks in. I've seen dogs do this and they scald their pads. Chronic licking of the area causes a dermatitis that can cause the foot to become painful. Another place that yeast likes is ears, armpits and groin. If yeast is a problem with his feet, cat food or dog food with yeast in it - most do have yeast - with make it worse. Underlying health issues that are not always readily apparent will allow a proliferation of yeast and other lovely things like demodex. Then there is always boredom. My Terv is licking her front legs. It has been so hot here that we can't get her out for her usual daily run so the fronts of her legs have long reddish brown areas on the otherwise fawn coloured legs. We go through this in the winter when it is too cold for her tender tootsies and again she becomes house bound. Even though we play enrichment games with her she still needs, at the age of 11, a change of view and to stretch her legs. If she doesn't get it then she licks. Look at everything that is happening besides the foot licking and see if you can find triggers.
 
Tagg said:
You might see some extra scooting as if his anal glands were bothering him. The lip folds might be irritated and you notice that after he drinks he rubs his face more. The feet might get extra attention if they get wet. One thing that just occurred to me. If you are experiencing all the drought that we are getting the ground will be hard. When he urinates he might get in on his feet as it pools on the ground before it sinks in. I've seen dogs do this and they scald their pads. Chronic licking of the area causes a dermatitis that can cause the foot to become painful. Another place that yeast likes is ears, armpits and groin. If yeast is a problem with his feet, cat food or dog food with yeast in it - most do have yeast - with make it worse. Underlying health issues that are not always readily apparent will allow a proliferation of yeast and other lovely things like demodex. Then there is always boredom. My Terv is licking her front legs. It has been so hot here that we can't get her out for her usual daily run so the fronts of her legs have long reddish brown areas on the otherwise fawn coloured legs. We go through this in the winter when it is too cold for her tender tootsies and again she becomes house bound. Even though we play enrichment games with her she still needs, at the age of 11, a change of view and to stretch her legs. If she doesn't get it then she licks. Look at everything that is happening besides the foot licking and see if you can find triggers.
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So far, haven't observed anything like what's described above.

Re: possible yeast infection. My sister-in-law started him on brewer's yeast tablets when he was a puppy (supposed to protect against fleas, though it's basically an unproven home remedy, imo) and we've kept that up. We give him two tablets a day, less than the called for dosage (2 tablets daily per 10 pounds of body weight). Could that be a problem?
 
If his system is stressed by anything else and therefore unable to devote itself to keeping the yeast in balance then yes the addition of the tablets could very well be too much. I would take him off the yeast pills entirely for at least 2 - 4 weeks and then watch for improvement. Use an alternative flea control for this period.
 
BTW, we gave hm half a Benadryl last night. We mostly wanted to see how he'd respond to it before we give him a full dose. My sister-in-law says her vet mentioned Benadryl for the itching several summers ago, but it seemed to knock the dog out too much, so she didn't try it.

Anyways, he seemed to tolerate it fine. No excessive sleeping or lethargy. Seemed basically his normal self. He licked his paw some, but not a lot. Got through last night's walk and this morning's walk/bathroom break/play-before-it-gets too-hot session without doing the odd stretching/walking or sitting down in the street to lick his paw. I guess we'll try this and washing his paws daily before we contemplate anything more drastic.
 
I haven't read the entire thread, so sorry if I'm repeating myself or am way off.

I just posted about this with Miko. He has the same issues although I had forgotten about it because they went away for so long, lol.

I'm assuming there's nothing in his paws that is causing this right? When I checked Miko's paws, one of them had this sticky gooey stuff stuck between to pads. I had to cut it out of the fur.

My suggestion, rinse his feet in a baking soda solution (with warm water). And get between the pads. Then, every time he goes outside, put on some booties. Waterproof is better, but if it's truly just grass and nothing else, then it shouldn't matter. They don't need to be expensive either.

Since I have been doing a paw rinse/soak once a week and putting booties on Miko, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being how much he was licking/gnawing his paws before, he's around a 3 now. He still lick, but it may be for a couple of mins then he stops the rest of the night.

I like this solution for Miko, because I don't have to give him drugs. I don't have to put ointment on his feet (which would make him want to lick it off), and his feet seem so much better.

It's just a thought. ;) And honestly, if it doesn't do a darn thing, return the booties and put the remaining baking soda in the fridge to keep it smelling nice. LOL
 
Benadryl does not work for atopy.
I was at continuing education a couple of months ago, and the nationally renowned dermatologist specialist lecturer put up a slide which simply said-

ANTIHISTAMINES DO NOT WORK FOR ATOPY.

I confess i almost stood up and applauded. - Dr. Mac
 
The Quahog said:
Benadryl does not work for atopy.
I was at continuing education a couple of months ago, and the nationally renowned dermatologist specialist lecturer put up a slide which simply said-

ANTIHISTAMINES DO NOT WORK FOR ATOPY.

I confess i almost stood up and applauded. - Dr. Mac
Click to expand...

Interesting. I say that because my doc said I should use Zyrtec to help keep my atopic eczema in check. It seems to help that and my nasal allergies.

I'll have to remember this.
 
Think he needs to go to the vet. Not liking the way his paw looks. One of the pads on his rear left paw is red and pink. It doesn't look infected, and he doesn't really give off any signs that it hurts, but I'm not liking the look of it. Could the repeated licking be rubbing it raw? Or maybe he's licking the paw because there's something wrong besides allergies? In either case, I'm skeptical this goes away on it's own?

Planning to call the wife in a bit & have her check the paw, see whT she thinks, then call the vet.
 
Mark M. said:
Think he needs to go to the vet. Not liking the way his paw looks. One of the pads on his rear left paw is red and pink. It doesn't look infected, and he doesn't really give off any signs that it hurts, but I'm not liking the look of it. Could the repeated licking be rubbing it raw? Or maybe he's licking the paw because there's something wrong besides allergies? In either case, I'm skeptical this goes away on it's own?

Planning to call the wife in a bit & have her check the paw, see whT she thinks, then call the vet.
Click to expand...

Yes, vet is the best option... But as far as I know allergies mostly all the time present themselves with itchy paws.
Talk to the vet about Vanectyl, it worked to make Toffee comfortable until I got his diet under control.
 
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