My older dogs paws are puffy & he always licks them. FOOD allergies or other type of allergies?
Alexandria asked:
Other allergies like grass, dust etc. and is the only way to find out by doing expensive allergy testing? Everytime I take him to the vet he gives me antibiotics and a topical spray. He also has a skin problem. I am now trying a different expensive dry dog food only FISH with NO GRAIN to see if that will help him at all.
95 lb. pit bull mix.
Other allergies like grass, dust etc. and is the only way to find out by doing expensive allergy testing? Everytime I take him to the vet he gives me antibiotics and a topical spray. He also has a skin problem. I am now trying a different expensive dry dog food only FISH with NO GRAIN to see if that will help him at all.
95 lb. pit bull mix.
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What kind of dog?
Cut out one thing at a time. If you cut out a bunch of stuff at once, you won’t know what the culprit was…
Two of my dogs lick their paws when they’re anxious about something… could it be that the licking is causing the puffiness?
try feeding him different food or maybe he got bitten by something
Here’s my itchy dog answer – let me know if you need more info. As long as your dog is being fed or exposed to whatever he is allergic to, he will react, so it’s better to cut everything out, and then add-
HOWEVER, there is one more consideration- if your dog has not been allergic to anything for most of his life, it could be heart problems. Have the vet check his heart, or get a second opinion – you may even want a consult with a canine cardiologist, which isn;t much more than a regular visit charge.
But here’s the allergy info:
First. rinse him every day with tepid, not warm water.
That will remove anything that is causing a contact allergy – pollen, dust, grass …
Make sure he has Frontline on, to ward off fleas.
Next, switch him carefully over to a 2 ingredient diet.
The top food allergens are corn, chicken,beef,soy, wheat, and dairy, but dogs can be allergic to just about anything.
Sometimes you can get away with just putting them on something like Nutro lamb & rice – you mighttry that first, just to see if it’ll be that easy. Wellness has a very good line of hypoallergenic foods, and a bunch dogs have found relief with Atlantic Whitefish & Sweet potato (of course my dog is the only one in the world that is allergic to sweet potato!)…
You may have to resort to feeding a two ingredient diet – if the kibble doesn’t work, pick two ingredients and feed them exclusinvely in their original form – like fish and oatmeal, say – so you actually know what the dog is eating. Jack Mackeral comes in a nice big can at the supermarket.
A couple weeks on that kind of diet won’t hurt him, and if you find that is necessary too continue, you can look on for a recipe tool that will help you balance it for him, and Rx vitamins with no additives that will round out the diet so it’s a good long term one.
Remember that any other treats – like beef bones, rawhide, or pig’s ears – are the wrong food, and will cause a reaction if that’s what he’s allergic to, so cut those all out, and no table scraps, either. Chewable heartworm tablets are usually beef based, so you would also need the ones that aren’t – there are some, I don’t remember the name…
Speak to your vet about giving his some fish oil – omega 3 is a powerful anti-inflammatory, and only a food – but you must take into consideration whether your dog is susceptible to pancreatitis. Most healthy dogs are fine, but little dogs can get into trouble with smaller amounts of stuff – but it is a really good thing or dogs with any kind of skin problem, and a very easy fix.
Good luck, this is a tough problem to solve – but not impossible. But this is the way the top veterinary dermatologist in the US does it – and I have used it sucessfully on many dogs.
Be very careful, the same thing happened to my hypoallergenic (ha! to everyone else but not himself!!!) dog. The bottom of his pads and in between his pads got extremely red and swollen. They thought it was food and we did the whole test (came back fine….he’s allergic to lamb) but the problem continued! It ended up he got a yeast infection in between his toes because of the constant licking and the fact that he has webbed feet. The moisture of his spit stayed and cause yeast to grow. Also on the bottoms he got a bacterial infection due to the constant licking and he gave him self little invisible sores that when he walked around on the dirty ground outside got infected! To make a long story short he is allergic to grass, dust, pollen, bees….any and everything that goes along with spring, summer, and fall! They kept putting him on steroids and all that did was make him sleepy and fat! I’m switching to a holistic vet this year because we can’t go through all the testing and medications this year. Good luck to you and your baby I hope things turn out better for you then they have for my boy!
I have a Chinese shar-Pei. She is 5 going on 6 and she has the same exact problem, except we feed her pedigree lamb and rice. She licks her paws constantly but we took her to our vet and he gave her protozoan and She also takes steriods now. I don’t think your dog needs a complete allergy test just talk to your vet about getting it put on some general allergy medicine, though i would recommend the full allergy test. Anything else that could be causing it? like my dog jumps on the fence which is another thing that causes it. I wish you good luck. . (=
your on the right track but if it isn’t allergies it might be dementia. you say he is an older dog and old dogs can have dementia just like human seniors. i pet sit a dog that has dementia, he licks his feet,the carpet,kitchen cabinets and sometimes i find him standing looking at a wall or standing in a corner. he is 14yrs. old.
It could be chemicals on the lawn or your carpet.
Sounds like he has what my dog had. his thyroid gland needs to be checked. It might be that he needs thyroid medicine for his condition. Go to another vet. insist on a thyroid panel on your dog. The skin problem is a symptom of it,too. Cortisone shots will clear it but they are very hard on the kidneys of your pet. That is what happened to my dog. we were over in germany and the only thing the german vets gave him was cortisone shots. When he got older, his kidneys were ruined because of them. Check around his mouth. cracked and peeling lips are another symptom,too. We tried just cooked turkey, cottage cheese and rice for his diet and it didn’t help. Be sure to check for allergies,too as well as his thyroid. Good Luck