Poor Dog Licking Her PAW Red

[iLander]

My dog has been licking her right paw a lot lately. I checked it thoroughly with a magnifying glass, washed it, tried bandaging it, all to no avail. All that multiplied by four.

I''ve read on the net that it may be some kind of food allergy, but she hasn''t had any kind of change there. I make it a point not to walk her on pesticide laden grass. She seems to concentrate on the area between her little toes, but there''s nothing in there.

Question is: what do I do about it?

How can I make her feel better? I suspect if I take her to the vet (I just took her a month ago, and she was fine at that point) they''ll just load her up with steroids, but I''ll never know the cause.

She''s not bored (I think), I walk her 2-3 times a day, over various routes, take her on car rides, play with her and the other dog. I''m really trying here.

Any ideas?

 

[ArtistJess]

My scottie did that as well. We put neosporin on it nightly for a week or so, and gave her a little bit of children's benedryll and it seemed to really help. Have you tried either of those? Sometimes they will lick a "hot spot" if they are feeling stressed out. We realized that our pup was doing it after we moved, and was probably stressed out from the move.

Hang in there. She appreciates you, even if she can't tell you.

 

[elrohwen]

She could be allergic to something in the environment. I had a dog with a flea allergy, and if one flea got on him he would go crazy licking and chewing his paws. It could be plant/pollen related as well.

I would definitely take her to the vet, as they should be able to do tests. Also, I would ask for one of those e-collars - the cones they put on after surgery. When my dog would get really fixated on his paws, we would put his e-collar on and it would help him relax and allow medicine to take effect. We were really positive about it and after a while he loved wearing that darn collar because it got him so much attention

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Hi,

We had a dog that had a large growth on his side that couldnt be operated on. He used to constantly lick his paw all the time. The vet said that it was a deffered pain that he was feeling from his side and that it was quite a common thing for animals to do if they were in pain.

Not saying that there is anything wrong with your dog but maybe a trip to the vet to make sure there isn''t anything major going on might be in order?

 

[soocool]

At this point it is called a "hot spot". You can buy sprays/salves/creams that will soothe it, but your dog will continue to lick. So look for a hot spot spray that containes bitter apple. The bitter apple will keep your dog from licking the area and is completely harmless.

The licking could be out of boredom, anxiety, or she started licking because something was there and the licking irritated the spot and now she continues licking creating a "hot spot".

 

[Amethyste]

my cat has an IMMENSE case of food allergy.
If i don't feed her the exact same thing all the time, she will gnaw, lick, bite and scratch herself raw, especially her paws! Paw gnawing and licking is a very huge indicator or possible food allergy. My kitty will get into a frenzy and will not cease to scratch. It's a sad movie to watch... Especially when you know there isn't much else you can do... Seeing her suffer like that brings rivers out of my eyes and all i can do is to pick her up, cry and tell her I love her...

Any animal can develop food allergies at any stage of life. Your dog might had a reaction to something in her environment like pollen - grass or whatever caused it, but please do not rule out the possibility of food allergies if it comes back!

My vet suggested me to give my cat some "Zyrtec" - 5mg a day, sometimes, when the is really terrible, I give her 10mg!
You can give zyrtec to your doggie as well, but she seems small so maybe ask your vet for the appropriate dosage. I don't want my cat to be on steroids, so the anti-histamines is a good start before going into other meds like prednisolone/ster. types of drugs. If the itch cannot be controlled by my method after a while, we'll have to explore other types of drugs likes Immunosuppressives etc... But there is also the cost of all this

When you fall in love with a cute kitty with green eyes like my SPCA "Special" Ellie, look at her card and it says: " Why I am here: Allergies " - NEVER assume that it was the OWNERS that was allergic to her. I love her to pieces, but she also made a huge hole in my savings account

Right now, she is in a "controlled" stage, she will lick and scratch a little throughout the day. I feed her the Hills prescription diet, i have tried all of the flavors, and the only thing she is less allergic to is the rabbit one. She might develop allergies to that too in the near future. When that happens, i really will not know what else to do. I'll have to try to find a protein she'd never been exposed to and hopefully it will be ok for a while...

Good luck and post your findings!!!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I would probably take her in to get a steroid. My cat has allergies and we have no clue what causes them. She got a steroid shot 2 years ago and everything cleared up. It came back a few months ago and we just got her another shot. It may be something totally out of your control, like pollen anyway. I don''t mind paying $20 every 2 years to make Maggie feel better.

 

[bee*]

A lot of dogs get allergies around this time of year and licking at the paw is one of the ways it manifests itself. I''d definitely bring her to your vet and they''ll be able to give medication to relieve it.

 

[beebrisk]

Yup. I would bet it''s an allergic reaction.

Please take her to a Vet to be tested. The "cure" could be be as easy as eliminating certain foods from her diet such as wheat and/certain other grains.

At best the doctor should be able to tell you what to feed her and it should make her much more comfortable...At worst, he can prescribe a doggie antihistamine or low dose steroid until the inflammation and itch disappear.

Good luck!!

 

[iLander]

Thank you guys for all the great advice, I will definitely take her to a vet as soon as I can.

I don''t think its a food allergy, she only eats chicken breast tenders that I microwave for her. Can she get an allergy to that? I bet it''s the Comfortis flea pills that I just started her on when the Frontline stopped working (we have "resistant" fleas down here now!).

My vet, in the past, told me one milligram per pound of Benedryl, so I''ll try that and take her in for a different prescription of flea stuff. The flea stuff is the only thing that''s changed. Or maybe she does have a flea allergy, since a couple got past the Frontline before we noticed. Ugh! I don''t mind the money so much, but it makes me mad that I just took her in and they gave me stuff that makes her miserable in a whole new way.

@ Amethyste; I feel for you, it''s terrible when a pet is unhappy, worse than kids. Try a "real food" diet on your kitty. One of those Costco bulk packs of chicken tenders keeps the cost down and has got to be cheaper than all those meds. I just wrap it in a paper towel, microwave for 1 1/2 mins and that''s it. They don''t care if it''s a little tough. Also, do you have filtered water? Like a brita or something? My other dog will not drink unfiltered water . . .

@ brazen: I am hoping for the steroid shot, that seems like it will bring quick relief to the poor thing.

@soocool: I will also look for the bitter apple spray, that sounds good.

@hawaiian: I''ll ask the vet to check her over again, make sure he didn''t miss anything.

@elrohwen: Lordy, if it''s pollen, I am in big trouble we are full up on pollen in FL

@artist: she could be stressed, the cat has been testy and mean lately

@ bee & bee*: I don''t know if my vet is smart enough to test properly, but we''ll see how it goes. . .

Her puppy pic is my avatar, she''s a very devoted dog.