Feeling Worried

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

I'm feeling really worried about Ella today. She has been licking and chewing on the inside of her front paw pads all week. I have been soaking them in warm water and patting dry. Yesterday she started scratching at her ears really bad and she just got over an ear infection last month. Then this morning she woke up with a dime sized ozzing lump over her right eyelid and a smaller similar lump on the top of her head. I called the vet and got an appointment straight away. The vet and I went over the possibilities of what it could be. We were out hiking on some trails this week and got really muddy so we stopped at one of those self pet washes and used their puppy shampoo and towels. I also got some new carpet in my hallway this week and Ella has claimed it as her new favorite sleeping spot. Who knows? The vet had no idea, but did give Ella Convenia, which is an injectable antibiotic. They also gave her an anti-inflammatory injection and put her on Chlorpheniramine 8mg twice a day. Does anyone have any experience with similar symptoms and any feedback on the treatment plan Ella is on? It's killing me to see her so uncomfortable as she scratches and licks herself like crazy, poor puppy!

 

[5PotatoChips]

If the itching really persists you could try Genesis topical spray. It is a steroid though. We used it for Thea when her skin irritations would flare up. She would attack her paws and gnaw on them so hard and then start scratching and chewing the rest of herself. We tried a lot of stuff first, but the Genesis spray was the only thing that seemed to calm everything down and made her comfortable again. And we blew her out with our dryer on a regular basis. I hope Ella starts feeling better soon!

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Thanks so much! Poor Thea...it's just terrible to see them cause all this self injury. The itching seems so unbearable. I'm going to ask my vet for Genesis spray and hopefully things start improving.

 

[5PotatoChips]

Good luck! I hope it works for her!

 

[victoria1140]

Piriton could help if it's allergy based.

If it persists get her ears checked for a yeast infection and is she spayed?

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Thanks for the advice on Piriton. Her ears were checked last month at her annual wellness exam and her right ear was infected and showed yeast, however, today the vet said just the outer ear was red and scratched, but the inner ears looked good. She is not spayed yet. She turns 2 in May so we were planning on spaying in the spring. She did get a 3 year rabies shot last month and gets NextGuard and heartworm prevention monthly. The paw licking and scratching has been going on all day, even after the steroid shot.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Sounds food related to me. Yeasty ears and paws, sounds like the start of it. But the rabies shot could also do it (in my opinion) Have you changed food recently?

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

I haven't changed food, but I did start giving her salmon and sweet potatoes treats for training. I put socks on her paws tonight and although she's not thrilled about wearing them, they are preventing the licking and chewing on her feet. I'm thinking about doing a home cooked diet for 12 weeks which would consist of organic free range chicken and sweet potatoes. I guess the other option would be trying perscription food. Allergies suck!

 

[DAWNMERIE]

Some info for you. Personally, I'd take away the sweet potatoes.

http://healthypets.mercola.com/site...-foods-can-make-your-dog-itch-like-crazy.aspx

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

I haven't changed food, but I did start giving her salmon and sweet potatoes treats for training. I put socks on her paws tonight and although she's not thrilled about wearing them, they are preventing the licking and chewing on her feet. I'm thinking about doing a home cooked diet for 12 weeks which would consist of organic free range chicken and sweet potatoes. I guess the other option would be trying perscription food. Allergies suck!

Chicken is one of the top allergens. But a limited ingredient diet can definitely help narrow things down. We did the Dr. Dodds test for allergens/intolerances and that gave us a guide on where to go with food. After we got that worked out, no more yeast, no more ear infections, no more hot spots ever!

If it's environmental, a blower can help tremendously. Use it when you come in from a walk.

If she's still itching, and you think it could be the shampoo that was used, wash her again in her regular shampoo - maybe an oatmeal bath that will soothe. Then dry thoroughly. That may help get out any residue that is there and/or wash away any other irritants from your hike?

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Does Maggie have food and environmental allergies? Dr. Todd's allergy test looks promising. I read today that pet dermatologist can do blood work and/or an intradermal allergy test. Does anyone know of a good dermatologist in New Jersey. This is something I would of used Penn Vet for in Philly, but now that's over 2 hours away. The nice thing is that my pet insurance will cover the testing, so I want to do all that I can to help this itchy girl.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Does Maggie have food and environmental allergies? Dr. Todd's allergy test looks promising. I read today that pet dermatologist can do blood work and/or an intradermal allergy test. Does anyone know of a good dermatologist in New Jersey. This is something I would of used Penn Vet for in Philly, but now that's over 2 hours away. The nice thing is that my pet insurance will cover the testing, so I want to do all that I can to help this itchy girl.

Maggie had only food issues. We chose to do Dr. Dodds over the traditional allergy testing first because the traditional test only tests for "allergies" vs the Dodds test which is more about intolerances. You can certainly choose to do both, and you'd need to do the skin testing for environmental allergies if that is a concern.

Maggie's main issues were digestive, pointing more to intolerance. We saw literally immediate results when we removed all the foods she reacted too. It turned out that we were also able to get rid of her common ear infections as well. We had always attributed those to having had untreated infections and very thickened skin in there prior to her entering rescue. Turns out grain was her biggest trigger for those.

The Dodds test was non-invasive (just saliva) and we did it at home so it was simple. If it hadn't worked, we would have moved to the other set of tests.

That was our reasoning, but it could be different for everyone. Just do your research on the options and make the best decision you can!

 

[DAWNMERIE]

My girl Myra has had issues since I can't remember when You can look up numerous threads with her issues. I even went as far as taking the allergy blood work test for I think to the tune of almost a grand, and there was no way I could see them shaving her belly and poking her with needles. Pretty much told me she is allergic to everything....including me (people dander) Since it kinda sounds food related Brandie is right, doing the test through Dr. Dodd's would be your best bet to start. Where in Jersey are you?

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Thanks so much Dawn! I'm in North Jersey. I can get to NYC too in less than an hour. It's been all morning with the Paws. She is licking, biting them to her own detriment. My husband thinks I'm overreacting, but I've been with Ella since 12 weeks, all day-every day, so I see the huge behavior shift over the last 7-10 days. If you can please recommend a good pet dermatologist I would greatly appreciate it. I'm going to spend some time today reading through the old posts on this subject to educate myself a little more on allergies. Thanks for the input!

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

Your vet should be able to recommend a dermatologist in your area. They usually are at the specialty clinics. That is the way to go. Without good allergy testing, you will be just guessing.

 

[Jeannie]

I have a customer whose golden suddenly started chewing on his paws. He's chew his paws till they were raw and bleeding. The vet said it was anxiety. He put the dog on medication and the paw chewing stopped. Just a thought.

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Just wanted to give an update on Ella's skin and itching issue. It's actually a bit strange...since the steroid and antibiotic shots her ears have never looked better. There is no more black stinky stuff and all the redness is gone. Now that I think of it, her ears never had this white color, they were always on the red side. She has also completely stopped scratching her ears. The hotspot over her eye is completely gone and hair has already started growing back from where the scab was. On the flip side, her Paws are still driving her crazy. She licks them constantly and the underside of her paw pad skin is still red. The plan is to give her a couple weeks post steroid and antihistamine treatment and then take her to a specialist that was highly recommended. Hopefully we get some allergy testing and blood work done and get some more information on what's going on. Good news is that for the most part she is feeling good and back to her spunky, sassy self.

 

[Bailey Boy]

Glad that Ella is feeling better at least her ears are feeling better, hoping you find an answer to her feet too.

My Sarah has allergies. usually during the season benedryl will handle it for her but this past fall into winter she started chewing her feet too, loosing hair dry skin and coat it was terrible for all of us. She turned into a closet chewer. took her to the vet and they prescribed Apoquel, it has worked wonders for Sarah.

Forgot to ask since it is just her paws now have you changed your floor cleaner or shampoo'd carpets that would be causing her feet to become irritated?

 

[Darwinsnewfie@1855]

Thanks Bailey Boy and that's a really good question about the carpets and floors. I haven't changed cleaners or had carpets cleaned, however, I wonder if she walked in salt along the road during our daily walks. We had 2 mild to moderate snow storms and I did notice that the paw licking was worse a couple days after we got snow. They salt these roads like crazy around here. The stuff is all over our roads and cars long after the snow is gone. I use a pet friendly salt on our walks, but I guess I can't expect the city to do the same. My friend told me to get booties for Ella and make her wear them on walks after it snows lol.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

Thanks Bailey Boy and that's a really good question about the carpets and floors. I haven't changed cleaners or had carpets cleaned, however, I wonder if she walked in salt along the road during our daily walks. We had 2 mild to moderate snow storms and I did notice that the paw licking was worse a couple days after we got snow. They salt these roads like crazy around here. The stuff is all over our roads and cars long after the snow is gone. I use a pet friendly salt on our walks, but I guess I can't expect the city to do the same. My friend told me to get booties for Ella and make her wear them on walks after it snows lol.

Boots are excellent. We have these: https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Paws-R...id=1487690936&sr=1-14&keywords=dog+boots&th=1

They keep the salt off their feet. We also use them when we get the snow that is really sticky/ice and it's super cold to keep the ice balls from forming in the feet.

If you don't want to do that, as soon as you come in, dunk her feet in a bucket of warm water to get the salt off.