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Skin Irritation On Feet?


rsieg

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Per title, Logan has been having problems with what looks like red, irritated skin on his feet. Pictures below. Started on the back feet but now has hit his front feet as well. I have not yet taken him to the vet for this, as it has not seemed to bother him much though he does lick the back feet occasionally. Just on his feet, nowhere else. Any thoughts on what it is, or any topical agent I could use? Thanks in advance for any ID/suggested treatment. - Rob

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Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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Do you by any chance have ragweed blooming in your area? That looks similar to what happens when Rocket encounters ragweed. Used to happen all the time in IL and we'd end up giving him regular ChlorTrimeton to help with it, but if it got bad enough the vet would have to give him Pred as a last resort.

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looks like allergies or fungus/yeast. time to see the vet. he may prescribe Benadryl or give you a topical power for the area. keep it dry, medicated food power(gold bond or ammens) will do this until you get it looked at. one rainy summer both emily and felix had yeast/fungus infections on their paws. check the webbing, emily also had it in there! my vet literally scraped it off the webbing and then we medicated with an baby rash ointment/zinc oxide based. felix had it in his nail bed- OTC jock itch meds did the trick. the vet will know.

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If you go to www.pollen.com and enter your zip code, you can see what pollens are prevalent in your area right now.

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Thanks for the suggestions. That pollen.com site indicates moderate, including Ragweed, in my area. We just finally dropped from the low 90's to our normal September temperatures. Vet is closed tomorrow, but if it does not clear up by next week will have it checked...

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sobe's feet got like that every September (In PA) , and he'd start to chew them. Seasonal allergies. Maybe goldenrod, ragweed, fallen leaves, who knows. I just know it happened EVERY September. Give or take a few weeks depending on weather.

 

I'd give him either a half or a full Benadryl every morning and night, and his symptoms completely disappeared. When it was at its worst I'd give him 1 1/2 at night because he'd make us all crazy chewing his feet at night. He was 90 lb, so adjust dosage by weight.

 

My vet suggested it as a "try this first to see if it's the issue before we do expensive tests" - and it was the winner.

 

I'd say - try Benadryl - generic is FINE (that's what I bought). If it doesn't work, then look further. No reason to spend money (even on a vet visit) if there's an easy answer. Just check out the dosage for weight. You might get a sleepy dog if you over-dose. It may take a day or two to see the effects, if any.

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Marty's feet look exactly like that. Our vet diagnosed it as allergies caused by ragweed. She prescribed Singulair, Claritin to be taken together once a day until he stops licking. I think he has pretty much stop licking, but his feet are still red/pink. Hopefully once we get through this season they will return to normal color.

 

See my original post here: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/323625-allergies/

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If it turns out not to be environmental (also my first guess), it could be a food allergy. Has there been any changes in his diet/ingredients in his food?

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Do you by any chance have ragweed blooming in your area? That looks similar to what happens when Rocket encounters ragweed. Used to happen all the time in IL and we'd end up giving him regular ChlorTrimeton to help with it, but if it got bad enough the vet would have to give him Pred as a last resort.

This was my thought exactly! My K9 Reba is sensitive to the ragweed in the fall. I remember you told me about how the Springtime Skin & Coat Oil had helped Rocket and I tried it and I believe it helps Reba too. I also bathe her once a week when the pollen is bad and even wipe it off her feet when she comes back in if necessary. I use the Dr Foster's & Smith Anti-Itch Shampoo and spray and lotion (all 0.5% steroid) and some Resicort (1% steroid). I also give her Springtime Spirulina tabs and Colostrum and really stay vigilant until the first frost when we don't have to worry anymore. I did try Benedryl first like one of the posters above but it didn't really seem to help Reba. I think you just need to experiment and find what works for each individual dog. Now that you know he has weed polllen allergy next year you can be prepared to do battle with it early on and it can keep his feet from losing so much hair. Thats what I do. Every fall I watch for the first sign and then go into a blitz attack with all the anti-itch stuff and it keeps it from getting so bad. (I would caution you not to use Apoquel until you research it. It does seem to be a magic bullet at first but then there are reports it eventually stops working and brings on other sometimes serious issues?)

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Update, I took Logan up to the vet on Saturday. Looks like it is probably allergies, vet did a swab test and doesn't look like fungus. I had taken Logan down the park just before going to the vet, and she said she could see he had pollen on his feet, so I suppose that is a hint. He is on an antibiotic and some sort of itch relief pill (I'm at work right now and don't recall the meds) and an antibacterial/antifungal shampoo, supposed to soak his feet in it for 10 min twice weekly. Did a soak session Sunday, so tonight would be about due again. I was able to keep Logan in the tub for a 10 min soak on Sunday, but now that he knows the drill I suspect it will be tougher to do it again tonight. I think the feet are getting better, he is licking only very occasionally now and I think the redness is decreasing (though hard to tell because the appearance varies greatly depending on lighting).

 

Oh, and yes, baby wipes to clean his feet after walks. Logan actually enjoys that :-)

Rob
Logan (April 7, 2010 - July 9, 2023) - LoganMaxicon15K.jpg - Max (August 4, 2004 - January 11, 2018)

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