Foot Problem..... opinions??? - Page 1

Here's the situation...

My 7 year old female GSD has had a reoccuring foot problem for about 2 years now, her feet get very red and not really pussy but wet and they become very sore, I have taken her to 2 different vets (maybe 3, i lost count). and one thought it might be a food allergy, so we switched foods ( from Canindae to Natural Balance-duck and Potatoe). she was on it for about 2 1/2-3 months and it didn't clear up, and there was no difference what so ever to her feet at all from the time she was on Canindae. I should also probably make it clear that since this problem occured 2 years ago it has never really cleared up just become less agressive for a certain amount of time then it flares up again. Part of the problem also seems to be that she licks them because they are so sore. The other vet agreed with the 1st one that it could be a food allergy but she really didnt think so. She (the vet) gave me a foot soak to use on my females feet every night, that didn't work. I should also mention that I have 2 other dogs 1 GSD and 1 rot mix  and neither one of them have had any problems with their feet.

So i guess my question to you all is have you ever encountered a problem like this with any of your dogs, does anybody have any suggestions to what it may be or what's causing it. 

thankx in advance 

                       -emily

emily,

have you had her tested for possible allergens?  I don't even know if they do that with dogs but, perhaps it is grass...or, something she's stepping on all the time.  Have you ever had an elizabethan collar on her to keep her from licking them until they heal?  just ideas.  I've never had a gsd with allergies of issues like this so, maybe someone with experience in this can help you.

I hope you find the reason and her feet heal.

There are places that will run full allergen tests on dogs, we checked into it for one of ours.  Our dogs doc said it wasn't cheap but we did want to know what the little one was alergic to.  As gsdfanatic said, grass is one, doc also mentioned mold, straw, hay, shavings, cleaning products, pretty much anything could be the problem.  Ended up not doing it since we did one final change of food and all issues cleared up.  Ask your vet if there is a place near you to have that done.  For the health of your girl it may be worthwhile to do.  Good luck.

I have one GSD who has seasonal allergies.  It starts mid summer and goes until we get a few good killing frosts. 

Check with you vet about using Benadryl and possibly some Predisone to stop the itching and chewing.  When the dog gets the skin more irritated by licking and chewing, they normally end up with an infection.  I am not a fan of using Pred, but I have used it for very short term on my male, 3 or 4 days until the Benadryl and the antibioitics kicked in.

I had a skin biopsy done because we wern't sure it was allergies, we were trying to rule out Lupus which needs to be done with a blood test and skin biopsy as there are two or three forms of Lupus.  The biopsy cam back as a contact allergy.  Then I tried to elliminate things that could possibley casue the problem and charted the out breaks. 

You can do the allergy tests like humans have with the scratches then recheck or reactions.  Then you can do the series of allergy shots.

So with allergies it is a multiple approach, look at getting the dog some relief with some antihistamines, run tests to see what you are dealing with, then decide what form of treatment you want to try. 

You can try using the "Gold" Listrerne (SP) or Bitter Apple on her feet to help her stop chewing on them. Have you done any remodeling new carpet, tile floors? Do you you those carpet fresheners as they can irritate a dogs feet. Sounds like a contact allergy of some kind. I had one that was allergic to grass, with simular symtoms. She would scratch so hard she would bleed. They have 2 different tests they can do on dogs, the blood test is not very relieable, the skin tests like they do on people is much more reliable.  Benadryl does help you can give 25mg per 25 pounds of dog twice a day. Can make them sleepy at first. Hope you find some relief for your dog.

Try eliminating anything pine-related...pine shavings, Pine-sol type cleaning products.

When I lost my male a few years back the girls went thru some issues. One just itched everywhere the other began licking her feet. Her feet became red and swollen like you discribe. I used betadine on them. It tasted bad so she quick the licking habit and it seemed to help stop the itchy feeling.