Paw problem...Help please!!!

[AngelJ]

Jake has been having problems with both of his paws on the right side. The skin around his pads looks very pink and it is red/brown crusty looking. First it was the front one, then it was better. Then the back one, which is almost back to normal. But now it is the front one again.

We have been to the vet twice now. For the front paw the first time, she said she thought he had a cut in there and it was that color from him licking it (which I hardly ever see him doing). She gave us antibiotics, a topical cream, and had me soaking his paw in warm water and epsom salt. It seemed to be better after about two weeks.

We went back to the vet for the back paw. No antibiotics this time, just topical cream (tritop), keep it clean, and soak it in warm water and epsom salt again. Well, now the back paw is better and front paw is looking bad again. I don't know what is going on. The vet tells me the crusty color is from licking. We just don't see him doing this very much to cause it to look that bad. I don't know why this keeps coming back.
Has anyone had anything like this? Not sure if we should go back to the vet again, or keep soaking and putting the cream on. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I tried to take a picture.....




Any ideas??? It does not seem to be bothering him at all. I was with him all day yesterday and only saw him try to lick it once. He's still running and walking fine. I'm just not sure what else to do.

[SouthernThistle]

Ouch - poor guy!

What type of diet is he on now? Seems odd that it's only on one side of his body.

[Dainerra]

has he been anywhere where he could have stepped in de-icer or something similar?

[AngelJ]

He eats orijen six fish. Also grain free treats from Northern Biscuit Compamy. He's been eating both of these for months before the paw problems. I think he has an allergy to chicken. We haven't given him anything with chicken in it for at least two years and we try to avoid grains.

[AngelJ]

No, he's mostly in our large back yard. I don't use any kind of chemicals out there. If we do walk anywhere, he has his dog boots on. The other two dogs we have are just fine. It's only Jake with the problem.

[JenM66]

Gracie has given her paw fur a lovely deep, rich cinnamon color from licking. Now at the new house, she has not licked her paws....not even once. I firmly believe she was either allergic to the grass or the carpet at the old house. I feel for you Angel, those are hard allergies to get rid of if that's the problem. Good luck........

[Lauri & The Gang]

When he comes in from being outside you might want to check that area of his feet for snow balls. Mauser gets snow packed in there and I have to remove it.

If an area like that stays warm and wet it will cause bacteria to grow.

After soaking his feet make SURE to dry them very well and then put some Gold Bond Medicated powder in the area. This will help keep it dry and stop any licking.

[LisaT]

Max gets this.

In addition to what has already been posted...

I actually use black tea for soaking to help kill yeast.

For Max, it's bad at a certain time of year (contact allergy?) Or when he has beef in the diet. It seems to be aggravated if I don't clip his nails frequently enough (licking due to discomfort aggravates the other problem)!

There are certain autoimmune conditions that might cause this, but I would look first to yeast and allergies.

[SueLS]

We have the same issue here with seasonal allergies, and our boy's paw looks exactly like that. I use the Emu Wound Salve from Laid in Montana laidinmt.com, search for the wound salve

I put a thin coating on, and then cover up his foot with a sock, using medical tape to keep it on. You do have to change the sock after every trip outside when it gets wet, and I just keep a thin layer of salve on. It does contain an anti-fungal, and since our boys seasonal allergies are mold related, it worked wonders.

Our dog's paw healed up in about 3 days with this. Used on hot spots too, we love the stuff!

[AngelJ]

Thanks! I may try the black tea.