Chi licking her paws

[Niki]

Thought I would ask.. My chihuahua has been licking her front paws excessively. She actually wakes me up in the middle of night.Her pads were raw, so I took her to a pet dermotologist two days ago. She has quite an infection and yeast in both. He gave her a shot of antibiotics and prescribed fluconazole for fungus and an antihistamine. She is a little better but still licking... But not as bad. Do you think it will take awhile to heal that's why she is still licking? Her food is grain free. And she has had issues in past with licking paws, just never this bad. I am assuming it still hurts her so she licks them at this point for comfort? I don't want to even leave her alone because she will continue to and they will get worse. Has anyone's dog had this problem?

 

[Tom]

RE: Chi liking her paws

Allergies. Find a vet in your area that does allergy testing. Find out what she's allergic too and eliminate as much as you can. Then your vet can prescribe some antihistamine.

If you eliminate allergies as a cause, then it could be neurotic behavior and the vet will have some doggy prozac for that too. Seriously. It works and it does not change their personality. In the past I always dismissed the idea of it, but several cases lately have made a believer out of me.

...kind of like the humidity/hydration thing for tortoises.

 

[Laurie]

RE: Chi liking her paws

Allergies. Find a vet in your area that does allergy testing. Find out what she's allergic too and eliminate as much as you can. Then your vet can prescribe some antihistamine.

If you eliminate allergies as a cause, then it could be neurotic behavior and the vet will have some doggy prozac for that too. Seriously. It works and it does not change their personality. In the past I always dismissed the idea of it, but several cases lately have made a believer out of me.

...kind of like the humidity/hydration thing for tortoises.

One of my cats freak out if anything changes in the house, for instance putting up the Xmas tree. He licks all the hair off of his legs and belly

The vet had suggested a Prozac... I have been trying those calming sprays first. They're not really working.

 

[Tom]

RE: Chi liking her paws

I've never tried this with a cat.

 

[Niki]

RE: Chi liking her paws

I might have her tested for allergies. I have noticed that she has tear stains and that is new.

---

One of my cats freak out if anything changes in the house, for instance putting up the Xmas tree. He licks all the hair off of his legs and belly

The vet had suggested a Prozac... I have been trying those calming sprays first. They're not really working.

Growing up, we had a cat that licked the fur off her belly. The vet put her on Valium.

 

[Edna]

RE: Chi liking her paws

I'm with Tom on the neurosis idea. When my old old cat was scratching the fur off her ears, I took her to the vet who patiently and kindly explained that there was no physiological reason for her to do that, leaving me to infer the neurotic cause. He prescribed a cortisone/combo ointment and that was helpful. I have a spot on my back that itches for no reason.... maybe some prozac for me too....

 

[wellington]

RE: Chi liking her paws

I would just use the medicine the vet gave you. But get a e-collar so she can't keep licking. Most dogs that gets that, gets it from some little thing that makes them lick, But, when they continue to lick, and the in between the ,toes, pads etc can't dry out then you get what your dog has. If she keeps licking it won't heal. Allergy testing is very expensive and takes a very long time to determine, if ever what the allergy is. Also, it's probably not an allergy. Also don't feed dog food with coloring in it, like kibbles and bits. The dies causes a lot of allergies in animals. next time you make a vet visit, ask for some panalog ointment. It is a miracle drug. Next time he starts to lick, after this bout has cleared up, put some of the panalog on it. Will clear up fast. Use it for any dry spots, hot spots, rashes, etc. Hope this helps. BTW, I worked for a vet a few years ago, vet assistant. Did everything. Just wanted you to know I am not just guessing.

 

[lisa127]

RE: Chi liking her paws

My shih tzu does the same thing. I think along the same lines as Tom. Either obsessive behavior or an allergy. I wonder sometimes if a lot of these dogs have an allergy to grass.

 

[Laurie]

RE: Chi liking her paws

I might have her tested for allergies. I have noticed that she has tear stains and that is new.

---

Growing up, we had a cat that licked the fur off her belly. The vet put her on Valium.

---

So that's how I get put on Valium?

 

[Niki]

RE: Chi liking her paws

So that's how I get put on Valium?

Lol... It was human Valium too! Just a really low dose.

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: Chi liking her paws

If the dog licks so much that the front of the paws becomes raw, this is known as lick granuloma. It is a terribly hard habit to break. Sometimes even wrapping up the paws doesn't work.

Do a GOOGLE search for ways to treat lick granuloma and get it "licked" before it gets bad.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_lick_granuloma.html

 

[Kerryann]

My dog has horrible allergies to pretty much everything and she licks her paws as a symptom.
The vet had to run two sets of allergy tests on her. The first was for environmental allergies and the second was food. She is allergic to dust mites, mold, grass, ragweed, pollens, beef, chicken, pork, soy, egg, dairy, corn and wheat.
The tests were about 400 dollars and her ongoing shots cost about 200 per year. She is on three allergy medications and also prescription food. The good news is that her allergies are under control.
The testing for allergies is expensive but really the improvement in her quality of life is impressive. Before she was properly diagnosed she had scratched all the fur off around her eyes and had sores all over her paws
The vet said that paw licking is usually environmental allergy symptoms and the face clawing was probably food allergy related.

 

[Angi]

You all will think I am crazy....but when my Rat Terrier was licking his leg raw and bloody I tried neo-sporin (sp?) which made him throw up. Then out of desperation I started feeding him the same herbal foods I eat and it cured it. If I quit giving hime the food he starts licking again. I have found that my dog that hates the vet does not need the vet. If something goes wrong he gets more herbal foods. It is just what works for us. I wish I could get Waldo (the box turtle) to eat herbs