toe infection?

    • Bronze

    toe infection?

    Hello,
    I have a 16 month old mini doxie with wet, raw toes. The moisture is partly from licking but also some blood. The edges of the claws form a yellow crust when they dry out. He has been to the vet who can find no mites, bloodwork is all clean and we won't be able to hear about any possible fungal infection for at least 2 weeks (due to the time needed to grow it). He was put on antibiotics 2 days ago just in case it's bacterial but is actually getting worse, not better. While waiting and worrying about the tests I thought I'd ask if anyone has experienced this and knows what it might be? The poor pup is in a lot of pain (even with the ;pain meds) and doesn't want to move most of the time.
    As an aside I have noticed  (just today) some raw patches on his muzzle which I suspect he may have gotten from constantly licking infected feet. He also has a history of ringworm but this definitely does NOT look like ringworm. It is also clearly septic as I have used a hydrogen peroxide solution on the toes and it fizzes mightily. Any assistance would be great.
    • Gold Top Dog
       Hi and welcome to i-dog. You need to keep your Doxie from licking the area because he'll make it much worse by licking it. I have a dog with allergies and before we started immunotherapy she use to lick her feet because they itched and the licking would cause infections. Her feet would bleed and her nail beds,which I think is what you're referring to, would swell. I used to put doggy boots on her feet to keep her from licking them when I wasn't able to watch her, like at night or when I was gone. The infection would heal much faster if I could keep her from licking the area. Are you using an oral or topical antibiotic? If you're only using an oral antibiotic you may want to ask the vet if a topical would also be a good idea because it would work faster than the oral as it is applied directly to the skin; because of the blood flow to the epidermal layers, only about 40% of an oral antibiotic reaches the outer layers of the skin. Animax and Bactoderm work well.
       While you're waiting to see if it's a fungal infection you could wash his feet with Selsun Blue Dandruff shampoo. Work up some suds and let it soak for about 15 minutes, then rinse it thoroughly and dry. If you do that a few times a day it should help if it's fungus.
       I wonder if the ;places on the muzzle are the infection spreading because his muzzle is coming in contact with his feet. You should tell your vet about them.  Also, if his feet are getting worse I would tell the vet. He may want to try a different antibiotic.
       Has your vet mentioned an autoimmune disease? Some forms of pemphigus affect the feet and muzzle:
            [linkhttp://www.vetinfo.com/dpemph.html]http://www.vetinfo.com/dpemph.html[/link]
       Please keep us informed about your little guy, and I hope he is better soon.
      
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hi -- let me ask a few questions and then I'll give some suggestions.
     
    Since it's got the feet so sore (and you aren't saying belly or other parts - just **feet**) and then the mouth -- I'm thinking this screams contact allergy.  How is the belly?
     
    If it's on the feet and NOT the belly then I would tend to think it's something the dog walks thru himself -- if it was on the belly too I'd think it was something tracked indoors by a human and the dog lays on it.
     
    Can I ask where abouts you live??  I don't want your address -- but where you are located geographically?  City/country?  Do you have grass you walk him thru?
     
    Do you happen to have any wandering jew??  In some places that's a plant in the house (green & white striped hanging plant usually -- very common - little leaves that are striped from stem to tip of leaf).  In other places it grows wild outside and there are tons of varieties -- the outdoors 'wild' one tends to be an all green leaf -- likes to creep on fences, walls and in other bushes.  There's also a red/green varigated one that is very very hardy and in southern/warmer states landscaping companies love it as ground cover - it actually appears *purple* but often it's planted at the base of trees, near doorways -- anywhere someone might walk off a 'corner' of lawn.
     
    Wandering Jew in all varieties is a serious irritant but if it's outside your house -- the dog doesn't have to set a toe in it -- just the oil from humans walking thru and bruising a leaf or two and then walking IN THE HOUSE -- the dog gets it from secondary contact on the carpet.
     
    Other serious contact allergens (think poison ivy to us -- that's a contact allergen that bothers humans but dogs actually have way more of them).  Poison oak, night-blooming jasmine, and St. Augustine sod (not the whole sod -- it's a couple of little weeds they have introduced into the root system that help hold water which is why St. Augustine sod is so hardy).
     
    Once the feet are totally sore, then yeast or staph sets in -- but even if this was cultured, you may discover the secondary stuff on the skin like the yeast or staph, and the original irritant can go undiagnosed.
     
    But often when a dog licks a sore area *trying to get the stuff OFF his feet* then the muzzle gets sore.  On a doxie it would be hard to tell but are his 'lips' (literally the very edges of his mouth) sore looking??
     
    Remedies:
     
    Like I said to a degree you may have to treat the top of the skin to reduce the whole problem until you can address the whole issue.
     
    1.  If it's yeast (and that's not a bad thot -- wet, moist, area kept wet by the licking will grow yeast) the Selsun Blue is a good idea (my vet has had me do that many times) -- just don't leave it on the skin long and rinse SUPER well.  Dilute the shampoo first or it will clump on the skin.
     
    2.  If you suspect the contact allergen -- any benzoyl peroxide shampoo is a good idea.  OxyDex or Benzoyl Plus are brands you'll find at the vet and online.  Oxy10 Facewash (which has just been re-released in a black bottle) in the teenagers acne section of the drugstore or grocery store -- again seriously dilute it before putting it on.
     
    3.  IN ALL CASES -- whatever you wash the dog with (and I'd do the WHOLE dog -- so the oils of whatever it is can't spread) do a final rinse in tea tree oil and water -- about 1/4 teas. to about a gallon of water.  Stand the dog in a dishpan and add the tea tree oil to the water and then use a mug to pour cupfuls over and over and over while he STANDS in it.  It will help heal the paws and help with the itch.
     
    4.  Aloe -- don't use a commercially prepared aloe and NO lotions.  You want pure aloe, literally you want an aloe plant and you can harvest the goop out of the leaves.  Very very healing.
     
    5.  Put baby socks on his feet if you have to but keep him from licking.  He doesn't need to ingest that stuff and you don't want him licking off any of the above either. 
     
    Most effective -- when you see him lick, gently say "oh baby, no licking!  let Mom help" and go TO him and massage his feet very gently.  But it will effectively 'scratch' the area and relieve his distress.  Even if you do that 50 times in the next hour -- don't let him lick.  He will learn "no licking" as a command and he will also learn to come TO *you* and that you will 'help' him. 
     
    6.  Another good soak (and you can do this several times a day) is chammomile tea.  It's a good topical anti-inflammatory.  Lavender oil (just a few drops) in it is also a good addition.  You can put this in a spray bottle and actually spray it on.
     
    7.  Add chammomile to his food -- just make the tea bags like it says on the box and just about every grocery store has chammomile tea in the tea section.  Don't throw away those soggy herbs - add them to his dinner -- they will help settle his tummy and they will help reduce the pain from the inside but they aren't hard on the stomach.  Chammomile is a mild NSAID like aspirin, but totally *without* irritation to the stomach -- instead they actually help settle the stomach.
     
    Often a vet is not going to catch a contact allergy like this.  But I strongly suspect there is something external causing this.  And it could even be a spray someone puts on the lawn!
    • Gold Top Dog
    Get some Iodine shampoo that works excellent on fungus.
    • Bronze
    Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions.
    In regard to the licking...my dog may be a dachshund but he has the jaws of a pit bull. He has so far chewed through fleece booties, rubber booties, gauze/medical tape and even an e-collar (right through the plastic). He doesn't chew when I'm home because I watch him like a hawk but when I'm gone...I think baby socks might be too big but I'll give them a try anyway. I will start trying to help him rather than just telling him not to lick I REALLY like this idea, I just didn't think of it.
    Will definitely try some of the natural/home remedies while I wait for results. As for the wandering jew...yes we have TONS of it (I'm in southern california) as ground cover. And the dog LOVES to walk through it for some reason however, he has absolutely no sores on his belly (and he's certainly short enough for the stuff to be touching his belly...Buddha bless his little stubby legs). I also assumed he must have walked through something that caused an allergic reaction...I can't figure what. As for the lips...yes, he has small sores right on the edges of his mouth. I made an assumption that it was due to him constantly licking at his irritated feet and thus spreading the irritation. He is very prone to allergies and the vet wants to test for things but first (as "calliecritturs" mentioned) we have to get the immediate issue under control due to his immense pain.
    Thanks again for suggesting (any others would also be welcomed as I'm willing to try everything and see what works). I've had dogs all my life but never ran across this issue with the nail beds and the only thing I know how to do is take him to the vet! Fine for the long-term health but hasn't done much to relieve the poor creature of his pain.
    • Gold Top Dog
     We tried socks but had trouble keeping them on her. She's too big for the baby socks, which might work for your Doxie and the elastic top they have helps them stay on. Here is a link to the booties we use for Jessie : 
             [linkc=1&N=2001&Nty=1]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?Ntt=muttluks&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&;pc=1&N=2001&Nty=1[/link]>http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?Ntt=muttluks&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&;pc=1&N=2001&Nty=1]http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?Ntt=muttluks&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&;pc=1&N=2001&Nty=1[/link]
      We bought them for protecting her feet from salt when we walk her in the winter but they came in handy as licking protection. They're expensive and you probably don't need them for California winters, but I seriously doubt if your guy could chew through them as they are made of leather and very strong nylon, and they stay on very well too. It could very well be contact allergies as Callie said, but Jessie's feet would be just as bad in the winter when the ground was covered with snow. She is allergic to many grass, tree, and weed pollens and also dust mites and storage mites. Her face and ears also itched, as well as her sides, but it was her chewing that got the feet infected. 
      For conventional medicine, Animax was effective in helping Jessie when her nail beds ( the skin at the base of the nails) was infected. I wasn't a member of i-dog until a few months ago and didn't know about the home remedies that Callie knows of except for the Selsun Blue when Jessie was having problems. It would have been nice to have had access to her knowledge and other's suggestions. What Callie told you about massaging the paws when your dog is licking them is a wonderful idea. If you tell them not to lick, as I did Jessie, they learn to do it when you're not watching. I hope Callie's suggestions help your poor little dog.