Rash on chin & feet

 Poor Bailey, and poor you. I wish I had remembered this sooner, but Callie has a treatment for the feet that's simple and has worked on other allergy dogs. I haven't tried it for Jessie because she was on allergen immunotherapy before I learned about it and her feet have been doing well. According to Callie, you brew some strong black tea and put it on his feet. You can use a spray bottle, a mustard bottle, whatever works for you and put the tea on his feet at least a few times a day. You can do it outside to avoid making a mess in the house. I hope that helps, and his feet get better soon.

 

I agree 100% about the tea soak. I did use it for Sassy and it really seemed to help. I just kept it in a squirt bottle. Sprays freak her out but just gently pouring it on didn't seem to bother her. I just used old towels to soak up the run off. Afterwards, I made sure to blot the feet and especially between the toes dry. I remember those days well. I used to wake up all night long saying "Sassy - no lick!!" She eventually figured out that if she went far away from the bed and licked quietly, I wouldn't know.

jessies_mom

According to Callie, you brew some strong black tea and put it on his feet. You can use a spray bottle, a mustard bottle, whatever works for you and put the tea on his feet at least a few times a day. You can do it outside to avoid making a mess in the house.

What actually works the best is to put the tea in a small dish and DIP their feet & swish it around.  Blot, if you can, with terry towel (avoiding paper dust),  I just kept a sun tea jug on the counter (I made it every other day) and used an empty margerine tub.  A little piece of string cheese after had Billy looking forward to the "swishy foot game" LOL

But just plain cheap black tea -- it's the tannic acid and it also helps rinse off the allergens.  But even WIPING off their feet truly helps a TON.

 

I've been trying using the black tea, and it seems to help a little, but not enough. Right after I do it, he seems a little less itchy and it doesn't look quite as irritated, but it figures, apparently Bailey has a "thing" for black tea. He loves it. He trys to drink it when I'm dipping his foot in it. And of course he trys to lick it all off his foot after, too (even though I dried it).

I feel like such a bad mommy... his feet are really bad today. I just washed them again and he finally has stopped licking them (for now...) Last night I got up several times because I heard him licking his feet. He stops when he knows I'm watching him... but he goes right back at is once he knows I can't see/hear him.

We wen't for a long walk yesterday, and he ran around at the park in the grass.. and today his feet seem a little worse. Maybe just because he was licking them a lot.... or maybe he is alergic to grass?

Now it's on top of his toes, too. There is a little red spot right on top of the knuckle on a few of his toes.

I was at the store this morning and I found some aloe leaves ( haven't been able to find any real aloe around here before, only stuff with aloe in it) and they were on sale so I grabbed a couple..... Now what the hell do I do with them?

Anyone use those "Pawz" plastic dog boots? I'm thinking of getting him some of those to put on him whenever he goes outside (or all the time?) so his feet don't touch the grass (that way at least I will know whether it really is the grass that is irritating him?)

I use TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) for Billy and Tink ... there are a few homeopathics I use to calm things down as *extra* but honestly you really need to deal with the allergies as a whole -- anything else at this point is just a 'bandaid" -- How close to the coast are you?  I know Kate found someone she liked really well for Frisby and she's going to take Sinbad there as well. 

You really need to attack it on a deeper level.  Bathing in the tea helps but it's not helping the body deal with the allergens so the inflammation likely will get worse.

You can try antihistamines -- but again your results are likely going to be limited. 

calliecritturs

I use TCVM (Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine) for Billy and Tink ... there are a few homeopathics I use to calm things down as *extra* but honestly you really need to deal with the allergies as a whole -- anything else at this point is just a 'bandaid" -- How close to the coast are you?  I know Kate found someone she liked really well for Frisby and she's going to take Sinbad there as well. 

I was so hoping this would just go away, I really do not have money for yet another vet bill right now. I've showed it to his vet before, and he said it was just allergies and to give him benadryl until it went away. I've been wanting to switch vets, but I just haven't been able to yet. Until I get my own car, it probably won't be possible.

The hair fell off on the spots that flares up the worst between his toes and between his pads on the bottom of his feet. On the bottom of his feet between the pads on a couple of his feet, there is hardly any hair at all. It's just pink, irritated skin. It doesn't look puffy or swolen or anything... no ooozing.

It's constantly wet under his feet and between his toes. From him licking it, walking outside, or just from sweating. Should I try putting some baby powder, or anti-itch powder on it, and use the "Pawz" rubber booties when he goes outside to keep them from getting more irritated? Or maybe get some yeast-infection(Monistat?) cream to put on it?

I think I'm going to try putting him on benadryl again for a while to see if it helps a little this time...

You can't be half-hearted with Benedryl -- you gotta give it proper dose **for his weight** (1-2 mg/lb body weight) and give it faithfully twice a day for WEEKS to see any real progress.  While the fall season is so strong I'd probably tell you to do the 2 mg/lb for now. Keep up with the tea at the same time.   Until you can get him elsewhere do the Benedryl.  Yes, it will zone him out for a while but he will learn to deal with it.    There are other antihistamines that dogs can take -- but give him something to help cope with the allergens -- he's walking in them right now!! Leaves are a biggie.

Can you get hold of some aloe??  That will reduce the inflammation on the paws (even drinkable aloe is fine -- after you do the tea, then spray on some aloe juice if you can't find aloe gel.  It's soothing and will help the redness.

calliecritturs

Can you get hold of some aloe?? 

Callie, she got some leaves, but doesn't know how to process them.  I can't remember how you said to do it.

calliecritturs

You can't be half-hearted with Benedryl -- you gotta give it proper dose **for his weight** (1-2 mg/lb body weight) and give it faithfully twice a day for WEEKS to see any real progress.  While the fall season is so strong I'd probably tell you to do the 2 mg/lb for now. Keep up with the tea at the same time. 

I WAS giving him benadryl faithfully, 75mg (he is 65-70lbs) twice a way for at least 2-3 weeks, and saw no difference. He was a little groggy and tired at first, but eventually it didn't seem to knock him out so much. It really didn't seem too make that much of a difference with his allergies... but I'm willing to give it another shot if it might help him.

calliecritturs

Until you can get him elsewhere do the Benedryl. 

It's not that I just don't want to spend the money on him... Please don't take it as I'm just neglecting it as something not serious enough for a vet visit...I just don't have the money. I really don't. It's not " have enough money but don't wanna spend it on a vet bill", it's just that the money simply isn't there. I've been applying practically everywhere nearby for a job, with no luck. No one wants to hire someone without any prior work experience, which I don't.

Plus, I don't want to waste a trip to the vet at his current vet, because I have a feeling they'll do the same as last time and pass it off as allergies and prescribe him benadryl again. Obviously if I have to I will bring him there, but I'd rather find a different vet.

calliecritturs

Can you get hold of some aloe??  That will reduce the inflammation on the paws (even drinkable aloe is fine -- after you do the tea, then spray on some aloe juice if you can't find aloe gel.  It's soothing and will help the redness.

Maybe you missed it, in my post this morning I said that I found a bunch of aloe leaves(which they never have in any stores near me. For once, they did.) so I grabbed a couple of them. I have no idea what I am suposed to do with them, though. Do I just chop it open and scoop out the goo? I googled it, but every link seemed to have a different "method" of doing it... so I wasn't sure if it was the right way.

I have never had any luck with Benadryl on any of my dogs-- I know a lot of people have success with it, just not here.

I have found that the Douxo wipes work really great for skin irritations, especially for between paw pads (vet reccommended the Douxo). You can get  them from your vet, but I order mine:  http://www.entirelypets.com/douxochlorhexidinepspads.html

We also had no luck with aloe for skin irritations between on paws--works great for me, just not my dogs--go figure.

Spazzy

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I was so hoping this would just go away, I really do not have money for yet another vet bill right now.

 

  Can you keep him from licking his feet when you're not watching him, by either covering them with something he can't remove, or using an e-collar? Your description of his feet sounds like how Jessie's were before I solved her allergy problems. I'm fairly sure he has a yeast infection. Maybe soaking his feet in the tea and keeping him from licking them would be enough for them to heal. Also, washing them with Selsun Blue, letting the shampoo stay on for about ten minutes, and then rinsing them, will help the yeast.

I have a cone... I'd rather use booties(he won't take them off), though. But, would it be better to use a cone so his feet can get more air flow/stay dryer?

I think it is a yeast infection also... You're probably right, he just needs to stop licking them so they can heal. Seems like every time they get wetter they get worse.. so keeping him from licking them and putting booties on when he goes outside should help prevent that.

How often should I use the Selsun blue? I used that on the yeasty spot on his belly he had a while ago (as Callie reccomended) and it did help a lot.  

I completely understand and sympathize with your concern about the cost of going to the vet. I hope you have some luck treating it on your own. I had the best luck with the tea soaks and the benadryl. Plan to use the benadryl every day for the forseeable future. I buy it in bulk. You could up it to 100mg and give it 3 times a day to get a handle on things. I'd also use the tea solution every couple hours, if you're at home to do it. If you've ever had anything that itched like crazy, you'll understand how intense this must be for him. I doubt I could've kept booties on my girl when she was having problems, but if you can, that's a good idea. If not, the cone might work too but really the goal is to get the feet to quit itching and then the licking will stop. I found the Nu Sal T shampoo worked great but I think Selsun Blue might be just as good. If it's only his feet that are itchy, you could just dilute the shampoo and rinse his feet with it several times a day. If you're not already using fish oil, you will want to start that too. I honestly know how frustrating this is and I wish there was a magic bullet to deal with it, but there really isn't. Hang in there.

Chels:  I just went through this with Jamison.  For weeks, I gave him 1 Benedryl in the morning and 2 each afternoon.  In addition, he was put on Simplicef, which, I think is specifically for skin infections.  I finally broke down and put the cone (the soft kind) on him to keep him from licking his feet and sprayed his feet about 3-4 times a day with half cider vinegar and half water.  After about a week with the cone and 10 days of the Simplicef, everything cleared up nicely.

 

Deb W.

 

P.S.  I keep him on 2 Benedryl each evening as a preventative.

This may help. Ester C is better because it protects their stomach. You have to add it on a daily basis for it to work. Vitamin C is considered a powerful antihistamine. When a sensitive dog is exposed to an allergen, the immune system produces histamines. A dog's allergies can be managed with antihistamines. Studies have shown that dogs that consume higher amounts of vitamin C have fewer allergic reactions, and that vitamin C works like an antihistamine, inhibiting the production of histamines. If your pet is prone to allergies, a daily vitamin C tablet is recommended. The dosage should be adjusted according to the size and age of your pet. Give to bowel tolerance (for a small dog, start with 1/8 tsp twice a day and slowly increase until stools get a bit soft, then back down a bit. For a large dog, start with 1 tsp. twice a day. ------- Also you can use apple cider vinegar to kill the yeast. Mix 1 cup of vinegar in a bucket of water and soak the feet and you can just sponge the other areas. This will kill the yeast and put the PH back in the skin. If you have fresh aloe just squeeze out of the leave like toothpaste and then put what is left in a plastic bag for later. It will help keep area dry and also heal the area. I KNOW THIS DOES NOT TAKE THE PLACE OF A VET BUT MAY HELP IN THE MEAN TIME.