We are taking our Jack Russell back to the vet this aft , he went a few weeks ago with the same problem .She gave him steroids and his appetite improved ,and he grew some fur back on his paws .Anyone else had this problem ?
The vet said she thought it could be an allergy or skin problem which gets worse as dogs age .I can't see how he can be kept on steroids all the time though .Will post later but anyone know anything that might help the sore paws ? we bathe them and make sure they are dry after walks .Thanks .

Oddly enough, I was recently looking for a way to stop Ollie chewing his injured paws and read quite a bit about this.

Apparently, one of the most common reasons for a dog to chew their paws is due to a yeast infection (usually between the toes) causing severe irritation.
Medicines will, obviously, help in the short-term but, if it is a yeast infection, you need to look at the dog's diet to prevent it reoccurring.

A good vet' should actually diagnose exactly what the problem is before offering a treatment and, as a result, should tell you exactly what you need to do.
A less competent vet' will, however, just see a "skin condition" and prescribe something that'll help fix that but won't be able to offer advice on how to prevent it reoccurring.

Anyway, from what I've read, a yeast infection is THE most common cause of dogs chewing their feet so it should be high on the list of possibilities.
Maybe worth, at least, mentioning it to the vet' to see what he says.

Thank you for that .Do you know what kind of things I should feed him ? he usually has Cesar from a can or Bakers complete dry food .
Thanks.

No idea TBH.

Try googling "yeast infection dog paw" and it should turn up more info'.

Like I said, might be worth asking the vet' about it too, when you take the dog.

*EDIT*
Just found THIS while checking that google does have some useful results.

Try wheat free it has been a revelation in stopping problems in my dogs. Should really start with just chicken and rice and gradually add foods in one at a time to see what is causing the reaction.

My dog had this and was nibbling his feet until they bled ... which made him then lick them even more. The vet said it was dermatitis. We were given a soap thing that you wet the paw, lather it up and rinse off. It worked.

Cesar and Bakers for a dog is a bit like us eating Macdonalds every day. Check out this website http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

My pup suffered dreadfully with itchiness and sloppy poo until I moved him onto Nutriment raw. No more scratching, very small firm poo.

We were recommended hypoallergenic dog food, you also need to be aware of other bits and pieces you give them.

Agreed about the dog food as some of it is rubbish, Arden Grange and James Wellbeloved dried food get good reviews.

When we went back to the vets to see about Jess' s ear problems she also prescribed steroids for her paws which did work, starting on a higher dose then reducing it.

But the vet also suggested taking scrapings from the paws to be analysed to see what was causing the irritation, the first vet didn't suggest anything like this but this new vet was great.

Unfortunately we didn't get to this stage as Jess died, she had a congenital heart problem.

Thanks everyone for all the advice .We saw the vet and we told her about his sore paws and also he has gone right off his food after he finished steroids which was another problem .She looked at his fur all over and she said his skin was very red .She took his temp but I don't know what it should have been so no clue there. I asked her what she thought it was caused by and she said "at this point allergies but if he isn't better by Monday come back and bring him back on Weds anyway ."

She gave us 5 anti biotics and 5 steroids to last us till Weds .She told us if he worsened to call the urgent number over the weekend .It's obviously the lack of appetite that is concerning ,( though his weight is fine .) She said she expects his appetite to return with the steroids .I hope it's nothing more serious , he's a rescue dog we've had for over a year and we think he's about 6'ish- 7'ish .She didn't think yeast infection .
Porcupine - what was that soap thing called ? Net- I will look up Nutriment raw thanks. Si-C thanks for all the info !

Good news , the tabs have kicked in and our dog is eating again .I've noticed no chewing of the feet so far either .

I really think you should look at better food, Bakers and Caesar really are dreadful. They contain sugars and horrible preservatives, you can get much better foods for the same price. I know people who have found that when they've stopped feeding such junk their dogs are much healthier.
I hope the itching stops. Have you tried antihistamines?

Hi Rivers, yes we have had him on anti- h's .We are definitely changing his food and today I placed an order for hypo allergic food ( James Wellbeloved ? ) we will try and locate a few more for him to try , meantime he is on chicken and rice until it arrives .
The steroids are working I just hope we don't go back to square one when he comes off them again .Then again, the change in diet may swing it for him , thanks to all .

You can get special sprays and shampoos to curb any irritation.
It could be an allergy of course and food might be a factor as mentioned.
Steroids can do wonders but can also do harm.
After our experience with steroids they will only ever be a last resort.

Can you tell me what your experience of steroids was ?
thanks
B.

My border collie was put on prednisolone for chronic bronchitis. A few days at 10mg per day and then 5mg every other day. A fairly low dose for an 18 kilo dog.
She was nauseous on 10mg - quite poorly in fact. She drunk more of course and started dribbling urine which no amount of walks helped. This continued through the 5 mg dose right through to when we tapered down to 2 mg and didn't stop till after we had actually stopped the dose completely some months later. Her fur started coming out in clumps and the vet tried to say it was just seasonal shedding.. She also had bouts of heavy panting where she became quite distressed (the dog not the vet!).
There was no mention of long term effects but there is a lot on the net about it and when I asked the vet she agreed - but said she would be more concerned about long term effects if she had been a younger dog! My dog was around 12 years old - not a huge age for a collie.
A few people advised to give milk thistle to counteract possible liver damage.
I did give some but despite that, it seems too much of a coincidence that within months of stopping she was diagnosed with liver damage and given 3- 6 months to live. That was 18 months ago thank heavens. But she will be on a special diet for the rest of her life.
The problem with steroids is you can't just stop them - they have to be carefuly withdrawn. I am sure however they are a life saver for many - we were just one of the unfortunate cases. Plus if it's just a short course they are probably fine.
http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/iss...ne_5647-1.html
http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Basics/Steroids.aspx

Has he had any allergy tests? Skin scrapes?
Might be a start.

But ditch the crappy food, JWB isn't much better tbh, try something grain free aimed at dogs with issues, Barking Heads or Eden or similar.... or even a home cooked/raw diet.

Could be a stress reaction too, does it get worse at any time?

My collie has grass allergies in the warmer months ( similar to hay fever in people), which causes any of her skin that has touched grass to go red and itchy. She will scratch and lick until she's bleeding if I don't stop her, it looks like a huge rash on her. She was fine up to the age of 3 then developed this allergy and it's never gone away, it's only early March and she's already starting to bite at her feet. I was given Fuciderm gel to put on her originally but that can only be used short term ( a week or two) as it contains steroids and will thin the skin. Human Diprobase and other dermatological creams do the same so their out too.

After a lot of experimenting, I have finally found a way to keep it at a more bearable level for her without any steroids or the minimal I can get away with. I have a bottle of Allermyl shampoo ( made by Virbac, ask your Vet as its prescription only) which I put a bit of in a spray bottle mixed with water, so when she has been for a walk I spray her feet. I have a PawPlunger for cleaning her feet if they get muddy, so I put some in that too. Her feet have to be washed as even if she'd remained standing the whole walk, as soon as she starts scratching somewhere that part will flare up. Once her feet are clean I put a plastic cone/ lampshade on her so she can't reach to lick and leave it on for an hour or so until any itchiness has either gone or decreased. In the really warm months, say mid May - August she also gets a Piriton tablet daily which I try to give just before a walk, and if it's really severe she gets a single steroid injection from the vet to help bring it down to a more controllable level. I also have some doggy t shirts and boots for her, so that if she lies down her chest and stomach isn't directly touching the grass, same with the boots for her feet. She is fed on a high quality hypoallergenic food and the same for treats, no colours/preservatives/ unkown ingredients.

I would definitely change your dog's diet, Bakers is just about the worst food out there and could well be causing or contributing to your dog's problems. Have a look at Burns, James Wellbeloved, Wainwrights, Skinners, Arden Grange, CSJ, and Harringtons for dry kibble food and Lily's Kitchen, Applaws, Nature's Menu, Forthglade, Nature's Harvest, Collards and Simply Dog Food for wet food, many of which have grain free options. Burns, James Wellbeloved and Wainwrights also do really good wet foods. If you don't mind spending a small fortune, Orijen and Acana are two really top quality dry foods, but their freeze dried from Canada so not cheap! Have a look on Zooplus website, they have really good foods and have good offers on one or another almost constantly. If I was in you shoes, may first step would be to change the food, try the Allermyl for his paws, putting a cone on him so he can't reach to give them a chance to recover, and see how it goes from there.

Great advice Colliewobbles. I forgot to mention the antihistamines. Yes my vet advised Piriton (or the cheaper generic version). But the first time I bought some I mentioned it was for the dog and the shop wouldn't let me have it!
There are a few human OTC meds you can give your dog (on vets advice) but never ever say it is for your dog when buying it
And now I am struggling with the image of a dog in T shirt and bootees...

Thank you all - everyone has conflicting views even on the "good " foods LOL .We got some wheat free etc Harringtons today .He's had some of that and a bit of chicken .Thanks for the Allermyl tip , will try that .
I have no idea what the vet will say as he is still trying to chew his paws , though his appetite has picked up .I suspect she may do some testing next .
B.

The Piriton you get from the vets is exactly the same as what you buy in the chemist, same as a few other things ie Lactulose, Viscotears, but yes, never say it's for a dog as the chemist will almost certainly refuse it you! I personally find it works out cheaper anyway, I can get at least 50 Piritons for about £7 (I get discount plus the vet will let my dog have it without seeing her, as they know us and why she has it) which is much cheaper than paying for the one a day packs of 7 at the chemist! I take it myself for hayfever too so it works out well

I will upload a pic of her for you, I'm not normally a fan of people who dress dogs up in clothes like human babies, especially when some restrict natural movement, but it really helps my girl and wearing a tee is much better than scratching for hours, even if it's not a collie's choice look. Thankfully, she's only a small collie too as finding stuff for nearly anything bigger than a yorkie/ chi/ bichon is a difficult task! Don't think it'll be long before I need to dig her togs out again either, after a walk in the forest she was already full of red spots today.

re Piriton a friend recommended these, she's used them several times. I ordered some for my dog as she gets itchy on spring grass and has already started to lick and chew herself but since she's back on these she's a bit better. (vet had already recommended them and told me to buy human ones)

http://www.pharmacyfirst.co.uk/medic...rod_13312.html

They arrived quickly and have a sell by of well into 2017 so will last her next summer too!

Yes those are exactly the same ones that my vets has. I've toook them myself when my hayfever has been driving me extra crazy, they worked very quick, my eyes stopped streaming in minutes. My dog's dose is normally one, but if she's particularly bad she's allowed two a day instead to try and keep it at bay, and whilst they don't cure it (nothing will cure it completely unless it disappears of its own accord) they certainly help make her more comfortable. And definitely better value than the little boxes you get in the chemist!

Hi , saw the vet today , she gave us 2 weeks of anti biotics, 2 weeks of steroids , and same of piriton .She said his skin still looked red and irritated but his paws looked a bit better - which they do .We go back in 2 weeks to see how's he's gone on .