Dog chewing and licking paws

chimmo12

My 1 year old Staffordshire Bull Terrier does not stop chewing and biting her paws.

I took her to the vets about it and all they said was 'Staffies are prone to allergies so she's probably allergic to grass'

I took her back as she was still doing and they told me to start giving her hayfever tablets as they thought it was an allergy to grass.

The hayfever tablets aren't really working so I'm going to take her back to see if they can actually do something about it. I can distract her from her paws with toys and cuddles but I can't stop it when I go out.

We are going to try and have the grass removed in the back garden and replaced with dog friendly artificial grass in the hope that helps her but does anyone have any experience of this and what they did to help stop it?

It is non stop unless she has an interesting toy, walking, eating or sleeping to the point of making her paws bleed on two occasions.

Thank you
x

amibovvered

Try another vet? My dog was doing that a few years ago and it turned out to be demodex mites.

krlyr

I agree with the second opinion. There's several potential causes, and a vet will be best to confirm. Skin scrapings to rule out mites/mange could be an idea.

Chewing and licking paws is quite a typical sign of allergies. Unfortunately some allergies aren't managed by anti-histamines alone, so the hayfever tablets might not be enough. The artificial grass might help, as might boots for walks, or washing the paws off as soon as you get home. Of course, that's assuming the allergy is to grass, as per the vets guess - there are blood tests available to confirm, you may need to ask for a referall. Avoid doing hair tests though, there are some available online that use 'bio resonance' testing - no scientific backing at all.

Another option to consider is an elimination diet, in case it's a dietary allergy instead. This is where you restrict the dog to one protein (ideally a novel protein, i.e. something they haven't eaten before) and slowly introduce a new protein at a time, and see if the symptoms ease or return. One of the most effective ways to do this is with a raw diet - as you can simply feed the one raw protein. You can do it with cooked meats, too, and as it's a short-term thing to identify the trigger, you don't have to worry too much about balance for a little while, but you do need to make sure you stick to it firmly. No point feeding online raw/cooked chicken, for someone to be giving the dog Bonios between meals.

A slightly less drastic approach would be to just try changing brand/flavour food. I'd probably opt for switching to a grain-free food of a novel protein, e.g. fish and potato, and see if the itching stops or continues. https://www.allaboutdogfood.com will show grain-free foods if you filter on the search (and also shows the price per day - important, as some grain-free foods may seem expensive but as you feed less, they can be pretty economical going by the per day cost)

chimmo12

Thank you for your replies.

Yes I will get another vets opinion as my vet doesn't seem to be helping much.

I actually picked up the grain free version of her food by accident yesterday so I will try her on it and see if that helps too!

Thank you

septemberblues

amibovvered wrote: »

Try another vet? My dog was doing that a few years ago and it turned out to be demodex mites.

My dog too! Unfortunately she's at it again, I feel very expensive treatment coming up..........😬

debonair

Is the fur on your dogs paws white with pink skin? The lack of pigment can make the skin hyper sensitive to allergies to all sorts of things like grass and flea bites. My dog chews her paws when shes trimming her claws, my friends dog chews her paws when shes left in the house on her own so is stress related. Is there a pattern to your dogs behavior?

meritaten

a staffie allergy prone? are they nuts? staffies are very tough dogs! They aren't pampered little handbag dogs or lapdogs!.
I would get a second opinion.
I would be more inclined to think its either something you are feeding your lawn with (be aware that plant food is not always kind to pets) or that you are putting something like shake and vac(known to be an allergen to pets) on your carpet.

questionss

Staffies are extremely prone to atopic/allergic skin conditions - it is not just seen in lap dogs infact it is far more common in westies, bull terriers, labs and boxers. Food may be associated but more usually it is pollen or house dust mite allergy.
In mild cases that flare in the pollen season a presumptive diagnosis is often made along with advice to wipe paws after walks etc.

If you're prepared to spend money changing your garden etc I'd look into testing. Initial tests would be skin scrapes etc to check for mites as previous posters have mentioned. The next stage could be either blood tests or even better an intradermal skin test if your get offers it (a lot dont, tends to be vets with extra dermatology qualifications). The results can help avoidance and may allow a hyposensitisation program to be set up. The skin tests need a break from medication before testing so make sure your vet is aware you are considering that route. Also you can test and get results at any stage but if pollen allergies are suspected they are more reliable after a dog has had 2 pollen seasons if possible obviously if your insurance policy is not lifelong then it's better financially to test sooner. They may also recommend an avoidance diet for food if they suspect dietary allergens.

ktjackson

I have a Boston Terrier who is the same at the moment but its definitely seasonal. I have just got some Aqueos medicated shampoo (from Amazon) and this seems to be working well at easing his skin redness and itching. I definitely think my dogs problem is pollen ad grass allergies but its not nice for them.

chris_n_tj

Try Thornit powder on itchy feet, it works wonders when all else fails x
http://www.thornitearpowder.com/

caroline1973

My miniature poodle has allergies and we have found that using dermacton (shampoo bar, cream or spray) has helped him vastly. If he starts to itch I just spray some on to his coat and rub it in and it soothes his sore skin and stops the scratching. We have tried lots of other brands, including ones that the vet has prescribed and have found that nothing else works as good as this.

Hope you get it sorted.