I have a 2 year old labrador . He has a bad habbit of chewing his back two paws, untill they get very sore and he has removed the fur from in between them. We have been back and fourth to the vets for nearly a year now. Just wondered if any one has had a similar problem?
So far we have changed his diet ,he is now on james wellbeloved food ,and has there treats too!! I have been giving him apples and carrots and the old rawhide bone, as he loves to chew!
The only thing from the vets that works is steroids ,but the vets don't want him on these long term , soon as he has finish the course of steroids ,he is back chewing!.
The vets have now suggested to do a blood test to find out the cause . We is going to be quite expensive. Altough we don't mind spending the money on him . just wondered if we could try anything else first?
MY DOG KEEPS CHEWING HIS BACK TWO PAWS
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
The thing is here, the steroids dont 'work' as such.
The steroids stop the symptoms, they dont stop the cause of the symptoms. Which is why when you stop the steroids, you get the problem back.
Without taking him off teh steriods adn leaving him off them you are highly unlikely to get to the bottom of the problem as if you mask the symptoms you cant tell what is or isnt causing the problem.
My advice would be this.
Get him OFF the steroids. Get him OFF the cereal based foods. Dogs are not designed to eat a predominantly cereal based diet and although the processing it goes through to become dog food makes it slightly more useful for them (in that they can actually digest some of it, not all!), it doesnt make up for the fact htat it is an alien diet for them. Cereals are a prime suspect for skin problems and allergies.
Ask your vet for help in putting him on a diet containing very very few ingredients, and ingredients he has NEVER eaten before.
If you do this you are less likely (not guaranteed mind you) to be feeding him soemthing he is allergic to.
This diet could be something like, venison and potato... or chickena nd rice (but most dogs have now been fed chicken and rice so thats an unlikely one)....
Personally, if this were my dog, i would put him on a raw diet of say turkey wings and probably a blend of spinach and apple puree. I feed all my dogs raw food though and this may not suit you.
However that diet, would be sufficiently nutritious and 'new' to him to sustain him for several weeks and reduce the risk of him being allergic to any of the three components.
After say six weeks on a diet like taht, see how his feet are.
Hopefully, they should be better. If they arent, its less likely that its food causing the problem. If they ARE better, then slowly over aperiod of weeks, re introduce various foods, watching carefully for signs of the problem reapearing.
Whilst he is off steroids id go for the blood test anyway, he may be allergic to environmental things, could be anything from fabric freshener, washing powder, your local water, pollen.... the list is almost endless.
This is highly unlikely to be a problem you solve quickly im afraid, and of the people i know who have very allergic dogs, the only improvements they have seen have been wtih the aid of a homeopathic vet, for which i think you need a referral from your own vet.
Hth
Em
The steroids stop the symptoms, they dont stop the cause of the symptoms. Which is why when you stop the steroids, you get the problem back.
Without taking him off teh steriods adn leaving him off them you are highly unlikely to get to the bottom of the problem as if you mask the symptoms you cant tell what is or isnt causing the problem.
My advice would be this.
Get him OFF the steroids. Get him OFF the cereal based foods. Dogs are not designed to eat a predominantly cereal based diet and although the processing it goes through to become dog food makes it slightly more useful for them (in that they can actually digest some of it, not all!), it doesnt make up for the fact htat it is an alien diet for them. Cereals are a prime suspect for skin problems and allergies.
Ask your vet for help in putting him on a diet containing very very few ingredients, and ingredients he has NEVER eaten before.
If you do this you are less likely (not guaranteed mind you) to be feeding him soemthing he is allergic to.
This diet could be something like, venison and potato... or chickena nd rice (but most dogs have now been fed chicken and rice so thats an unlikely one)....
Personally, if this were my dog, i would put him on a raw diet of say turkey wings and probably a blend of spinach and apple puree. I feed all my dogs raw food though and this may not suit you.
However that diet, would be sufficiently nutritious and 'new' to him to sustain him for several weeks and reduce the risk of him being allergic to any of the three components.
After say six weeks on a diet like taht, see how his feet are.
Hopefully, they should be better. If they arent, its less likely that its food causing the problem. If they ARE better, then slowly over aperiod of weeks, re introduce various foods, watching carefully for signs of the problem reapearing.
Whilst he is off steroids id go for the blood test anyway, he may be allergic to environmental things, could be anything from fabric freshener, washing powder, your local water, pollen.... the list is almost endless.
This is highly unlikely to be a problem you solve quickly im afraid, and of the people i know who have very allergic dogs, the only improvements they have seen have been wtih the aid of a homeopathic vet, for which i think you need a referral from your own vet.
Hth
Em
-
b8ckyl88dham
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:26 pm
THANK YOU
Thank you for your advice . I will try him on a new diet , i will also get the blood tests booked. I would like to get to the bottom of this ! Fingers crossed we find the cause.
Lab chewing feet
my old lab x used to chew his tail and feet, and I've had a horse with chronic sweet itch, so I understand what your going through! 
We changed his feed to pascoes wheat free and it helped immensly with the itching, there is also a wonderful range of products by a company called Camrosa that sorted out the sore skin that he'd been licking and chewing until it wept. I've had both dog and horse on steroids, and to be honest, they were a waste of money. All steroids do is reduce inflammation, which is fine in the short term, but they have side-effects and are best left well alone unless absolutely necessary. I hope you have some success treating your dog, an itchy pet can be a nightmare! 
We changed his feed to pascoes wheat free and it helped immensly with the itching, there is also a wonderful range of products by a company called Camrosa that sorted out the sore skin that he'd been licking and chewing until it wept. I've had both dog and horse on steroids, and to be honest, they were a waste of money. All steroids do is reduce inflammation, which is fine in the short term, but they have side-effects and are best left well alone unless absolutely necessary. I hope you have some success treating your dog, an itchy pet can be a nightmare! Every dog should be able to be a dog
