WinGus Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Pepper's legs and paws have been very pink/red lately, and these past two days she has been licking her front paws a lot. Can someone give me a hint as to what this means? I can't get to the vet until Monday afternoon to get her checked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Pepper's legs and paws have been very pink/red lately, and these past two days she has been licking her front paws a lot. Can someone give me a hint as to what this means? I can't get to the vet until Monday afternoon to get her checked out. My guess would be allergies: irritated red skin and therefore licking: red tint to her fur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Agree with Laffi. Kyzer gets red legs and chews his paws sometimes but a wash with Aloveen usually sorts him out because his reaction is very mild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peigirl Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Same as others, its a contact allergy. Good medicated bath will help, such as Malaseb. Anywhere (parks etc) with dandelion weeds you have taken her too in the last few days? Dandelions are out in force at the moment, could be brushing on up her legs/on her paws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I noticed that my dog gets red/itchy paws after contact with salty water. If you go to the beach or have salt water pool your dog may get this reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 (edited) Same as others, its a contact allergy. Good medicated bath will help, such as Malaseb.Anywhere (parks etc) with dandelion weeds you have taken her too in the last few days? Dandelions are out in force at the moment, could be brushing on up her legs/on her paws. Malaseb is for Yeast, however yeast problems can appear as Allergy symptoms and are commonly confused Edited January 6, 2008 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I noticed that my dog gets red/itchy paws after contact with salty water. If you go to the beach or have salt water pool your dog may get this reaction. Funny you mention that, I just remembered Kyzer's legs were very red after he went to the beach the other day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted January 6, 2008 Author Share Posted January 6, 2008 Thanks for all the replies. I haven't looked specifically for dandelion weeds, but there could be. There isn't any in the park that I normally go to, but I'm wondering if there is something else because I got really itchy on my knees when I knelt in the grass. Amypie, I might try some Aloveen with Pepper and see how she goes with that. I did give her a bath today, but using her normal shampoo. I'll definitely be seeing the vet tomorrow and hopefully that it is just contact allergy and not a food allergy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pie Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 Aloveen works for Kyzer because the reactions aren't that bad, and the Aloveen soothes the skin. (shampoo and conditioner) Let us know how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Her Majesty Dogmad Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I'll bet it's Wandering Jew. A nightmare plant - pls visit your vet and look at a picture of it - one touch and it can cause all this irritation. I know, because my last foxy and my current one have this problem. I have a patch of garden that both dogs got into where there is a ground cover plant, the WJ grows on sprigs in between and is almost impossible to spot. I have now decided to block that area off (with difficulty) and try and use weed killer to kill off the ground cover as getting up into this area once a week is not sufficient. I have also noticed that people have it growing in their gardens and my little dog may have brushed against it on our walks. The Alloveen is great but hasn't stopped the itching and nor has anything else, I have had to resort to Cortisone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBella Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 (edited) My two are recovering from a contact allergy as well. They were exposed at a friends house so I'm not sure of the allergen. They had red, warm lumps on their belly, chest, faces and in their ears. They got a steroid (cortisone) shot from the vet as it was so bad and are nearly cleared up now. I found this site which has pictures of offending plants and treatment. Allergies Hope you get this sorted soon BP Edited January 7, 2008 by BellasPerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Dogmad, now that you mention it, I have seen wandering jew in our yard. We try to get rid of it, but it keeps coming back. There could be some left over which she rubbed up against. Thanks for the link Bellasperson. That was quite informative and I'll definitely look out for these in the garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrunoBella Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Some plants are very hard to kill . Check with a nursery for poisoning tips. I think 100% weed killer (can't remember name of stuff) mixed with soap is the best to kill really stubborn plants. I'm lucky cause the offending plant is in someone else's yard. BP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peigirl Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Same as others, its a contact allergy. Good medicated bath will help, such as Malaseb.Anywhere (parks etc) with dandelion weeds you have taken her too in the last few days? Dandelions are out in force at the moment, could be brushing on up her legs/on her paws. Malaseb is for Yeast, however yeast problems can appear as Allergy symptoms and are commonly confused To add, Dermatologists recommend Malaseb for contact allergies and varying substances that irritate the skin (even puppy acne), not just yeast issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 Hi Wingus I have a foster at the moment with generally poor skin and a 6 year old girl who constantly licks her paws and has that red allergic coloured fur between her paw pads. Have as much hope of finding the irritant in the backyard as flying to the moon. So have used Masaseb with some success - but have found the Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo and Food Supplement from Here absolutley fantastic - Dogarooma recommended it (Thanks tons DR) - and it doesn't have any nasties in it. And the woman who runs it is very helpful and will recommend a regime for you. So that might be worth considering too. Cheers, Westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 My two are recovering from a contact allergy as well. They were exposed at a friends house so I'm not sure of the allergen. They had red, warm lumps on their belly, chest, faces and in their ears. They got a steroid (cortisone) shot from the vet as it was so bad and are nearly cleared up now.I found this site which has pictures of offending plants and treatment. Allergies Hope you get this sorted soon BP What a great site. My staffy x has summer allergies and she has been great this summer except for the past few days. After looking at that I realised that we have been putting the sprinkler on the lawn and she has been laying on it while its still damp. We will try and keep her away and see how she goes. I always knew it was some type of grass allergy but the pieces are now all fitting together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted January 7, 2008 Author Share Posted January 7, 2008 Well, have been to the vet and the verdict was that yes, Pepper has contact allergies, but could also be seasonal. Hard to say. Like Westiemum said, finding the cause is an almost impossible task. Could be the grass, could be weeds in the area, could be airborne pollen, could be dust mites etc. etc. !!!!! Good grief! Is there anyway to allergy test a dog like you can with humans? The vet did recommend I bathe Pepper more often, say twice a month compared to once a month as I'm doing now. He suggested Aloveen, but I might try Malaseb too as I have some left over from when I used it on my guinea pigs. My vet also did recommend trying fish oil and evening primrose oil, so I'll give that a go as well. Thanks everyone for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doggrooma Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 You could also try Claratine, Zyrtec tablets, Polaramine etc... They are very responsive on dogs as well as us two legged variety. They are safe and will work fairly quicky. You just need to work out the right dose for your dog. Another thing you could do is dip the feet in Metho and let dry. It dries out the moist skin that is no doubt harbouring yeast and other yuk bacterior. I know it sounds scary but its ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Actually anti hystimines aren't as responsive to dogs as they are to humans, not sure why but unfortunately that is the case. Instead of Metho....not a great thing to put on a dog, you may want to try a Malaseb bath for yeast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinGus Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 My vet did recommend antihistamines, but as a last resort. I like this vet as he recommends meds when everything else natural has been tried. I'm not sure of bathing in Metho either as I'm sure that would dry out the hairs too much?!? I will definitely try the Malaseb and/or the EPO shampoo that Westiemum recommended. Seemed to have a good effect on her dog. Her redness has actually lessened over the past few days, but that could be because I've tried to keep her on the footpath during our walks. I've also cleaned the house, which could have had an effect!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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