Husky Has Dry, Cracked Paws.

[k9angel]

Just a question regarding one of my huskies, Zeuss.

For the past few weeks his paw pads have been drying out really badly.

It started after I lost Jay Jay. Him and Jay were very close when she was here and it hit him really hard when she passed, as it did with all of us.

I took him to the vet and the vet seemed to think he was zinc deficient. So he told me to give him 1 centrum a day and rub eucerin cream into his feet daily which I have been doing. (I also double checked with a 2nd vet to confirm it was ok to give him centrum).

In the past week or so I have also noticed he has developed red, scaly skin patches under both his front legs (in the pits) and on the inner creases of his rear legs, that appear to have brown crusty skin peeling off. His paws aren't just dry, they are getting hard and flat and appear to have the same sores between his toes. The paw pads themselves are very feathery/flaky in appearance too. see pic. He also has a little sore either side of his nose now.

I am taking him back to the vet tommorow as I fear it could be more than just zinc deficiency. I could be wrong but I prefer to be safe than sorry, for his sake and ours.

Also, at around the time Jay Jay died I put a new collar on Zeuss. It had an orange rubber strip on it. I am wondering whether he could of been allergic to that? I have since taken it off.

His feet are really sore and he isn't running around & playing as much as he used to, which is understable considering his feet are so cracked. He was also having difficulty eating bones so I had to change his diet to VIP rolls and chicken necks for the time being, so he can eat. (He can't use his feet to grip the bones to eat them properly).

Has anyone else experienced anything like this before? and if so, what did it turn out to be?

Many thanks.

His paws. As you can see they are very dry, to the point of cracking.

All 4 are like this.

Those dark spots are the brown crusty sores I am referring to.

You can see the brown crusty skin peeling off. It is painful to touch too. I tried cleaning it all off again today but he wasn't too keen on me prodding at it.

On the crease of his rear leg.

I managed to clean this one up somewhat. When the brown scales come off, it is red raw beneath.

Edited July 31, 2011 by k9angel

[teekay]

Ouch, that looks very sore. Poor Zuess.

I'm sorry I have no advice, I hope someone more knowledgeable will be along soon.

[sandgrubber]

Ouch!

You might try a product called Musher's Secret. It's a paw wax. I don't know if it's sold in Australia. It works pretty well on cracked human feet as well.

http://www.jefferspe...cret/p/0027941/

Alternatively, you can put booties on.

Or both.

My pup had cracked pads. I think she got them from exuberant digging in dry, extremely hard dirt. The cream seemed do work, but I think it also helped that she learned that digging hurt and cut back on her dry dirt projects.

Edited July 31, 2011 by sandgrubber

[k9angel]

Ouch!

You might try a product called Musher's Secret. It's a paw wax. I don't know if it's sold in Australia. It works pretty well on cracked human feet as well.

http://www.jefferspe...cret/p/0027941/

Alternatively, you can put booties on.

Or both.

My pup had cracked pads. I think she got them from exuberant digging in dry, extremely hard dirt. The cream seemed do work, but I think it also helped that she learned that digging hurt and cut back on her dry dirt projects.

Thanks Sandgrubber. I will give the boots a try. I still have some here from when Yellowgirl kindly sent some for Whitey. It's a just a matter of whether he will keep them on.

I have also just ordered some Mushers secret from an ebay seller (Hilenka) in the US. The store is called Happy dog place and they have plenty of good feedback. They've sold 178 jars of the mushers secret so it must be good stuff.

I'll still be taking him to the vet tommorow, just incase something else is going on in there but I will definately give this cream a go too.

[Christina]

Don't know what it is but one of my cats recently got something similar on her paws, dry, cracked looking skin then peeling. Puzzled at first then got it. I changed her litter from soft sawdust to clay as she was confined to my bedroom to have her kittens & I didn't want the sawdust tracking in there.

One of my sons also got this & we discovered it was when I mopped my floors with a certain disinfectant & he walked on them barefoot so

Could be wrong but maybe start looking at what he is walking & lying on ?

Any changes ? used any new garden/cleaning products ? new bedding ?

Also possible to develop an allergy to things that were ok before, like grass, just happens

sometimes no one knows why. Skin problems are a pain to solve.

Skin problems & allergy may also develop when the immune system is low, which often occurs after or during unusual stress. Losing his mate may well have triggered it.

Edited July 31, 2011 by Christina

[Erny]

Thyroid? Perhaps send the pictures to Dr Jean Dodds and ask her opinion. In the interim, perhaps try bathing the paw and the skin lesions with Calendula Tea brew on an initially frequent basis and then, as they improve, easing back.

Running blood tests wouldn't go astray either, but as for thyroid, if you're going to get that done, I'd not waste time or money by running them here .... I'd run those through Dr Jean.

[k9angel]

Thyroid? Perhaps send the pictures to Dr Jean Dodds and ask her opinion. In the interim, perhaps try bathing the paw and the skin lesions with Calendula Tea brew on an initially frequent basis and then, as they improve, easing back.

Running blood tests wouldn't go astray either, but as for thyroid, if you're going to get that done, I'd not waste time or money by running them here .... I'd run those through Dr Jean.

Ta Erny. I have sent an email through. This was my worry. That it was the thyroid and not zinc defic. I have been doing some googling and this link I found interesting. Is it true? that you're better off treating it naturally as opposed to convential treatment? If so, any suggestions on what I should use? I note kelp has been mentioned a fair bit. Is there a natural remedy here in Aust. I can purchase?

http://www.holisticpetinfo.com/conditions/hypothyroid.htm

ETA I have just bought a bottle of this stuff to try. (Thyro-pet by Petalive.com)

I was also just reading this link and one symptom in particular caught my attention. The intolerance to cold. I have noticed him shivering on a few occassions. I did speak with the vet about it and he said "Well it is cold isn't it? maybe he is feeling it too?" I knew straight up that that wasn't right and thought maybe it was because of the pain his feet are causing him. He is a husky and usually handles the cooler weather fine.

I am now convinced it is his thyroid.

Edited August 1, 2011 by k9angel

[persephone]

K9angel It may be unwise to treat Zeuss unless you know exactly what the problem is ..... get his blood done- and then you will know exactly what his levels are. feeding him something now may well muck up any blood tests he has to have in the near future...and may not help.

having read that site ... they seem confused as well ;)

known for its ability to control an overactive thyroid gland. Kelp is also a primary source of iodine. Whenever you use kelp as part of a natural remedy for treating your pet's hypothyroid problem,

two VERY different conditions mentioned in this paragraph It does not make me confident :0

[k9angel]

K9angel It may be unwise to treat Zeuss unless you know exactly what the problem is ..... get his blood done- and then you will know exactly what his levels are. feeding him something now may well muck up any blood tests he has to have in the near future...and may not help.

having read that site ... they seem confused as well ;)

known for its ability to control an overactive thyroid gland. Kelp is also a primary source of iodine. Whenever you use kelp as part of a natural remedy for treating your pet's hypothyroid problem,

two VERY different conditions mentioned in this paragraph It does not make me confident :0

We have an appointment with the vet tommorow afternoon Pers. It would of been today had I not buggered my shoulder sleeping the wrong way last night. I woke up with it sore as buggery this morning, and it's still very tender. I was still going to take him when OH got in to look after the kids but by then the vet wasn't answering his phone, which is odd because he is usually there until 7pm. Some days he does knock off early though, either that or he may of been in an emergency surgery? so I got on the phone to my other vet, (who was Gypsy's vet) and made the appointment for tommorow afternoon.

I will update once he has been.

[persephone]

I'm glad Zeuss is seeing the vet ..hope your shoulder recovers ,and you sleep well.

[k9angel]

Don't know what it is but one of my cats recently got something similar on her paws, dry, cracked looking skin then peeling. Puzzled at first then got it. I changed her litter from soft sawdust to clay as she was confined to my bedroom to have her kittens & I didn't want the sawdust tracking in there.

One of my sons also got this & we discovered it was when I mopped my floors with a certain disinfectant & he walked on them barefoot so

Could be wrong but maybe start looking at what he is walking & lying on ?

Any changes ? used any new garden/cleaning products ? new bedding ?

Also possible to develop an allergy to things that were ok before, like grass, just happens

sometimes no one knows why. Skin problems are a pain to solve.

Skin problems & allergy may also develop when the immune system is low, which often occurs after or during unusual stress. Losing his mate may well have triggered it.

The only change was that collar he had on.

[k9angel]

I'm glad Zeuss is seeing the vet ..hope your shoulder recovers ,and you sleep well.

I won't rest until he is seen Pers. The more I think about it, the more I worry myself.

With my luck of late... I will not risk his health or my heart being broken all over again. I couldn't take it.

And thanks for the well wishes for the shoulder.

[Erny]

Ta Erny. I have sent an email through. This was my worry. That it was the thyroid and not zinc defic. I have been doing some googling and this link I found interesting. Is it true? that you're better off treating it naturally as opposed to convential treatment? If so, any suggestions on what I should use? I note kelp has been mentioned a fair bit. Is there a natural remedy here in Aust. I can purchase?

I have heard similar, K9Angel, but haven't built sufficient confidence to go that way - mainly due to not knowing or understanding the quantities and what exactly is required to establish a correct level. I will never rule 'natural' out .... I prefer to go that way as many would probably have gathered, if I have reason to believe with confidence that it is better.

Dr Jean Dodds is certainly not against natural remedies. Blueberries, Tumeric, Oregano ... all these things have been mentioned to me as things I can try to aid my dog's digestive woes. But for thryoid she prescribes the formal medication and I can't see her doing that if it wasn't what she too was the more confident in. With thyroid, you need to dose accurately to attain the correct thyroid (which is a hormone) level so I tend to err towards the formal medication for that.

That's me though. Where my confidence lays. I reserve the right to change my mind one day and it might be that I just haven't done enough research on it.

Please keep in touch here to let us know the results of your findings but I do highly recommend that the thyroid tests be done via Dr Jean Dodds and not here in Australia.

ETA: Whilst it would be lovely to find out that your dog's problem was something as basic as (eg) contact with a rare weed that you were able to eradicate, thyroid (if proven to be the issue) is at least easily, fairly cheaply and generally successfully medicated, so I'd not lose too much sleep sweating that "thyroid" might be the cause.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Erny

[k9angel]

Ta Guys.

I got a reply from Dr Jean Dodds. It reads.

Dear Rachel : Hello ! These photos are very helpful. The crusty red skin lesions are rather typical of hypothyroidism and/or superficial pyoderma from inhalant allergy (atopy) , food hypersensitivity or bacterial skin hypersensitivity to the normal Staphylococcus pseudointermedius on the skin of dogs.

What do you feed him ? It should not contain grains such as wheat, corn or corn starch or soy. Most vet prescription diets would not be suitable.

Have you had a complete thyroid antibody profile measured ? [They do not typically offer this test in Australia]. We regularly receive serum samples for this testing from all over the world. See the link to our OnLIne Test Request Form and Instructions below , or use the attached . You’ll need to order Hemopet ‘s Thyroid Profile 5. for USD $75.

Lastly for the dry and cracked feet, you can gently sand down the dry thickened areas with fine sand paper and then put vitamin E oil or cream on them. I’d cover the oiled/creamed paws with a light sock when you’re with him, to let the lubrication sink in before he wants to lick it off. Best regards, Jean

I am getting ready to take him to the vet for our appnt. I will update when were back.

[persephone]

That's a great reply Hope your vet concurs .

[OSoSwift]

Hope you get some ideas after he has been to the vet. If Zinc supplemetation is not working and he is feeling the cold, then I would definately go the full blood profile and the thyroid panel.

When your thyroid is a little low you do really feel the cold

[k9angel]

Well we went off to the vet ok but are still none the wiser.

The vet said he has never seen anything like it, well his feet his hasn't. He even got the old text books out.

He is going to go home tonight and do some more reading through his books and let me know tommorow if he has come up with anything. He is also going to discuss it with his daughter, who is also a vet.

If he doesnt find an answer, he is going to take a skin sample from Zuey's paw and send it off for analysis.

He said it could very well be zinc deficiency, but he hasn't seen feet like Zuess's before, which has him puzzled.

Edited August 2, 2011 by k9angel

[Erny]

If it were me, I'd still go the route to at least ruling out thyroid as being the culprit. Mainly because this is often the easiest to treat and often the most successfully. That aside, have you or your Vet considered nasodigital hyperkeratosis?

Edited August 3, 2011 by Erny