HELP! - Drawing my last straw.

stacy · 01-16-2010, 12:18 AM

Our poor pup has gone through alot and still we have the same result. Bad habit, allergies, nutrition ... what could it be???

February 2009 it all started. He was licking his paws to the point where he had bacteria in them and had to be on antibiotics for it. Or we would come home to a dog with raw paws and a couple of times blood on the floor from scratching his muzzle area so much. Side note that in February I also had a baby shower so we were bringing in lots of new items into the house.

To make a long story shorter.

He has been on antibiotics to clear up infections caused from too much licking of the paws.
He has had a switch in food a couple of times. He was on a Lamb & Rice and now he is on "Taste of the Wild - Wild Alaskan Salmon"
Tried Prozac thinking it may be anxiety.
Tried a natural relax-easy herb medicine from the local nutrional advice pet store.
Currently he gets bee pollen spread over his food.

All of the above worked or seemed to improve on a short term but long term he goes back to the same bad habits. Licking, itching and etc.

Anyone have any advice? I need your help because our dog is almost always wearing the cone to prevent him from being naughty.

Spyglass Sally · 01-16-2010, 10:04 AM

Sorry for all the problems you're having and also for your poor pup. Sounds like he's been through a very bad year. You've tried a lot of things but I'm wondering if you have tried a raw diet? It sounds like classic allergy type symptoms, which makes me look toward building the immune system with a raw diet and probiotics (to help build back the beneficial bacteria the antibiotics killed).

There's a thread along this line, that started about whipworm, here which maybe helpful. It also talks about allergies and various approaches.

Feeding raw sounds intimidating - at least it did to me - but AussieGirl put together a really good primer on it here.

Building back up his immune system and trying to remove his exposure to toxins and help him to eliminate what is in his system is where I would start. Also, if there's a new baby in the house, his routine & world (exercise, 1:1 time?) might be disturbed and cause stress levels to increase.

Those are my thoughts - I'm sure others will have some to add. Welcome to the forum, btw. We'd love to see some pics of your pup!

daisy'smom · 01-16-2010, 10:51 AM

I am just now starting to deal with some allergies with Georgie. She has very itchy ears. A couple of things I have read on other forums to help with the itchy paws are selsian blue shampoo (not the generic brand). Also wipe the itchy areas with listerine mouthwash. Bag balm is also very soothing to those raw itchy areas. I agree with Sally on building his immune system but maybe these other things will help in the meantime. Good luck.

KeeperBoy · 01-16-2010, 11:47 AM

How about some diluted ACV on skin sores and a tablespoon in the food?

Dragon · 01-20-2010, 06:00 PM

Welcome to the Forum. As I'm sure you know our boxers are pretty smart so I would assume your pup has realized that licking his feet it rewarded with a cone. Sounds like allergies of some sort. How long do you leave him in the kennel? is this a one hour thing or while your at work? Make sure you add some entertainment for him like a toy or kong to keep his mind off of the paws too! Good Luck

bruinsBoxers · 01-21-2010, 08:02 AM

They do make a spray ( bitter apple and others ) that tastes bad - and I have tasted it -it is really bad . You can spray it on his feet and hopefully it will deter him from licking. You should not use the spray if there are open sores on the feet though as it will sting .

I used this with one of mine who liked to chew the leash . I would spray the leash each day - she learned quickly that the leash was not so fun anymore .

Doreen · 01-21-2010, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruinsBoxers

They do make a spray ( bitter apple and others ) that tastes bad - and I have tasted it -it is really bad . You can spray it on his feet and hopefully it will deter him from licking. You should not use the spray if there are open sores on the feet though as it will sting .

I used this with one of mine who liked to chew the leash . I would spray the leash each day - she learned quickly that the leash was not so fun anymore .

I use the bitter apple spray on my furniture. Rex and Coco were chewing on the wooden handles on the recliners. They stopped, so it works.

KeeperBoy · 01-21-2010, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bruinsBoxers

They do make a spray ( bitter apple and others ) that tastes bad - and I have tasted it -it is really bad . You can spray it on his feet and hopefully it will deter him from licking. You should not use the spray if there are open sores on the feet though as it will sting .

I used this with one of mine who liked to chew the leash . I would spray the leash each day - she learned quickly that the leash was not so fun anymore .

Little Boo, the shark terror puppy liked the taste of bitter apple. So I mixed hot sauce with a bit of water and put that on the furniture she was chewing.

Spyglass Sally · 01-21-2010, 09:09 AM

Stacy, any update for us on how things are going?

stacy · 01-21-2010, 03:11 PM

I appreciate everyone's input. Reno is doing okay we are going to attempt switching his diet again to more of a raw diet. I have been busy reading everyone's posts to see where to start and what our options are as it is all new to me. To things that bug me about the 'raw' portion of the diet though and makes me hesitant is the 'raw' part itself. I am so squirmish when it comes to raw meat and would rather cook it a bit, plus I was reading the positives and negatives and it seems some people quick it to assure bacteria and etc are out of it, however I read that the dogs should be able to handle the raw meat. Regardsless though I don't think I would switch totally to a raw diet and would most likely mix with kibble (Taste of the Wild, Wild Alaskan Salmon) because that has seemed to help at least with the itchiness and improved his coat?

The licking part I think has just gotten to the point of a behavioral issue. Maybe we are rewarding him by puting on the cone alothough I know he doesn't care for it much. I hoenstly feel like it is a punishment and he views that when he has the cone on he has been bad. And I hate those sad eyes he gives me. ; (

We have tried bitter spray and that did not work at all!

The baby may have had an affect on this beahvior as well. As for exercise he actually got on more walks with me being home on leave. Except for now in the cold Wisconsin weather. And the baby is not playing with him so as for attention I don't think that has changed?

We have also tried ...

Medicated spray from the vet
Allergy testing (nothing came back high)
Omega squirt over the lamb and rice kibble
Anxiety meds
Prenidsone and other Anti-bacteria medicine for when he has infections. The Prenidsone does seem to work however the long term affects of being on that and than on top of it the amount of times he needs to pee is not fun for him or us.

We have tried soooo many options - too many to list. We just want our boy to get better!

Right now we are actually also trying the shock collar, which I was totally against. He has only been doing that for 2 days. He has it on for a short period of time and so far it seems to be working and correcting the licking behavior. Although I still think it goes deeper and would like to try the raw diet.

Another thing I was thinking that may of played a factor in the start of this behavior, alelrgy or chemical imbalance is possible the fact that around that same time frame Feb 2009. Reno got neutered - he is 5 years old. We weren't intending on neutering him and ending up having to because he got a reoccuring prostate infection. So maybe it was the neutering? Maybe it was the drugs that wiped his system? I don't know.

Still lost and just want our old pup back. However I am determined to find a solution so he is happy once again.

Sorry this is sooo long!