Licking Paws/Legs and Belly Scabs
First I'd like to say that this site is great! I've been coming here for over a year and always found answers to my Sheepdog questions. However, I am stumped on these two... -Wilson is 8 months old and licks his paws and the back of his front legs all the time. The vet says he is too young to have allergies but put him on benadryl for a while. It didn't work. Another substitute vet put him on Doxepin for 10 days. It seemed better but he licked the back of his front legs (above his heel) almost raw. Any ideas on what I can try to help the little guy? -My second issue is that I have found these little scabs on Wilson's chest and belly. They are small, no bigger than a quarter, but are very weird looking. His skin is kind of red and the scabs don't seem to be from blood or scratching. The vet put Wilson on the waiting list for the doggie dermatologist that comes to the office but he won't be back until September. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I have pictures of the legs and scabs that just need to be approved. Sorry the post is so long and thanks in advance for your help. You guys are the best! -Ashley & Wilson |
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| Hi ashley, no he is not too young to have allergies. They could be a seasonal thing, something in the enviroment or food related. Darn hard to work out what causes them. Has he been suffering from this condition all the time or just on and off?
Make sure his flea and tick treatment is up to date with frontline or something like that, also an all wormer too. What are you feeding Mr. Wilson, nothing with wheat or corn in the dry food? Sometimes just changing to a non allergenic dry helps the symtoms to subside. Check what you are feeding him and the ingredients listed on the food. He certainly sounds like he is suffering from some type of allergy, wether it be enviromental or food related. The scabs sound like he has been at that area too. Hope you can find a solution, I would also give him an all over wash in an oatmeal based shampoo to help there, treat the sore areas with Aloe Vera gel and try a change of food and see what happens and if it settles down. Wishing you a good result there, keep us posted. |
| Thanks lisaoes. Wilson has always licked his legs since I got him at 9 wks old. The scabs are more recent, just the last month I noticed them. He is up to date with Frontline Plus and heartworm pills as well as all of his other shots.
He has always been on Purina Puppy Chow- large breed formula. I wanted to switch foods soon though because he’s been getting quite gassy lately. Is there a food that you would recommend? Below are the ingredients in the Puppy Chow: Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), pearled barley, dried beet pulp, animal digest, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, DL-Methionine, manganese sulfate, manganese proteinate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite. He is also at the groomer today and I requested an oatmeal shampoo. Thanks again!! |
| I think it looks like a staph infection.... my boy Tucker was dealing with the exact same thing, but it got much worse.
With most dogs a course or two of antibiotics clears it up, but with some (and unfortunately with Tucker) it takes much longer. There is usually an underlying cause for a staph break out, in Tucker's case it was an injury on his nose when he ran into a tree, but it can commonly be caused by allergies, parasites, scratches on the skin from a slicker brush etc..... If your dog does have staph, your vet will need to find the underlying cause. |
What a cute puppy!! 
I am sorry you are having these troubles. Chummie has loose peeling yellowy scabs last summer -- turned out she had ringworm (not a worm but a fungus.) You definitely want your vet to take a swab and have it tested. |
| You've got corn as the first ingredient there as well as corn gluten as the 3rd ingredient, so quite a lot of that in the dry. The way ingredients are listed in the order they start, the higher amount of that particular ingredient is in the dry. Soybean meal is also listed higer up there too, that can cause gas.
Yes I personally would be looking at a gradual change over to another dry. I use Eagle Pack Holisitic and also Dick Van Pattens Organic formula, non of these have corn or wheat in them. I am sure there is other brands too that people could recommend and you can try. Just remember when you have decided on one, make the transition over to the new one slowly with mixing about 1/4 new to 3/4 old one, then after a few days and no problems 1/2 & 1/2 then 3/4 1/4 so by about 1 week they are completely over to the new dry. Transitioning too rapidly and you can cause a dietry upset in the poopie department. I would also have a skin scrapping done too, to make sure it is not an infection there that might need anti-biotics to help clear it, I agree with stacy it does look on the Staphy side there. Since he has been constantly licking his legs since you got him, I would also say the dry food he is on is not helping, so time for a change 
Best wishes and keep us up to date with Mr. Wilson.  |
| Sorry you're having to deal with this. I've had to deal with allergies problems as well. One thing I find helpful is getting the opinions of different vets. I think i've gone to everyone in my town to find the best. |
Looks like staph to me too. Our first sheepie, Quincy, had a persistent staph infection in his behind. For him, the vet surmised it was allergies, as well as the slicker brush. It took weeks and weeks of antibiotics to get it under control, and, while we were doing allergy shots and Benadryl, Quincy was on a pulse therapy does of Cephalexin for the rest of his life for the persistent staph. 
Has your vet done any scrapings of this? If not, you might want to request that first, before you see the doggie dermatologist. A food change might help the underlying cause (allergy, sensitivity), but, if it's staph, you'll still need to treat the infection first. Good luck and keep us posted! Laurie |
| Thanks everyone! I will have my vet do a scraping to see what it is. I don't want to wait for the dermatologist in case that is too late. Hopefully it can be treated and cleared easily.
I will also look around for a corn and wheat free food. Thanks for the suggestions above. My groomer questioned his paws today and suggested a food allergy. She recommended EVO so I'll look into that brand as well. I leave for a family vacation early Tuesday am. Do you think the vet visit can wait until next week? I'd hate to put this on the dogsitters (neighbors) but don't want to wait any longer either. What do you think? Thanks again for all of your help -Ashley & Wilson |
| Zak has terrible allergy problems every summer, which last year resulted in scabs covering his entire body. I put him on atopica and it cleared right up.
Interesting about the staff infection posts. I am interested in hearing the results of the tests you are doing. |
| You might want to try Canidae. They have an all life stages dry food with no corn, wheat or soy...also no Vitamin K supplement. I feed that now with a little water mixed in. |
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