Sore Paws...

[Debi]

This time of year it seems Addie is prone to have an irritation between her 'toes' on just her two front paws. You don't notice it immediately..only if her paw spreads out a little, then it looks red. What I start to notice is her licking...not as if it is painful, more as if it itches. It's never on her back paws. IF she lets me, Neosporin works wonders. Also, I gave her a little benedryl and she totally left them alone....but I'm not going to do that all the time. The problem (besides the obvious harm to her) is that I have them trained to stop and let me wipe the mud off their paws before coming in. She wants no part of that when this irritation is present. I try to be very gentle...because I also think being wet may be an irritant. Someone told me their vet gave them antibiotics for a similar condition. Is anyone familiar with this? If so....is there something I can do that doesn't require oral antibiotics? I believe in oral antibiotics as a last resort for myself...so that's why I also tend to believe that for my pets. When this happened last winter I thought it looked like what a person might get in the way of chapped skin. She is never around road salt (we should be so lucky to ever get our roads cleared..lol) THANKS! She is now 3 yrs. old and didn't have this problem the first year it turned colder.

 

[Renee750il]

Good for you - avoiding antibiotics! The irritation could be caused by some sort of yeast or fungus, which would be made worse by antibiotics. I'm going to guess, though, that it's some sort of chapping. Try keeping some Bag Balm on her feet when she goes out; dry her feet well and work it in between her toes and see what happens. I'd go ahead and start it now, before she gets the irritation, or, if she's already started, before it gets too bad. Keep an eye on it. If it gets worse, clean it with a mild antibacterial soap and try using Tea Tree Oil diluted in unscented Neutrogena body oil (try 20 drops in 1/4 cup of oil) . The Tea Tree oil is a wonderful antifungal AND antibacterial agent.

 

[avenlee]

Renee, I think you've answered this before in another thread, but where do you find Tea Tree Oil? My cocker spaniel has skin irritation on her back and thought maybe this might help.

thanks!

 

[Renee750il]

You can usually find it at any health food/natural store, and sometimes you can even get it at a pharmacy or even that bloated behemoth, Wal-Mart. The health food store is your best bet, though.

I keep a bottle of generic Tea Tree Oil Shampoo from Sally Beauty supply too. It's good for skin irritations, and I've finally convinced Charley to try it. He's convinced he has dandruff (he doesn't - it's just the hard lime well water we have ). In the summertime I keep the shower stocked with French-milled soap with Tea Tree oil (guess who won't use liquid soap? ) and it kills prickly heat.