puppy chewing leg & paw . . . - Paw Talk

Elvis Lee Mommy · #1 05-18-2006, 02:35 PM

My almost 7 month old neutered male Maltipoo puppy has recently taken to chewing on his right front leg & paw. He's chewed off a lot of the hair on that leg/paw. I have attached a pic.

I called the Vet last week. They said it is probably allergies & that I should give him 1/2 childrens benedryl every 12 hours which I have been doing. I spray a little bitter apple on it at night sometimes. He seems to chew it a lot during the night. If I see him chewing his leg during the day, I stop him.

Since the chewing is not stopping with the benedryl, I have an appointment to take Elvis Lee to the Vet on Saturday. In the meantime, has anyone had a problem like this with thier puppy or dog? What was the reason for the biting & what was the solution for stopping it?

in advance for any advice you can offer to help.

Denise · #2 05-18-2006, 08:08 PM

Hi there. Yes, I do have experience with allergies. Molly, one of my Pit Bulls has bad allergies. First off, what kind of food are you feeding your pup? We always look at the diet first and then go from there. If you do go to the vet's office, stay away from prescribed medications and definitely steroids! Steroids mess up the already fragile immune system of an animal that has allergies. I ordered a few things online that may help your pup and I can also give you more information on other remedies. Here are the things I ordered for Molly:

Corticalm Lotion
Skin & Itch Relief - Homeopet Nature's Natural Medicine
Pledglets ointment pads
*Zymox also has great products that are natural

Here are other things you can try: natural cortisone which your vet has to call a pet pharmacy, salmon has anti-inflammation properties, and www.onlynaturalpet.com has all homeopathic remedies.

**Scarlette** · #3 05-18-2006, 09:06 PM

I had a similar problem with Mirra. She wouldn't chew her leg but would lick her front feet until they were red. The new vet here said it was allergies but never mentioned Benadryl, ect. She said just to keep an eye on her and consider switching foods.

We closely watched Mirra and noticed that she did it more in the evening while we were just sitting around watching tv. She never did it while we were doing any other type of activity. Jeff's cousin's Lab (Tarra) has terrible allergies and she will stop in the middle of whatever she's doing to lick or scratch. Mirra was not acting that way.

So, we would tell her no or redirect her attention if she started doing it which sounds like what you are doing. We also did the bitter apple spray which worked very well! She very rarely licks her feet now and will quickly stop when the bitter apple spray bottle is brought out.

If he stops when you tell him no or spray the leg then I think it's more of a boredom thing. I think if it were really an allergy then he would continue doing it no matter what like the Lab, Tarra.

If he does it alot at night while you're sleeping you may want to try an e-collar or get a Kong and fill it with something that he can lick instead of his leg. Redirecting his attention to lick and chew something else may solve the problem. If not, then I would seriously consider changing his diet.

Denise · #4 05-18-2006, 10:12 PM

Rhonda, I am glad you mentioned boredom. Even though Molly does indeed have allergies, I catch her licking her paws moreso when she is bored. That is why I always have something for her to chew on when she is outside. I ran out of bully sticks and flossies and this week while she has been on the deck, I have caught her licking her paws. Needless to say, I just ordered a lot of Merrick Flossies and I am ordering a case of bully sticks!

ikklegem · #5 05-19-2006, 05:43 AM

Poppy chews her legs and feet and our vet said it was down to stress. We just try to distract her with a toy and she's not as bad as she used to be, the hair's all grown back now. Her vet did give her some herbal pills for stress but now she's off them.

Elvis Lee Mommy · #6 05-19-2006, 11:19 AM

Thanks....Elvis eats Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul & a variety of natural treats (no fillers, no byproducts, no preservatives) so I'm not sure if it's allergies due to food, pollen, or if he's just getting neurotic...I certainly hope not...lol...I'm with him 24/7 so he gets lots of attention. I'll let you guys know what happens at the vet tomorrow...

kfielder · #7 05-19-2006, 02:04 PM

If it is allergies, you might ask your vet about MSM. I had a dog that had terrible allergies all his life. He was on every type of medication and steroids, special baths, etc., but he would still chew himself bloody. When he got older, he started to get arthritis, so we put him on glucomamine tablets that happened to also have MSM and his allergies cleared up completely. I asked someone who worked at a health food store about it and they said MSM can help with skin problems.

Elvis Lee Mommy · #8 05-19-2006, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kfielder


	If it is allergies, you might ask your vet about MSM. ... I asked someone who worked at a health food store about it and they said MSM can help with skin problems.

Thanks, I'll ask about that.

VanillaRat · #9 05-20-2006, 06:14 PM

A few yrs ago we had a family dog, Nikki (R.I.P) who had really bad skin problems and dry skin and everything!She would literally chew her paws raw!They were red,bloody and so sore...we would try and distract her and it only worked sometimes.Mom would give her some sort of cream, sorry I forgot what it was and it seemed to work and relieve her of the soreness.

How is your boy doing??

Elvis Lee Mommy · #10 05-21-2006, 11:18 AM

good morning,

Thanks for the well wishes. We brought Elvis Lee to the Vet yesterday. He has been scrathing himself all over since we got him at 8.5 weeks old (just typical doggy scratching) but the leg chewing just started about 3 weeks ago. She said we can have blood work done to determine the allergy(ies) however that is very expensive so she suggested doing a food trial. The Vet said most dog allergies to food are to proteins although many dogs do have allergies to pollens, grasses etc. She also said while some allergies mainifest in humans nose & eyes, in dogs allergies manifest in their skin.

She checked his leg to make sure it was not injured in any way. She checked his skin & he has no sore spots or rashes. His skin & coat are in excellent condition.

EL was eating Eukenuba dry puppy formula as his main food. Two months ago we switched him to Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul dry food which has chicken beef turkey duck salmon. He sometimes has Canidae canned lamb chicken. Plus Hip Chips and Wellness biscuts with oatmeal apple peanuts. We chose these foods because they have no filler, no byproducts & no preservatives. We also give him carrots, peas, broccoli, green beans, cheese and an occastional scrambled egg.

So, we're going to start with a food trial. She put him on Eukenuba Vet Prescribed FP diet (dry & wet) which has potatoes, herring & mackrel. He can eat Only this for 10 weeks & we'll see if the leg chewing subsides. She said we can make baked treats out of the dry food ground up with water & I did make him little doggy cookies. Boy, did they stink up the oven !! LOL My baby is worth it. The Vet also gave him one of those funny cone head things & he Hates it!! We are treating his leg with bitter apple to discourage chewing & we stop him/distract him whenever we she him biting.

We thought EL may have an allergy to sand/salt. We bring him to the beach 2 or 3 times a week. We bathe him afterwards, or we brush him & clean him throughly with puppy wipes so the Vet does not think it is a sand/salt allergy.

Has anyone else ever had to go through a food trial with their pet?