JRT - Itchy Feet :(

Queenbee

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Hi all,

wondering if anyone could give some advice/ideas on this.

Our JRT (11yrs) has always been fine - about 18 months ago she started getting really itchy ears - she had special drops which alleviated the itch somewhat but never cured it. She then went onto itching her feet - so much she has completely forgotten her ears! She has had skin scrapes & blood tests numerous times and these show nothing nasty. However her feet are a constant worry to her and she is forever chewing at them to the point where she has no fur, a build up of scaly healing skin and if allowed to - will chew them till they bleed. She was on steroids for a while, which helped but not completely, we tried sulphur in the water, this did nothing, she has had a course of antibiotics just incase, injections and topical washes for flea/mites - just incase. Nothing seems to have worked at all.

It has got to a bit of a vicious circle as they must itch like crazy just from healing, let alone anything else. She is now stuck with the cone of shame to try and give her poor feet some respite.

Has anyone got an bright ideas that we could try?
 

MotherOfChickens

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I am not sure how likely dogs are to develop allergies later on in life, but my last dog came to me with itchy feet (quite a long history of them, she was only 5) and it turned out to be a chicken allergy-once on RAW (because chicken products tend to be in a lot of food and not necessarily labelled as chicken products) they cleared up.

something to relieve the symptoms-put sudocreme on immediately prior to a walk-its absorbed quickly-and seemed to help my dog anyway.
 

tda

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I am not sure how likely dogs are to develop allergies later on in life, but my last dog came to me with itchy feet (quite a long history of them, she was only 5) and it turned out to be a chicken allergy-once on RAW (because chicken products tend to be in a lot of food and not necessarily labelled as chicken products) they cleared up.

something to relieve the symptoms-put sudocreme on immediately prior to a walk-its absorbed quickly-and seemed to help my dog anyway.

That's interesting
 

Sandstone1

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Have you changed anything in the home.ie washing powder, New carpet, even the dogs food. It could be a allergic reaction.
Your vet should be able to do skin tests to try and find out if it's a allergy.
Ask to be revered to a veterinary dermatologist.
 

AmyMay

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Daisy is a foot chewer. She's fed gluten free and now pea free. I also wash her paws after certain walks (beach, mud), and bath them in hibiscrub occasionally.

I also add Yumega to her food. But will probably go back to coconut oil as it seems to help just as much and is cheaper.
 

Queenbee

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Thank you everyone! I think that you may be onto something - diet is probably the next step, we used to have all the dogs on a complete feed, changed to a different type of complete feed and then at a later date switched to a mixer and tinned meat for Lexi (JRT) and Archie (although Daisy whippet still has the complete feed and tin as she needs lots of calories to maintain her weight). Thinking something like a simple rice & chicken type diet may be worth it for a week (although will bear in mind what you said about chicken MOC.

Daisy is a foot chewer. She's fed gluten free and now pea free. I also wash her paws after certain walks (beach, mud), and bath them in hibiscrub occasionally.

I also add Yumega to her food. But will probably go back to coconut oil as it seems to help just as much and is cheaper.

That's interesting Amymay - I have recently started using coconut oil for myself and put some topically on her feet to see if it would soothe them, never thought to consider feeding it to her!

Sandstone - other than changes in feed - no nothing.

At the moment they are not being walked as much as they should be... daisy has limited energy anyway and only ever comes up the yard with me, but lexi and archie normally would go for a walk everyday - but with dad poorly since christmas this has not been possible - luckily we have a big (ish) garden and they are quite content being allowed free rein of that - I had considered sudocreme, however - the skin seems so very dry in that area, I was concerned that the sudocreme would have too much of a drying effect?
 

MotherOfChickens

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I was concerned that the sudocreme would have too much of a drying effect?

it's not something I would use long term but it was way more effective than the isoderm I got from the vets at stopping the itching-and only use a smear-your call though, don't use it without asking if in doubt. And I didn't mean to suggest it would be a chicken allergy, just that it did sound like an allergy :) and that it could be to something unexpected.

I also used a green shampoo that I cannot remember the name of! (sorry). It seemed to help but was a faff-had to leave it on for 5 mins and not let the dog lick at it at all.

I had allergy panels done for my setter 10/11 years ago-I don't think they're so great for dietary allergies unless things have moved on? but great for pollen etc. Also cost about £2K to get to the bottom of it.
 

SusieT

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'mixer and tinned diet' plus lots of changes entirely possible to be the cause. I'd go for good quality dry food - meat as first ingredient.
also go back to your vet or request a referral to dermatologist-s hould be some medication to keep it under control.I assume she is well deflead
 

Cinnamontoast

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Elimination diet, it's hard, did it for a while with one of mine. You need a minimum of two weeks on each protein. Eliminate cereals.

Check anal glands, itchy feet can often be a sign of an issue, weird, but true.

One of mine is obsessive re licking. I put a buster collar on him to break the cycle.
 
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planete

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If you want to try and pinpoint a possible food allergy, it is best to use a protein the dog has never had before (kangaroo, horse (sorry!), and stay away from any manufactured foods. You can add some veg. matter if you want like steamed sweet potato. While you are trying to find a solution your vet might be able to prescribe Apoquel tablets which stop the dog feeling itchy, providing it is suitable for her.
 

NiceNeverNaughty

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echo what the others have said about trying an elimination diet... however at her age i dont think an allergy is likely.

Although skin scrapes have been negative, all dog carry some population of demodex mites. Usually the immune system keeps them at bay but sometimes if the immune system is compromised or under times of stress then the mites cause a reaction, which is often in feet and round the ears. Id recommend asking for a referral to a skins specialist. I have just been through the same with one of my collies who is 10. Thankfully with her it was was stress related as she was being bullied when i wasnt there by another bitch.
 

Queenbee

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Thank you all - I think for now we are going to go with some sort of topical treatment/the collar/elimination diet combo

anal glands (yuck) are regularly checked (every three months) and have been for the last 5 years - no changes


NeverEver -other than feed there literally have been no changes and nothing at all that could be considered a stress trigger in addition - would a compromised immune system not show up in blood tests? I would have expected it would.

At the moment, we now find ourselves as a family in a situation where paying for endless vet/derm tests is not an option, Lexi is my parent's dog, and if I could I would but since my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer at christmas - he is now unable to work, my sister was made redundant 4 weeks ago, my dad and I ran a business together and I can't and won't run the business without him meaning I am building up a client base in my old business field and for a long time in the future I can only see money coming in being spent on essentials like food, mortgage and utilities. As soon as I have cash to spare and know that the essentials are covered - I will go down this route but not before.
 

yhanni

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My EBT comes out in lumps if she eats something she shouldn't . . . including my other dog's food! The EBT is on Orijen, which is horribly expensive but her skin and coat are absolutely wonderful (if she doesn't get hold of anything else) and your JRT wouldn't need very much.
 

NiceNeverNaughty

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Thank you all - I think for now we are going to go with some sort of topical treatment/the collar/elimination diet combo

anal glands (yuck) are regularly checked (every three months) and have been for the last 5 years - no changes


NeverEver -other than feed there literally have been no changes and nothing at all that could be considered a stress trigger in addition - would a compromised immune system not show up in blood tests? I would have expected it would.

At the moment, we now find ourselves as a family in a situation where paying for endless vet/derm tests is not an option, Lexi is my parent's dog, and if I could I would but since my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer at christmas - he is now unable to work, my sister was made redundant 4 weeks ago, my dad and I ran a business together and I can't and won't run the business without him meaning I am building up a client base in my old business field and for a long time in the future I can only see money coming in being spent on essentials like food, mortgage and utilities. As soon as I have cash to spare and know that the essentials are covered - I will go down this route but not before.

no not everything, it depends on the bloods taken. There can be an underlying condition that hasn’t shown up. If nothing else works it might be worth mentioning to your vet, just in case.
 

tda

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I admired my friends working Cocker the other day for her black shineý coat. She said she covers her in coconut oil, especially when she been out beating, as she can easily get itchy from brambles etc

Cheap from Aldi and definitely worth a try I'd say ��
 

Kaylum

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Mum had a terrible time with her dog that went to kennels for hols and came back with a foot problem, and itching itching to the point of bleeding. At the time they would only feed what the others were fed as it was too much faffing to make separate meals and she was allergic to whatever feed they fed her. The food your feeding may have changed ingredients without you noticing. This site is excellent and you can even compare foods. https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
 

Queenbee

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Hi everyone - thank you so much for all your advice on this... a combination of the cone of shame and antihistamine cream and coconut oil applied topically, is really starting to make a difference - feet look a lot less manky and angry.

Today we started her on a new diet, I have never really looked into diet that much and was going to go for chicken and rice, so I went to our local wonderful pet shop as they sell bags of frozen fresh diet, so I picked up a bag of chicken and got chatting with the owner of the shop. He advised not to feed rice, that most allergies are down to an intolerance of grain. This really surprised me as whenever a dog it poorly we always get the good old advice from our vets: feed it something gentle like chicken and boiled rice! So, for now she is on a 50:50 mix of chicken and a fish and potato biscuit. Even more interestingly -he said that the next most common allergy is to chicken... we debated eliminating both straight away but decided to go with the most common one first and if there is no change in 3 weeks we will switch to something like beef/tripe or lamb instead of chicken.
 

Umbongo

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Hopefully you will get to the bottom of it! It does sound like an allergy of some sort.

Regular blood tests at the vet won't show up any signs of allergies as such. However you can ask for a blood test for an allergy panel, which shows up if it is a food, outdoor or indoor allergen. There are then further blood tests that can pick out specific allergens within that group. It is effective but also costly. If you are willing to give the food trial a go then good luck!

My friends dog is allergic to most types of meat, rice, indoor allergens such as storage mites (which are in dry dog food) and most grass pollens! She is on a veterinary diet, wet food because of storage mites and apoquel to deal with the pollen issue!

Chicken and rice etc is a good bland diet to feed dogs with an upset tummy but they are also common food allergens. Another option is white fish and/or potato :)
 

Queenbee

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Hi everyone, a wee update on the JRT... she has been on a potato based diet since I last posted, it has really done the trick. She has stopped the itching, no longer wears the cone of shame and although they have a way to go, she is no longer chewing her feet and the hair is growing back nicely - all the angry redness is gone. Chicken does not seem to be a problem, it was definitely the grain. Thanks for all your suggestions. :)
 
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