# Red and inflammed skin between paw pads



## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Cooper has been scratching like crazy for the past month. No food changes, so i assumed the cold, dry air has been causing it. I started giving him 1000mg of fish oil every day about 2 weeks ago, which hasn't seemed to help much.

Now in the past couple days he's been licking his paws. I looked today and found that the skin in between his pads on one of his front paws is really irritated and raw looking. He comes in contact with road/sidewalk salt every time we go on a walk, so i'm sure that's not helping either.

How should i go about taking care of this? I'm at the point now where i might just make a vet appt because the scratching and licking is driving me nuts!


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## ggdenny (Nov 2, 2008)

This sounds like it could be a yeast infection of the skin. I'd have an impression smear taken by your vet and check for bacteria and whether antibiotics are warranted.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

When you come home from the walks do you wash the feet off? Maybe the salt is irritating his feet. Unfortunately I dont live in the snow area so I dont really know. That kind of food are you feeding him? It might be something in the food.


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## gold4me (Mar 12, 2006)

Licking the paws usually is a sign of a food allergy. What is he eating?


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

I have him on Natural Balance venison formula. He's not had any problems with it before, it was just all the sudden he started scratching a month ago then he started in on his paw a few days ago.


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## barrett (Feb 1, 2008)

if exposed to road salt,i fill an ice cream bucket full of warm water & rinse all their feet off as soon as we come in.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

This could be yeast, or fungus. If you are in an area where his feet are getting wet from the snow, it's not uncommon. Clean the area well and try a little Gold Bond Medicated Powder.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

It could purely be from the salt and other chemicals on the sidewalk, particularly if it's seasonal. That stuff is murder on the skin, and if he's licking a substantial quantity of it off of his paws, it could cause him serious harm. The first thing I'd do is avoid the salt or rinse his feet regularly if you can't.

The other remedies for treating it as a fungal thing wouldn't hurt.


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## Andythom (Jun 20, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I made a vet appointment on Friday just in case, but in the meantime I'm going to soak his foot in epsom salts to hopefully help with the soreness. I'll also try the gold bond.

I wipe his feet off whenever we go outside if it's wet or snowy, but i'm sure i don't get all the salt and moisture out of the creases (especially between his paw-pads). I'll try and be more careful about that too.


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## DrMarie (Feb 6, 2010)

Most dogs who lick their feet have allergies of some sort. It could be food or it could be to something in the environment. If the allergies have been present for a while then sometimes the inflamed skin can become infected.

Your vet may talk to you about putting him on a course of steroids to see how things go. The dose of steroids we use for allergies is very safe, so don't be afraid to try them. Some dogs with allergies can respond well to anti-histamines, but usually we need some steroids to start off with.

Hope everything is ok!

Dr. Marie.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

I was thinking allergies too, as foot licking is an indicator, but if you've been enjoying the same lovely winter weather we're having on the East Coast, then it could be from road salt. I have to remember to go lightly when I spread it on our driveway...and to rinse Ike's feet thoroughly.

Good luck!


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## artbuc (Apr 12, 2009)

DrMarie said:


> Most dogs who lick their feet have allergies of some sort. It could be food or it could be to something in the environment. If the allergies have been present for a while then sometimes the inflamed skin can become infected.
> 
> Your vet may talk to you about putting him on a course of steroids to see how things go. The dose of steroids we use for allergies is very safe, so don't be afraid to try them. Some dogs with allergies can respond well to anti-histamines, but usually we need some steroids to start off with.
> 
> ...


Welcome Dr. Marie. I am also quite new to this forum.

What dose of prednisone would you consider safe? Asking another way, how much and how long until the adrenal glands are affected and you must consider tapering down vs just stopping?

About every other month, Rocky flares (we don't yet fully understand his triggers, although we are making progress) and I have to give him 5mg of pred per day for 2 or 3 days. A couple times I had to give him 5mg 2x per day for several days, then 5mg per day for a couple days. When I do the latter, I taper him with a 5mg pill 2 days later.

My vet says this low dose & short duration regimen will not cause any long term ill effects. Do you agree? Thanks.


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