GSD with sore paws

[Minel]

Hi guys

I know there's a vet nurse or 2 around here, so while I wait to be able to get to a vet, I was wondering if I could get some advice.

Link (19 months old male GSD) has started licking his paw(s) between his toes a lot in the past week or so.

By examining between his toes, I can see redness there, like the skin is inflamed. Maybe some secretion too, whcih is strange as i don't see any cuts.


What can I do while I wait for the vet's appointmnet?

[Jasandjules]

Is he being walked on the pavements?

[Minel]

yes, but his pads are fine, it's the skin between the fingers that looks irritaed, we're currently resting him.

[Mrs Grumpy]

It's possible he could have got something like a thorn or piece of glass in there. You could bathe in salt water and/or put some Sudocrem on it until you see the vet

[Minel]

Mrs Grumpy said:

It's possible he could have got something like a thorn or piece of glass in there. You could bathe in salt water and/or put some Sudocrem on it until you see the vet

thanks, we'll keep moisturising the paws and dry them off. No blood in sight though.

[Jasandjules]

It's possible road salt etc has got in there and is irritating his feet (it does that with one of my dogs - we either don't walk her around the streets or we put her little booties on now, and that solved the problems). It's the dog nipping etc that causes the redness and so on...

[Minel]

Jasandjules said:

It's possible road salt etc has got in there and is irritating his feet (it does that with one of my dogs - we either don't walk her around the streets or we put her little booties on now, and that solved the problems). It's the dog nipping etc that causes the redness and so on...

we haven't had salt on the roads for a while here in Italy... (30degrees normal temps for a couple months now ) but could well have been something else, and the dog licking them constantly doesn't help.... wife proceeded to use an old pair if her socks to avoid that, Link isn't impressed

Edited by Minel on Monday 30th May 15:56

Edited by Minel on Monday 30th May 15:57

[baker77]

Could a grass seed have got in to the paw, these can cause redness and some secretion, and would make the dog lick the spot. It's probably best to get the vet to have a good check, grass seeds can be hard to see when stuck in the paw and it doesn't take much for it to get infected.

[C C]

Symptoms sound classic for a yeast infection - a bit like the dog version of athletes foot. One of my old boxers used to get that from time to time (usually after finishing a course of antibiotics for something else!) First tip off would be her licking the tops of her paws and gnawing between her toes, when we took a look the skin would be bright red under the fur. Lots of home remedies if you google (soaking feet in epsom salts or bathing with diluted apple cider vinegar etc) as it is quite a common complaint but if your dog has never had it before then a trip to the vets to confirm diagnosis (just incase there is a foreign body in there rather than a yeast infection)and discuss treatment options would be worthwhile. Repeat infections can be linked to diet or thyroid issues or wider allergies so it really is worth getting it checked by your vet before trying to treat it yourself.

[Mubby]

Minel said:

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!

[bexVN]

All of the above are possibilities, all you can do for now is salt water bathe and stop him licking the feet, which you have already done, socks are ideal for this, they allow the foot to breath whilst hopefully stopping the trauma (ie Links tongue). A trip to the vets as it looks like you'd already planned to do, preferably tomorrow

How have you secured the socks?

[Jill450se]

Perhaps a bit early in the year but maybe it's harvest mites?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trombiculidae
http://www.k9centre.co.uk/mites.php

[Minel]

bexVN said:

All of the above are possibilities, all you can do for now is salt water bathe and stop him licking the feet, which you have already done, socks are ideal for this, they allow the foot to breath whilst hopefully stopping the trauma (ie Links tongue). A trip to the vets as it looks like you'd already planned to do, preferably tomorrow

How have you secured the socks?

socks are stretchy enough not to be too tight but they stay on, we have 2 pairs now dedicated for Link's duties... vet is a bit of a pain as we are going away for the weekend (bank holiday on thursday) and they couldn't fit us in until Monday... we're resting him, only walk him a little and bathe him in salt water twice a day...
by how the redness has spread to the other toes a yeast infection is potentially likely... funnily enough my wife is treating athlete's foot too! We have anti fungal cream and powder that she is using.... wonder if the 2 instances are connected somehow.....

[bexVN]

Yeast infection is actually not that common in dogs (though would never rule it out) contact allergy quite possible. Unfortunbately really hard to offer any poss solutions as it does need a vet to see him biut I hope it doesn't get much worse. You don't want any infection getting into feet, they can be bugger to clear up.

Sorry to seem patronising about the socks but sometimes people use elastic bands/ hair bands to keep socks in place on their dogs feet which is never good so I was just checking

[Minel]

bexVN said:

Yeast infection is actually not that common in dogs (though would never rule it out) contact allergy quite possible. Unfortunbately really hard to offer any poss solutions as it does need a vet to see him biut I hope it doesn't get much worse. You don't want any infection getting into feet, they can be bugger to clear up.

Sorry to seem patronising about the socks but sometimes people use elastic bands/ hair bands to keep socks in place on their dogs feet which is never good so I was just checking

no worries we don't want him to lose circulation on the feet

[Stu R]

Minel said:

bexVN said:

Yeast infection is actually not that common in dogs (though would never rule it out) contact allergy quite possible. Unfortunbately really hard to offer any poss solutions as it does need a vet to see him biut I hope it doesn't get much worse. You don't want any infection getting into feet, they can be bugger to clear up.

Sorry to seem patronising about the socks but sometimes people use elastic bands/ hair bands to keep socks in place on their dogs feet which is never good so I was just checking

no worries we don't want him to lose circulation on the feet

Which has just given me the genius idea of suspenders for dogs. *runs off to the patent office*

[bexVN]

Stu R said:

Minel said:

bexVN said:

Yeast infection is not so common in dogs unless they are prone to skin/ ear probs (though would never rule it out) contact allergy quite possible. Unfortunbately really hard to offer any poss solutions as it does need a vet to see him biut I hope it doesn't get much worse. You don't want any infection getting into feet, they can be bugger to clear up.

Sorry to seem patronising about the socks but sometimes people use elastic bands/ hair bands to keep socks in place on their dogs feet which is never good so I was just checking

no worries we don't want him to lose circulation on the feet

Which has just given me the genius idea of suspenders for dogs. *runs off to the patent office*

Edited by bexVN on Tuesday 31st May 08:48