Licking His Paws - Hot Spots???

[elizabethann]

Fenway dug 2 HUGE holes last night and since then he's been licking his front paws. I brought him to doggy daycare and asked them to watch him and they thought he may have hot spots. I guess that is a skin irritation and the dog licks and licks it and it just gets worse?

Does anybody else's dog get hot spots? What do you do about them? Do you think I should bring Fenway to the vet to make sure? He doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Any suggestions?

[lvpets2002]

Yes for sure take your baby to the Vet & he will give you ointment & or spray or both.. I had a dog that had them real bad in the summer & she was on pills, ointment & spray.. Yes it is painfull for the baby & their licking will make the skin raw.. Go Go to the Vet with this matter.. Good Luck & update please..

[elizabethann]

Thanks. I just called the vet and made an appointment. They're actually thinking he hurt his toenails while he was digging. We'll see and I'll post an update tomorrow (his appointment is at 5pm today).

Thanks again.

[Scooby4]

Hot spots come from fleas and NOT digging. Hot Spots form when a dog gets bit by a flea, and it continously licks that area losing the hair and creating a red mark. However, it is a SORE if it is caused by an injury.
I would suspect your dog hurt it's toenails digging. Digging is also a sign of boredom. I suspect the dog dug and rubbed down it's nails too much. The "pink" of the nail is probably exposed causing the dog to lick the area.
NEVER cut a dog's/cat's toenails to the pink part of thier nails. This is their nailbed and is similar to ours. If you do cut too close, you can put "septic powder" to stop the bleeding or in a pinch use "Corn Starch". Putting corn starch on the bleeding nails will stop the bleeding in a short time. Otherwise, the nail could bleed for a period of time.

[cyber-sibes]

Star's had hot spots for years. The can be caused by bug bites and allergies, they aren't really sure what sets them off. But once it starts, get it looked at immediately, they can get really ugly in just a day. The vet said we can catch her licking & stop the irritation before she licks it raw by giving her benedryl. Seems to be working. She gets major hot spots every year, so we're hopeing this helps. I've tried alot of things over the years.

[lv4dogs]

Hot spots can be caused by many different things, the major thing that seems to set most of them off is moisture, followed by allergies, fleas and of course many other things still unkown to us.

Hot spots are not really known to usually appear at the feet but that does not mean it's not possible.

Air is the best medicine for hot spots. Shaving the area will help the air get it a lot better and is usually something that always has to be done for a hot spot. Both topical & oral medicines will help too.

My guess without seeing it or anything is that something on his feet are just irritated or he has some sort of allergy.

Good luck at the vets & keep us posted!

[elizabethann]

Well we just got back from the vets and the he thinks Fenway has allergies. He is putting him on HYDROXYXZINE (25 mg) and I have to give him 1 pill, twice per day. He also suggested if Fenway itches to put him in a bath of AVENO OATMEAL. My poor little baby. I'm not sure if he'll be on this medicine forever. The vet mentioned steroids as he gets older. I'm going to look up some natural remedies and see if those work. Also, I gave Fenway a bath on Sunday (with gentle dog shampoo), so I'm wondering if the bath irritated his skin. Not sure.

Does anybody have a dog that took HYDROXYXZINE? I just saw another thread on allergy testing. If Fenway's doesn't get better, I can always ask for an allergy test.

[elizabethann]

Me again. I just read that HYDROXYZINE is a sedative. I'm not crazy about that. Fenway is a very active dog and we go for long walks and he goes to doggy day care. I really don't want him to get so tired he can't do anything. It's only 25 mg but that may be alot for a 21lb. dog. I'm going to have to really keep up with this and try to get his allergies under control. The pills the VET gave me are for 14 days.

My poor buddy.

[lvpets2002]

Thank you for the update & yes that Hydroxyzine is good stuff & for now go ahead go by what the Vet wants & then when allergies start getting better then your baby can get off meds.. Poor wittle baby get better soon..

[chocolatepuppy]

Does anybody have a dog that took HYDROXYXZINE?

My Mandy takes Hydroxyzine. She weighs 85 lbs and takes 50mg. She was taking them twice a day and was doing well so it was cut back to 'as needed'. Right now we're back to twice a day. She will lick her paws sometimes, but mostly rubs her eyes and her nose almost raw. She will chew on her tummy too. Last fall she had a skin infection from that.
Yes Hydroxzine can cause drowiness, but it hasn't slowed Mandy down too much, usually just after she takes it. Much better than her being miserable though.
I hope Fenway does well with it. Maybe, like Mandy, he won't have to take them all of the time.

[elizabethann]

Thank you for everybody's responses. I appreciate it.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Awwwww!!! Poor little Fenway Get better sweetie!