This ‘N That Thursday: Darned Allergies
Today we are joining 2 Brown Dawgs, as well as a new co-host Ruckus the Eskie, for the
This ‘N That Thursday Blog Hop.
From the 2 Brown Dawgs:
It’s a little of this and a little of that and everything in between…
Grab the badge and join the hop. All are welcome!
Last Saturday, we noticed that Li’l Girl was licking (and licking and licking) at her right front paw. Well, we looked at it and what we saw was a swollen lumpy area, raw from all the licking. I couldn’t get any pictures of it when we first noticed it because she was guarding it way too much – she would barely let us look at it. She wasn’t limping at all or doing anything else to indicate it was painful, so we hoped it was just itchy. You can never tell with dogs, though. They’re very good at hiding pain, illness, etc. It’s instinctive to them to not put any possible vulnerabilities on display if they can possibly help it. We couldn’t get into the vet until Monday, so we just tried to keep it cleaned off and keep her from licking it too much.
I didn’t get the two pictures below until Monday morning, and it was actually looking much less raw by then and maybe slightly flatter/less swollen. Even though it seemed like it might be going to improve on its own, we still wanted to get it checked out. She had just gotten over a good fall allergy attack, which was basically a week’s worth of itching and scratching herself up good, which we home-treated with Benadryl, wiping her down often, and only going outside for potty breaks. It really only lasted a week, right at the point when ragweed pollen peaked. I’m glad we didn’t take her to the vet for that, because they might’ve wanted to put her on steroids, which we’re not big fans of unless absolutely necessary.
Monday morning… you might not be able to tell, but she IS giving me the stink-eye.
A slightly more close-up shot…
At our appointment on Monday, the vet examined Li’l Girl’s paw and really had her way with that lump. She poked, prodded, and squeezed at it until it bled. She wanted to make sure there was no cyst, no infection, no abscess, no thorn stuck in there, etc. Finally, having come up with no other answers, she said that it was probably just a spot left over from Li’l Girl’s main allergy attack. A spot that was particularly itchy, perhaps, and she just got it very inflamed with licking at it, which just incited her to lick at it even more, and the cycle continued. Dog parents who’ve dealt with Lick Granuloma know all about the licking cycle. This hadn’t progressed into a Lick Granuloma just yet, but it could if Li’l Girl didn’t leave it alone.
So she got a shot of Dexamethasone, and the vet sent us home with a bottle of Betagen topical spray (it contains Gentamicin – an antibiotic; and Betamethasone – a steroidal anti-inflammatory) to use in case Li’l Girl starts messing with any particular spot again. I said before that I wasn’t particularly fond of steroids, but I was talking about being on rounds and rounds of them. I’m okay with one shot, and I’d be okay giving her a spritz of spray now and then on a localized spot.
It’s Thursday now, and the area is looking much better, as you can kind of see in the pictures below. It’s much flatter (not as swollen) and just looks much better overall, and we haven’t even been using the spray. Li’l Girl hasn’t really been licking at it since Monday evening, so we know that it’s no longer bothering her. I will be keeping an eye on it to make sure the lumpiness goes away completely.
Thursday… looking much better already…
Still swollen/lumpy, though… you can see that better here.
Looking at these pictures, it really bothers me how long the nail on her dewclaw is. I think they missed it at her last nail trim. We have clippers, but attempts to trim nails at home have never gone well (see: disastrous), so it will just have to wait until next time.
So that’s it for today, just a boring old paw issue. There was supposed to be a little of this and a little of that, but because I’m getting around so late today, we’ll just stop at the ‘this’ and leave the ‘that’ for another day.
I *can* see that she is giving you the stink eye! Glad it was nothing major. You’ve reminded me that Rita’s dew claws are in desperate need of a trim!
Thanks for joining TNT this week! I’m excited to say that I’m now co-hosting this weekly bloghop with 2 Brown Dawgs. That lick granuloma looks really painful. Poor thing
Fortunately, she has been leaving it alone and it has gotten much better!
Thanks so much for participating in TNT! It sure was swollen. Poor puppy. Glad it is better.
I remember as a kid, our Sheltie used to get those on his paw as he got older. We suspected a thorn that got in his foot and never came out. But they did a couple of little surgeries and could never find it. Who knows what it was? But when it flared up we would soak his paw in Epsom Salts and that made the inflammation go down. (Back then it didn’t seem like they used steroids as much for inflammation although I have no objection to using them.)
Oooh, I didn’t think of Epsom salts! Ha, I can imagine the time we’d have trying to get her to hold her paw still for that, though. We probably stick her paw in and she’d yank it back out like the salted water was lava, lol.
Ouch…that one looked pretty painful. Glad the meds are helping to heal it up
I’m glad it was only allergies and that treatment has cleared it up so quickly…Those dew claws are really hard to trim…I’ve pretty much turned it over to a mobile nail groomer and Gizmo’s nails have never looked better
They hate going to the vet and the groomers! We are SERIOUSLY considering switching to a mobile vet and/or mobile groomer to make things easier on everyone.
Glad to hear you’re having a good experience with a mobile groomer! I think the best part of that is that there are no other stressed animals around to increase stress in your own dog.
Aw sweetie! Kayo’s had her fair share of paw ailments. When she was a really nervous dog she used to gnaw at her paws and give herself bacterial infections (that cost me hundreds of dollars to treat each time!). Glad it’s not serious!
Yikes! Poor Kayo! Glad she doesn’t do that anymore!
We were afraid that’s what this was going to lead to with Li’l Girl… that she’d lick and lick and lick until it got infected. So glad it’s clearing up and she’s living it alone!
Ouch, that looks painful. Hope it clears up and stays all better.
Thanks. She’s been leaving it alone completely and it’s looking better every day!
Poor baby….glad it was getting better, and hope it still is. The spot looks similar to what Sheba had on her leg before we went away, only hers never got real swollen and she stopped licking it so much when we were gone. I had read that coconut oil was good for allergies, and good for the skin too. I was going to put that on Sheba’s leg, but she likes the oil too much so I was afraid she’d lick it even more! We cleaned it with a raw apple cider vinegar/water mixture and that seemed to help keep infection away. Well, I can’t swear that’s what did it, but I had read good things about it so we try it for the occasional scratch or raw spot. But if hers had swollen like that we would have taken her to the vet too.
It’s not completely gone yet, but it’s still improving and she hasn’t been messing with it at all.
Hmmm… coconut oil… yeah, I’m pretty sure that any dog would be quite happy to lick that right back off as soon as you put it on! 🙂 I keep hearing the praises of coconut oil for SO MANY uses, but we still haven’t bought any yet. Gonna have to join the coconut craze!
Yes, the apple cider vinegar & water mixture is an excellent idea to prevent infection! If we don’t have any ACV, I simply use plain white vinegar and water. Fungus doesn’t like acid, so the acidity of vinegar is great for preventing/treating fungal infections as well.
Hope it is all healed or on its way!
Thanks! It’s getting really close! Looking much better!
This is the 3rd post tonight that I’ve read about dog allergies and I guess it must be the season. All of our dogs had allergies until we switched their diet and now they cleared up. Rodrigo’s paws were a huge issue – today, no issues and when we need to, we just take him to his shower to rinse his paws off (after walking in sandy soil, fresh cut grass, returning from the beach which has salt water, and being in the snow).
I’m relieved that we found a solution and I hope you find one for your little one. It sucks to see them miserable. It’s nice to see that the shot did some good.
Li’l Girl only seems to have these allergy issues in the fall, so I can only assume it’s environmental and not food-related. They are on a very high quality grain-free food, but ultimately I’d like to switch them to raw… but since I have issues dealing with raw meat – it has to be prepackaged raw. Still trying to decide on a brand.
Yes, we try to clean off their paws and wipe down their bodies in between baths to cut down on possible irritants.
Do you give the dogs coconut oil? It is a great anti-bacterial and good for allergies as well. I hope she is well on the mend!!
Not yet, but I keep hearing its praises, so I’m definitely going to look into it. Wonder which is the best brand to use.
I’m not sure on brand, we just happened to get Dr. Bronner’s…but just be sure that it is “fresh or expeller pressed virgin”.
Oh poor sweetie! The paws are the worst spot to have a sore. I am glad it is healing! Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my blog 🙂