Help Needed.

Stench Blossoms

I was wondering if anybody here can help me with a problem im having with my dog.
I have 2 maltese terriers
About 4 months ago my dog (bitch) started chewing her paw and the hair started to come off and it looked like she had a nasty rash of some kind so i brought her to the vet and he said it was most likely be ringworm so gave me some antibiotics and gave me some for my other dog incase he had it aswell (but he had no signs of it)
they didnt work and it had gotten worse so i went back again and the vet said he didnt no and made me an appointment with a specialist in DCU or UCD i cant remember. My mother and sister took her and she was left there for about 4 hours for them to do some test....my dog wasnt herself after this at all. they had takin some skin from the area for test and her paw was slightly bleedin. they said to ring back 2 weeks later for the results so i did but they said they couldnt find anythnig unusual! i was like WTF because these test were not cheap let me say.

so now 4 months on my dogs paw is worse than ever and she's constanly at it and i cant get her to stop.

is there anything i can do? im sick of going to the vet because ive spent so much money and have gotten nowhere.

ive taken a pic of the paw for thoese who'd like to see it.

any help would be much appreciated

FranknFurter

hmmm..... tough one, pics not too clear...........
Looks like some kinda skin rash that is beginning to get towards errupting.

Has she been tested for allergens? She could have a allergy to somthing such as your carpet cleaner, washing powder etc..... can be hard to diagnose because once you take her away from it she will lick all traces of the allergen from her foot.

Also, how old is she?

It could also be a systemic infection, but if it were the anti-biotics should have made *some* difference, and there would be more areas of her body showing signs than just a single paw.

How often do you bathe her, once every two-three weeks is more than enough, standing in bathwater wont help her heal and she might need a special shampoo.

All i can suggest is trying to eliminate, one by one, anything that might be touching her paw, blanket etc until you find which one it is.
Also bear in mind, terriers have a tendency to stand up say if ur on the couch, with one paw on the couch, so if you have even used somthing as simple as fabreeze it or air-freshener, it might make a difference.

TBH its all very vague, my best suggestion is to try another vet, (Manus Cannon in clondalkin is i find, very good)....

B

SpaceJunkie

What I have done in situations such as this is to look up other vets in the area so you can get a second opinion. Unfortunately, although vets get similar training, their real value is their experiance. Some may not have seen this ailment before and may not even know what to test for.

I don't think you mentioned whether these dogs spend time outdoors or not but most dogs do. Do you have any undeveloped land nearby such as a forest or open field? It is possible your dog has picked up a poison ivy or poison oak infestation.

Other then that, FF's suggestions about household items are good ones to look into. I would recommend keeping the paw covered (bandaged) to keep the dog from making the injury worse.

Consider antibiotic and/or anti-fungal creams as a possible solution if no other cause can be found.

But, definately, get another opinion.

Rabies

Is it possible to ask the vet for one of the large cone shaped collars for your dog. That will stop it from biting it's foot, might give the skin time to heal.

tovalee

i thought ringworm was a fungal infection. if so, i dont think antibiotics would help, youd need to use an anti fungal medication. but allergies may be it. my dog has a terrible reaction every summer in her ears, they get raw and she digs at them constantly. I've found using human anti itch cream works fine. the active ingredient is dyphenhydromine hydrocholride.
hope your puppy feels better soon

Nala

I don't think antibiotics were the right prescription for ringworm as it's a fungal infection. Two of my cats recently had ringworm. They had loads of tiny scabs (looked like pin pricks) and the surrounding fur was falling out. The cats themselves also seemed to be feeling low. Two pharmacists told me tha ringworm treatment is only available on a vet's prescription. One of the cats in question can only be brought to the vet in an emergency (she gets aggrressive when she's frightened) so I decided to try a regular wormer first.
I got a box of Zerofen from Tesco and it worked a treat! Both cats were much happier the next day and within a week, the scabs were all gone and the fur was well on it's way to growing back.

Zerofen comes in a green box and is for both dogs and cats. You're supposed to sprinkle it on their food, but my cats won't take their food if they think it's been tampered with, so I sprinkled the dosage into their mouths and then let them have a drink to get rid of the taste.

Doper Than U

Any chance it could be a reaction to protein? Have you changes your dogs feed recently? Some animals get an itchy rash type thing with too much protein, try a reduced protein feed for a few weeks an see if it makes a difference.
Could also be something like urticaria or eczema. Another possibility is a flea allergy, although I would have expeceted all these to have shown up in tests.
It is also possible that your dog had an initial itch there, which she scratched, and it just got worse and worse, and she keeps scratching and biting it. You might try bathing it, bandaging it, and putting a lampshade collar on her to let it heal a little, and see if it does actually get better without her scratching. Your vet might give some cortisone to help with the itching.
Actually, cortisone would probably help no matter what you do, as it calms itchiness and inflammation. They get VERY thirsty and hungry on cortisone, just fyi.

luckat

Dick Lavelle in the Animal Welfare Clinic (I think that's the name) in Gilford Road, Sandymount is also very good.

Whatever vet you go to may also suggest that you go to the Veterinary Hospital, where they can give specialist treatment.

Definitely bring her to another good vet and get a second opinion.

The other thing it might be, of course, is anxiety - she might be doing the equivalent of human nailbiting. Is she getting lots of walks and play?

Stench Blossoms

the dogs are really house dogs so they spent most of the time indoors... if it was some sort of infection or something i though the other dog would have gotten it aswell? she doesnt like walks and i cant make her go but she does love chasing my little sister around the house for hours.

the specialist gave me some antibacterial stuff for washing her and i was her twice a week with wit that.

i dont no if i'd like to put a cone around her because she really doesnt like them.

FranknFurter

orla wrote:

the specialist gave me some antibacterial stuff for washing her and i was her twice a week with wit that.

i dont no if i'd like to put a cone around her because she really doesnt like them.

First off, shes a dog, i doubt she will like anything you have to do to cure this, and whether u do or not, frankly dosent matter.

I didnt like having my tooth out last monday, still, if I hadnt my gum would have developed a dangerous infection......

Giving her a full bath with anything twice a week is way too much, but just bathing her foot with a prescribed anti-biotic is ok, do not however put her in a bath!

B

Stench Blossoms

its wat the vet told me to do..