# Basset Hound chewing paws all the time.... HELP!!



## shamnath (Dec 9, 2009)

Hello,

Please can someone advise on the above since the vets in India have no idea what to do.

• Kofta is a 7 yr old basset hound. First 6 years the paw licking problem was seldom. Last year its every single month!
• Treatment is antibiotics and anti allergy medicines oral or intra muscular. again, he needs a course every month.
• Constantly licks or bites his paws, especially the front ones. causes injury and pain but goes on licking and biting.
• No change in diet or environment
• Have another dog (boxer - same age) with no such problem (same diet and environment)
• Vet here has suggested using e-collar. But the ones available here are the traditional hard plastic ones. horrible!
• He had scabies treatment (used to scratch all over body and had lot of hair loss) 5 months ago. now fine. licking problem started much before.

Questions
1. Is it allergy? how does one know?
2. Is it boredom habit? or some psychological reason? how to find out?
3. Could the cause be some other medical issue like thyroid, scabies, yeast infection? how to find out? blood test?
4. How to prevent as treatment with antibiotics is only temporary.
5. If e-collar has to be used, then which one.( have seen some on the net- bite not collars, soft e collars and ruff tuff bandage, comfy cone collars,hagar collars,trimline collar, socks, shoes-non chewable ofcourse)

I appreciate anyone with any experience with the above.

Thanks very much for your help.
Vedant


----------



## RedyreRottweilers (Dec 17, 2006)

Foot chewing is a classic sign of food allergy.

What are you feeding?


----------



## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

I agree 100% with Redy... foot chewing is a classic symptom of food allergy. First change their food pref. grain free or at the very least wheat free since wheat causes 90% of canine food allergies. If the chewing continues after the food change then look to your environment. Do you use sprays on your lawn or outside for pest control, do you use carpet fresh on the rugs in the house, do you mop with anything aside of vinegar and water, what do you wash your dog's bedding in?... all these things could play into your dog's allergic reactions.


----------



## LynnInTenn (Oct 9, 2009)

Ditto with Redy and Dog Shrink. Some sort of allergy. I too am leaning towards a food allergy. My puppy did the same thing. Got tired of trying to figure out what it was in the food and just switched to raw. No more chewing paw pads.
BTW, I tried 4-5 different foods, all grain free and he still chewed and licked his paws. I probably didn't give enough time in between the trials, but heck, patience is not a virtue of mine


----------



## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Agree with trying a different food. Use a grain free with an alternative protein source. I recommend Taste of the Wild High Prairie formula with Bison and Venison, although there are other good ones out there. Dogs develop allergies only after being exposed to something, so it easisly could be that he has developed an allergy to something in his current food.

Also there is a fungus that can grow between the pads of the feet. If he still itches after being on a new food for a month or so, then have your vet check his feet (Or ask him to check if you have another vet visit coming up.


----------



## shamnath (Dec 9, 2009)

thank you all for the replies. He has always been fed a combination of homemade rice, chicken soup, veggies and cottage cheese.... same thing is fed to the boxer. the pre package dog food in india is terrible so we prepare this in the kitchen. 

shall we eliminate the rice? maybe use oats? if all grains should be avoided then what carbs can we give? 

lastly... what are the best paw pads we can use for now to prevent him from the constant chewing?

thanks again!


----------



## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

Any one of those ingredients could be causing the allergic reaction. The rice you can substitute barley (maybe) I would also try a different soup stock than chicken... maybe beef or fish stock. And I also know a few dogs who have dairy allergies so the cottage cheese might be the problem. Also what veggies does he get? You really need to start a process of elimination to find the one in his diet that is tweaking his allergies. I know some raw feeders that have substituted potatoe as a carb source for a grain free feed. Maybe go back and search the RAW food or BARF threads and see if you can get some ingredient ideas there, plus I know that you can order food on line if India has such a horrible food selection for your pet. Personally I'm not a raw feeder so probably not the best source for advice on this matter.


----------



## hobogirl (Nov 22, 2009)

I have a dog that does this and it is called a lickaderma, per my vet. It happens with her when there has been a chage in our house hold. The first time was when my son moved out and took one of our dogs. The second time was when we had to have our cocker put to sleep. My vets gave her cortizone shots in the areas and I then gave allergy meds in her food for a few weeks. This seems to work with my dog.


----------

