# Itchy under paws and mouth



## haiwin (Jan 30, 2010)

Hello Dogforums! I'm new here and I'm hoping I can get some advice on my dog's issue.

I have a jack russel named Hailey and she's 7 now. She's been healthy her whole life but lately shes been having some problems.

She was biting her tail exessively to the point it was bleeding, we took her to a vet (not our usual one-- he was closed), they told us her anal gland was infected, they treated it and gave us some medicine to help stop the itch. She wasn't completely healed so we took her to her main vet and he got rid of the problem, she hasn't bitten her tail in a while.

The issue I am now having is she is now biting the bottom of her paws excessively. One is all red on the inside, and she's biting the other paw now too. Her mouth also seems to be itchy, sometimes she rubs it on the floor or tries to scratch it with her paws.

We have been keeping the cone on her so she can't bite, but once we take it off she goes right to biting her paws and such. It must be really bothering her, but we don't know what the problem could be. With the cone on she isn't making herself bleed, but she seems really itchy. 

I can't spot any rashes other than the redness of her paws, but this may be due to her biting them. 

We got some new dog food and treats yesterday, maybe she's allergic to her food. 

Her paw have gotten red and irritated underneath before, but we were able to cure it pretty quickly with I think it was epsom salts. She has the paw bandaged up and we clean it but her problem seems to be spreading.

If anyone knows what this problem could be, please help! Thank you.


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

The mouth itching sounds like an inhalent allergy (Loki does it from time to time and he is allergic to things like grass, pollen, etc.)

However, it could be the new food. What food is it?


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## haiwin (Jan 30, 2010)

Oh I should have clarified, we switched to a new food to see if she was allergic to her old one.

She used to eat eukanuba and I'm switching to nutro. I don't think it's her food but it's worth a try. 

It could be the grass, her paws have been itchy before and I thought it could be allergies, but with her mouth being itchy too and the infection in her gland it seems like something else..


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## Xie (Feb 5, 2009)

Itchy paws and anal gland issues all point to an allergy, likely a food allergy. Switching from Eukanuba to Nutro won't help if it has similar ingredients (like certain grains, or chicken, or beef). You can try an allergy elimination diet though. Switch her to a LID (limited Ingredient Diet) like the Simple line from Wellness. When you do that don't feed her ANY other foods for 6 weeks, including treats or table scraps. If the itching and anal gland issues have stopped than you have found your problem. If they don't then you would have to search out other possible allergens.

Oh and read labels CAREFULLY! I really can't stress that enough. Don't trust a food that says "Lamb and Rice" to only have lamb and rice. I've see a few different brands marketed like that that also have chicken in the formula, which is a major allergen. Make sure that what you try is a true LID and not one just masquerading as such.

Adding in the LID should also be from a meat and grain source that she hasn't had before like duck or salmon. A dog is much less likely to have a reaction to a "novel" protein (one never eaten regularly before) than one that they have been on.


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## StacyH (Aug 2, 2012)

That is wierd my dog a pomeranian 3 years old has the exact same problem too, it started with her butt but then moved onto her paws and then mouth.. When I brought my dog to the vet about her butt they told me she had an infection in her butt and it cant be cured. If anyone finds out let me know too...


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## StacyH (Aug 2, 2012)

For me though my Pomeranian is 3 years old and shes been on the same food since she left her mother.. So would this still apply? Can a dog develop and allergy three years later?


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

StacyH said:


> For me though my Pomeranian is 3 years old and shes been on the same food since she left her mother.. So would this still apply? Can a dog develop and allergy three years later?


Dogs can develop allergies at any time ... just like humans. I too have a dog Blu Boy ... who has allergies to anything with wheat in it. His late brother Leeo was the same way ... and also had anal gland issues as well.

Blu Boy gets itchy paws and licks them to the point that his paws and his eye lid have become infected ... requiring medical attention and antibiotics to clear it up.

I feed a dog food that contains minimal allergens. I use dog foods that have no wheat, corn, or soy in it.

I try to buy the best food I can afford and try to stick to one protein and then also have a rotation diet using a different food every other month to avoid allergies. I use 4Health dog food and Wellness Super5Mix in different flavors for my dogs. Also ... grain free dog food is great if the price is doable!


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