Dog allergies: red, licking paws, no relief. CBD or other options?

Hi and thanks for your post. You may consider food allergy testing to determine what Olive is allergic to so those allergens can be avoided in the diet. There is also a medication called Apoquel that can really help as well as Cytopoint which also works very well at controlling allergy symptoms in dogs. Environmental allergy testing can help in determine what exactly she may be allergic to in her environment such as grass, pollen, weeds, etc. and an immunotherapy injection towards those substances she is allergic to is made specifically for her. These injections are a little bit expensive but works exceptionally well if all else has failed. Hope this helps and best wishes to you and Olive!

Hello, and thanks for your question about Mya. Allergies are very common in dogs, and they can be frustrating to control! I recommend asking your vet about Cytopoint, which is a monthly injection, and Apoquel, which is a daily pill. These are very effective non-steroid allergy medications that can either be given individually or (in more severe cases) together. For young dogs like Mya, I usually prefer the cytopoint injections, and then add Apoquel if necessary. If the a strict feeding trial with the Royal Canin Ultramino diet didn't help, then her allergies are less likely to be related to food, and are more likely environmental. Of course, also make sure she's kept current on a high quality flea/tick preventative, to make sure an external parasite can't be complicating things! And if a skin scrape has never been done, that may be advised as well - I've had skin mites get misdiagnosed as allergies before! If it comes to it, I've certainly had patients who did best on steroids - and that can be done pretty safely if you're weaning to the lowest effective every-other-day dose. Hopefully this helps! Of course, I'd defer on all points to a vet who has seen Mya in person!

There really isn't much else you can do at this point other than using topical steroids (like hydrocortisone spray) on the feet but if you are going to do allergy testing soon your vet may not want you to use it. Steroids can interfere with testing/results. I would suggest this Zymox 1% Hydrocortisone spray but ask your vet first if they are OK with you using it. This will reduce the redness, inflammation and itching. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-1529-zymox-spray.aspx ) You could also ask your vet about either changing the dose of the antihistamine or changing the type of antihistamine all together especially if she has been on the same one for a long time. They will build a tolerance. Also, some dogs, just like people, respond better to one medication vs another. Hope this helps. If you have more questions you can always opt for a private consultation where we can chat back and forth. That way you can ask as many questions as you'd like. Best wishes.

Thank you for posting your question regarding Cody. The pictures are definitely helpful in getting the full picture of what is going on. There is hair loss and the skin is inflamed and reddened in the pictures. If he is biting / licking at his feet and they look like this, he may be dealing with allergies. Does Cody come into contact with grass? If he does, he may have a contact allergy with the type of grass that is growing this time of year. Epsom salt soaks probably won't help a huge amount but they also won't hurt. The soaks may provide some relief while the feet are soaking. The primary problem probably won't be addressed with epsom salt soaks alone. I would suggest administering Benadryl over the counter. You can give 1mg per pound of body weight, so Cody's dose would be approximately 50mg every 12 hours if he is indeed 50lb. There are multiple causes of allergies but if it is isolate to the feet, I think a contact allergen leading to the above mentioned symptoms. Your veterinarian will be able to send you home with better products to relieve the symptoms further such as sprays and oral medications if the benadryl is not working. There are specific anti-itch drugs available now and injections that are quite safe to use. I would also suggest natural supplements such as Omega 3 fish oil (Welactin for canines), Essential 6 spot on by Dermoscent is another great natural oil product and a shampoo such as Duoxo PS to bathe Cody twice weekly until the symptoms are gone. Hope this answers your question and if you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me for further help.

This sounds like an environment or food allergy. The red is due to yeast proliferation from moistness in the hair. I would recommend a novel protein elimination diet for 40 days. Benadryl is a good anti-histamine but may not work as it only improves a certain type of allergy. Neosporin can be damaging to the kidneys so I would avoid using it. It also only contains antibiotics and so would not be helpful. Fish oils can also be very helpful at lowering inflammation in the body and improving skin and joint health.

Before looking for a remedy, look for the cause. Have the skin scraped to check her for Demodex mites as they will common infest the feet. Scabies mites can also infest the feet but are difficult to diagnose on a skin scrape. I recommend to start her on an oral flea product such as Simparica or Nexgard as they will treat scabies. If it goes away within 4-8 weeks, then you know it was mites. Food allergies will also present as itchy feet. Discuss a food trial with your veterinarian. This is the only way to diagnose a food allergy. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

I'm sorry to hear that Miles is having all of these skin problems. How frustrating! It sounds like you are on the right track with the diet trial and the allergy testing. He may be a good candidate for an allergy medication called Apoquel. It controls the itching very well and doesn't have the side effects frequently seen with steroids. Medicated shampoo to bathe the paws can help. So can simply wiping the paws with a damp rag every time he comes in from outside. This physically removes allergens from the environment. I hope this information helps!