My dog chews her itchy, thick, flaky nail bed. What's the issue?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Licking and chewing of the paws is a sign of allergies and it can become an infection (pododermatitis) which can be caused by bacteria and yeast. I have success treating with an antibiotic and an antifungal for 3 weeks. I also start my patients on apoquel and an antihistamine to control the licking and biting. I would also recommend considering changing her diet. Chicken is the most common allergic protein. You can find over the counter diets with venison, duck or fish. She can no have any treats that aren't made out of the protein or table scraps. You have to give the diet 2-3 months. Sometimes the pet needs a prescription diet. I would call your Vet or have her rechecked to see if these medications are appropriate to try on Leia

He could have allergies and/or a nail infection. He should be examined by a vet to diagnose and treat the problem. Your vet can prescribe an antibiotic, anti-histamine, and/or a corticosteroid to treat. You could also soak his paws in a warm Epsom salt solution and see if that helps.

Poor girl. I do feel that culturing this area would be best, that way we know what antibiotic is needed to rid the bacteria present for sure. Especially after being on the same antibiotic for 28 days already. Re-infection of an area is also likely if the pet continues to lick at it. Therefore, if the infection is completely gone, you have to then treat the pets itch. If we are licking our feet due to allergies, then the underlying allergy should be addressed by keeping her on allergy medication. Discuss with your vet about the options of either Cytopoint injections or Apoquel to help manage her allergies. Also soaking her paws in Chlorhexidine solution 3% diluted 1:10 with water daily can help soothe her paws and remove any allergens she picks up on her feet from outside. Chlorhexidine wipes can also be purchase and used to help with this. In the meantime, I would opt to go with a stronger antibiotic prescribed by your vet, perhaps Simplicef should be tried, until you can decide on further testing/treatment. I would also highly recommend having Bini tested for thyroid disease, which can cause chronic skin infections, lethargy and weight gain in dogs. I hope that this helps and best of luck with your pet Bini and her apparent allergies. Take care! : )

It would be best to finish the course of oral antibiotic before deciding whether a different type or local formulation (an ointment) would be required. Resistant infections or fungal infections can cause severe damage if not recognize and treated. I would suggest to discuss with your local vet a bacterial swab of the nail in case no improvement are seen.

Yes this looks like an infection. Antibiotics should clear it up but I recommend a minimum of three weeks on them to fully heal the feet. In addition you can wash and soak the feet in an antibacterial solution for five minutes twice daily, as well as clean the other areas of the skin that are infected. I would discuss this with your veterinarian to see if there is an allergic component causing the recurrent infections. You may also want to check her thyroid hormone levels as many animals with low thyroid levels have recurrent skin infections. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Bini.

This may be a resistant infection or the area may keep getting reinfected because it is in a highly mobile spot where contamination is very easy (the foot). I would recommend taking your dog back to the vet for a recheck and having her sedated for the examination. This way the doctor will be able to closely examine the toe and the nail. The doctor will then be able to clip the nails back far enough to hopefully remove the problem. There is also a specific disease of the toenails that may need long-term treatment from specific medications. This is an auto-immune disease, lipoid onchodystrophy, and has a very specific presentation. Your vet should be able to determine if your dog has this condition with a thorough exam. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hello. It does sound like possible allergies, which can start at any age, most commonly around 1-2 years of age. But we can see the presence of mange mites & nail bed infections too. To rule these out, you will need to see your veterinarian who can perform some skin scapes around the base of the nails & look under the microscope for the presence of mange mites. Oce the source of the irritation is found, the proper treatment can be started to stop the chewing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.