My dog's itchy paws are spreading. Does she need to see a vet?

I am sorry that Lola is not feeling well. IT is hard to tell by the pictures but it appears that the paws are ulcerative and red. This type of lesion can be secondary to allergies, skin mites, infection and even auto immune disease. She might need more aggressive treatment or just longer treatment to helps resolve the issue or keep her comfortable. IF you have not seen improvement with previous medications I would consider a dermatologist visit . Dermatologist specifically work on the skin and might be able to get to the bottom of the issue faster. I hope that Lola feels better soon

Hello! I'm sorry to see that your dog is having some trouble with her foot. It appears to moist and irritated between the toes, and there is also some swelling around the nail beds of two of her nails. I am very concerned that this may be a skin infection, and possibly also a nail bed infection (which can sometimes be tricky to treat because of how deep the nail goes into the toe). I do not recommend continuing the Zymox spray without the advice of a veterinarian, as it contains hydrocortisone (a steroid). Steroids will decrease inflammation, but they also suppress the immune system. I strongly suggest that you bring your dog to visit the vet as he or she may require antibiotics and/or antifungals to treat any potential infection she has. In the meantime, you can try soaking her foot in cool, mildly soapy water, followed by thorough drying. If your dog is licking the foot, I recommend placing an Elizabethan collar (E-collar) on his or her neck to prevent further licking, which can exacerbate inflammation and contamination with bacteria and yeast. At the vet's office, they will perform a physical exam, and most likely they will take a sample of skin cells and discharge from between those toes and around the nail bed for examination under a microscope. This will help them determine what treatment will work best. They may also give your dog some pain relievers or anti-inflammatories so that he or she is more comfortable. Good luck, and I hope that your dog feels better soon!

Poor Stella! This looks uncomfortable. It looks like she needs to be seen by her veterinarian. She will definitely need medical treatment for this to resolve. It could be an allergy, infection, or other cause of skin inflammation. If left untreated it will get worse.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Zoey. If your at home treatments have not helped, then it is time for her to see her veterinarian. Her skin will be assessed and tests may be performed to ensure that she does not have mites or ringworm. If not, then allergies are common this time of year. Based on her skin, she may need antibiotics if there is a secondary infection. There are potent anti-itch medications that will improve her comfort dramatically as well. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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!

In your second picture it does look like Val might have a skin growth that could be a papilloma or wart, or might be something like an adenoma. I doubt that is the ultimate cause of her signs since both legs are affected. Her toes look red and I'd be suspicious of a secondary bacterial or fungal infection. Mites are possible and would show up on a skin scrape. Allergies might also be triggering these recurrent infections. I wouldn't recommend any home treatments especially since this is recurrent - I'd recommend talking to your vet to see what they would recommend as the next step.