Why does my dog keep getting paw sores despite vet care and diet?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bodie, it sounds as if he has had a rough three days. Bodie's lesions on his paw could certainly be related to an underlying environmental or food allergy that resulted in the development of a severe superficial and possible deep pyoderma, which can be difficult to treat if the bacteria present are resistant to normal antibiotics. Other potential causes could include fungal infections (depending on your location), and neoplasia (cancer). For lesions that do not respond to typical therapy with antibiotics and anti-itch medications (such as corticosteroids, Apoquel, Atopica), it may be necessary to perform a culture/sensitivity of the lesions to determine what type of bacteria present (if any) and what antibiotic it is sensitive to, or even a biopsy which could help rule-out certain fungal infections or neoplasia. I would recommend having Bodie re-evaluated by a veterinarian if the sores do not resolve to determine what the appropriate next step will be.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Dutchess. She may need to see a veterinary dermatologist if you are not having much luck with her regular veterinarian. Paws are commonly affected by allergic skin disease. This can be an environmental allergy or a dietary allergy. Some dogs suffer from both. I recommend allergy testing to environmental allergens such as weeds, pollens, grasses and molds specific to your area. She should also do a prescription diet trial for 8-12 weeks. She may require longterm management of her symptoms. However, reaching a diagnosis will make this easier. I hope this information helps!

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!

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 her 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!

Sores on the paws can occurr for many reasons. If it is a chronic issue, underlying allergies or a thyroid disorder are likely the issue. These conditions weaken the skin’s natural defenses and allow bacteria and yeast to set up opportunistic infections. The photo of Sammy‘s foot shows a round, pink lesion. It almost looks like some sort of a mass from the picture. I recommend to have Sammy visit his veterinarian to check that area out. If it is a mass, it should be aspirated as skin masses that look this way are suspicious for a cancerous skin growth called a mast cell tumor. However there are benign skin masses that look very similar as well. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Some skin infections can take 3 weeks of antibiotics to clear. However, if its not gotten better, it may be a bit more complicated. As you mention, allergies may indeed be part of it. Eosinophils may indicate that there's an allergic component, so if you aren't addressing the allergies specifically. it may help to do so. Your vet may talk to you about trying some prednisone or apoquel to treat underlying allergies, and this may be very helpful. Weekly baths with a gentle non irritating shampoo may be helpful. I really like this one: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-shampoo-with-vitamin-d3 Best of luck, thank you for using PetCoach!

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!