Chewing His Foot

[Shane72]

I just wanted to see if anyone has any experience with this and maybe some suggestions. Rocky started to chew and lick his back left foot over six months ago. This is intermittent, he'll do it a while, then seems to stop, then he'll start again. His paws are all white and he'll get that foot looking pretty pink. On close inspection you can see some dried dark blood but no cuts or open sores. It's like an a abrasion of the webbing, top and bottom from his constant attention when he gets on a chewing kick (no pun intended).

I've had the vet check it twice and she's never been able to find any problems. You can handle his foot, extend and squeeze his toes and pad, massage the webbing and he never winces, pulls back or acts like it bothers him in any way. He doesn't favor it when he walks or runs either.

I know foot chewing can be a sign of food allergies but he started this when on Canidae and he's now on EVO. He's always been sensitive to food changes and he's done so well on EVO that I really hope that's not the issue.

He shows no other signs of allergies, though he had some kind of reaction when he was a puppy- had whelps come up all over but benedryl knocked that out and he hasn't had a recurrence. He doesn't appear to have any skin reactions to anything now and he doesn't chew his other feet. Again, he only chews this foot for periods of a week or two and then seems to stop. But he always returns to the same foot when he starts again.

Any ideas?

 

[Chiefsmom]

Do you think it might be a yeast infection/ fungal infection in his paws? Are his nails a different color? If you do a general search on this site, it may provide more information. Chief had a yeast infection where he would lick and bite at his paw and in between his toes. They did get pretty red when he'd mess with them. The vet gave us some antibiotics to give him; but also suggested that we soak his feet one at a time in equal parts vinegar and water. But again, it correlated back to his diet... he needed less yeast.

 

[Shane72]

Do you think it might be a yeast infection/ fungal infection in his paws? Are his nails a different color? If you do a general search on this site, it may provide more information. Chief had a yeast infection where he would lick and bite at his paw and in between his toes. They did get pretty red when he'd mess with them. The vet gave us some antibiotics to give him; but also suggested that we soak his feet one at a time in equal parts vinegar and water. But again, it correlated back to his diet... he needed less yeast.

Thanks for the reply! His nails look perfectly normal and he only works on the one foot. I looked up yeast infections and found this post (#3 by EA076): http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127469 . From looking at the article, Rocky shouldn't be at much risk due to his high protein, low carb diet, probiotics in his EVO, etc. For treats, he mostly gets chicken jerky strips, Beefeaters Liver Snacks, EVO treats and his favorite frozen desert I make from yogurt, banana, peanut butter and honey. He occasionally gets some raw egg, apples, raw hamburger, stuff he begs off me when I'm trying to fix dinner... He's also started getting bully sticks - maybe one or two a week. He doesn't get all this stuff daily, I just try to vary his treats. He may be a little spoiled .

From what food source was Chief getting too much yeast? Do any of the items I listed sound like a potential problem?

 

[Chiefsmom]

Thanks for the reply! His nails look perfectly normal and he only works on the one foot. I looked up yeast infections and found this post (#3 by EA076): http://www.boxerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127469 . From looking at the article, Rocky shouldn't be at much risk due to his high protein, low carb diet, probiotics in his EVO, etc. For treats, he mostly gets chicken jerky strips, Beefeaters Liver Snacks, EVO treats and his favorite frozen desert I make from yogurt, banana, peanut butter and honey. He occasionally gets some raw egg, apples, raw hamburger, stuff he begs off me when I'm trying to fix dinner... He's also started getting bully sticks - maybe one or two a week. He doesn't get all this stuff daily, I just try to vary his treats. He may be a little spoiled .

From what food source was Chief getting too much yeast? Do any of the items I listed sound like a potential problem?

To be honest... when he was having all the problems, he was eating Nutro Ultra Holistic. When I looked on the www.dogfoodanalysis.com it certainly wasn't rated the highest so we switched to Canidae. But I wasn't able to pin-point the source from reading the review where it pointed to yeast. It did mention potential allergies. But once we switched to Canidae... the problem subsided. I don't see anything in the diet you've listed that would scream too much yeast either!

 

[Shane72]

Oh well, something to look at anyway. I know something has to be up, he was just chewing on it again. But like I said, he doesn't act like it hurts him and he doesn't have any other symptoms so I just don't know. I've got to take him to the vet again in the next month for shots so I'll get her to look at it again...