Itchy Paws

[kairigirl]

Hello Everyone,

Kairi has been on RAW for almost a year now. She has done great with weight gain, her coat is shiny and smooth, and she rarely throws up. Within the last few months she has developed very itchy paws and she is constantly scratching her muzzle to the point of sometimes bleeding. Her paws should be white but they are always pink. We are trying to figure out what to do for her. We take all skin off the chicken so I know its not that. The majority of her diet is chicken because it is the cheapest. She does get ground beef, pork and fish. Any thoughts on other allergies, has anyone else experienced this? What are your thoughts.

Beth

 

[Poetic_thing]

She could very well have developed an allergy to the chicken or one of the other meats. In order to rule this out what you need to do is eliminate all the usual stuff and start with a new, never before tried protien such as rabbit, lamb, bison, venison, etc. You will need to do this for at least a month before you will know. After that you can slooowwly introduce other stuff one at a time to see what may be the culprit. I'm sure someone else will have more info, but that is what I know (aside from getting her tested for allergies). Good luck and hugs to Kairi P.S. your baby is beautiful.

 

[Kitas Mommy]

Could be a food allergy but also possiblility for environmental. My Kitas sister gets itchy paws regularly and has been on all kinds of different diets including raw. With no difference to the paws. ( Yeast infections) they are now working at environmental allergies and doing some testing. Just recently started that route.
First thing i would do is head off to a different protien for sure.
Best of luck

 

[kairigirl]

Thanks for the info. I'm trying to figure out a way to do this. Chicken is the cheapest route, pork and beef are expensive fish is relativly cheap but she reallydoesn't like it fresh, so we do give it in can. As far as I know I have not seen rabbit or bison. I know there is carabao here but have never seen in the market or grocery. You can also buy goat meat at the market but it is very expensive also. UGH! Very frustrating to say the least!

A couple of question I have is if it would be a food allergy wouldn't it affect her whole body? Her coat is beautiful it's mostly her paws. If it would be yeast how would she be tested, or how would I know what to look for? When you say enviromental , are you talking something in the yard or pollution?

I really don't want to stop the Barf, this is the healthiest she has ever been. We have tried a couple of different kibbles (Canidae, Eagle Pack Holistic) and she was throwing up with both of them. Those were the only 2 good dog foods you could buy here until recently I just saw Beowulfs, Back to Basic. I thought about buying that and feeding once a day and pork or beef the other feeding. But I'm afraid we buy it she won't like it because she is used to eating raw.

I know there is no solid answer for this, I'm just frustrated on what to do because it seems to be getting worse and we hate to see her constantly biting at her paws.

By the way TO Kirras mom thanks for the compliment!! Our babies Kairi and Kirra look alot alike :0 My daughter loves the name Kirra, she's the one who named kairi.

 

[rupertpeeter]

Just my two cents: when my dog was having paw issue, I found out he can't have ANYTHING plant related, not a tiny bite of it. Not even canned fish that has been in vegetable oil. Excludig all plant/grain from his food did the trick.


His paws were bad, but he never chewed on them. And it was just his paws, the rest of the dog was fine.

 

[Net45582]

It could be an allergy ,either food or environment,or just a "thing" with your pup. It does sound like an allergy since the itching is both with the paws and the head area. I would start by changing the protien source and see if things get better after a couple of weeks. If it doesn't get better chances are its something environmental. Good luck! I'm going through something similar with my Chancey on a grainless kibble.

 

[Ricky'sMom]

My Ricky has the same issue too. I'm also thinking it's the chicken. He's been on raw since 10/06 and doing well otherwise. He's just so darn itchy!! He's got the itchies all over, paws(only front), muzzle area, ears and sides too. Poor guy!! Nothing gunky in his ears though they are nice and pink, he just scratches at the backs of them.

Now, do you have to eliminate EVERYTHING from the diet, or just the suspected offender? He gets pork, turkey, beef, goat, tripe(beef), a little lamb and a little fish. He won't touch rabbit. I had cut out the chicken about a month ago with little change. However I just realized (stupid, stupid, stupid...) that his treats have chicken in them too!! Just cut those out last week. I also give him some salmon oil a couple times a week, beef and pork organ meats, yogurt or cottage cheese, eggs and a detox herb blend occasionally.

Thanks!!

Michelle and Ricky

 

[kairigirl]

Ricky'sMom,

What your describing is exactly what Kairi does! I was hoping it was maybe the oil in the canned sardines but I stopped that a couple of weeks ago and no changes. I'm pretty sure it's the chicken also since this is the main meat she is getting, but then again who knows. By what everyone has said you should start with a different protein she has never had before and start from the beginning.

We are due to go back to the States in May, I know this sounds bad but I will probably have to wait until then to start because I am giving her all the meat I know except goat which is quite expensive. So when we get back I will probably start over with with turkey first and see what happens.

Thanks everyone for you advice, you've really had my gears turning! But I really think its one of the meats. We shall see. The things we go through for our PUPS! Gotta Love EM

Beth and Kairi