Back from the vet's office...

MBfromBMC

Every once and a while, my dogs will get a little sore between their toes, lick it and it becomes infected. We always just put neosporin on it, wrap it in a bandage to keep them from licking it and it clears up in a few days. 

Recently, my male dog has been itching his ears (he has had an ear infection in the past), and licking his feet and two days ago we noticed a big sore on his ankle. We started wrapping it for a few hours a day and at night to keep him from licking. This morning when I woke up, I kid you not, his paw was the size of a tennis ball.

I took him over to the vet for an emergency appointment and it turns out that the swelling was from the bandage. When he chewed and pulled on it, he made it so tight that he cut off circulation. (This has never happened before, so the vet and I still think bandaging is OK as long as we monitor it carefully.) So the swelling is no problem and it will be back to normal in 12 hours. 

Apparently, he has seasonal allergies. (Really, dog? You're costing me a fortune...) It's making his ears and skin itchy, so he's licking and scratching until he gives himself sores. He now has anti-itch ear ointment, the dog equivalent of Zyrtec and a mild antibiotic.

Someone needs to remind him that he is a rescue mutt and he shouldn't be so high maintenance! ) 

Gregermis

Poor pooch!  One thing you might want to try is adding a TINY bit of safflower oil to his food.  I did this when my dog was having an itchy problem (though different cause) and it really seemed to help and made her coat all shiny.  If it doesn't help, it shouldn't hurt either.

Don't add too much, though, I did 2x what the vet recommended because it seemed like such a small amount (I think he said 1tsp a day) and she started getting a little fat .  Problem cleared up so we stopped and she lost most of the weight again. 

Edwina.McDunnough

I hope he feels better soon !!

Jlynn3

Aw! Poor puppy! Hope the meds have him feeling better soon!

jillychris

Oh, poor little guy!! Glad the swelling wasn't from something more severe (and more expensive!!). My kitty gets allergies and it shows in the form of gunk coming out of her eyes. I don't know how many times we treated it for pink, before I realized it just comes and goes on it's own!

Bethany1026

Awww, I had to just bring my pup to the vet for double ear infections and while we were there I mentioned how she has been licking and biting her feet for over 40 mins at a time...I thought she finally learned how to groom herself, but no, they said she prob has allergies too.  Nothing was recommended for it though.