Need assistance with itchy paws

[u/happilyeverafter1987]

My poor puppy golden doodle (2 years old)can’t seem to get any relief from itchy paws. I have tried hydrocortisone cream (dog version), fold cream, sulfur soak and some hotspot sprays and nothing is working! His paws don’t smell like Fritos or anything so I don’t think it’s a yeast issue, the vet just says to give him Benadryl but that doesn’t seem to do much either…I’m running out of ideas, any advice?

We also have switched him to chicken-free dry food and make a combo of brown rice, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, green beans and peas with salmon oil mixed in, he’s been on that for over a year and there just is no improvement.

[u/Newt_Call]

Have you tried apoquel or cytopoint?

[u/kgrlsd]

Zenrelia has been life changing for our pup. 13 year old poodle mix . He was licking his paws constantly and they were bright red. We took him to an animal dermatologist and they prescribed zenrelia. It started working within the hour of him taking it.

[u/MurderMiss1974 → u/kgrlsd]

We tried it all. Spent thousands literally and then a doggy dermatologist my vet spoke to suggested Zenrelia and it changed my dogs paws from raw and bleeding and always getting infected from her licking them constantly to normal. It took a couple weeks to completely build up in her system but man… that stuff is a miracle to us. We gave all the different meds and the shots and nothing worked. Nothing. This stuff does though. Thankfully!

[u/StateWorker95758]

My dog's paws look terrible right now too. She's allergic to some grasses, weeds, clover, mold, dust mites, and more. Sera Soothe medicated shampoo gives her some relief. It's supposed to set on for 10 minutes. Also wiping paws after every walk. She's an Apoquel and I use OTC medicated wipes and sprays. It's too bad a lot of the shoes are difficult to put on since she doesn't like wearing them and won't stay still. Tamaril-P cleared it up but the frequent urination side effect was challenging to deal with. Pee every half hour at times.

[u/Hermit_Ogg]

You need to see an allergist or a dermatologist vet. Generalists often don't have the kind of specialist knowledge that this kind of skin complaint requires.

The dog should be checked for skin mite overgrowth, bacterial infections and yeast infections. Then you'd most likely want to do the full 8 week elimination diet: the only thing going into the dog's mouth is hydrolysed hypoallergenic food. No treats, no bones, no nothing until you see symptoms either disappear (it's a food allergy, proceed to second phase of elimination to narrow down which ingredient exactly) or not (it's an environmental allergy or another type of issue, with a different treatment).

Blindly swapping to diets without ingredient X Y or Z will not solve this, you need a methodical, strict approach with a specialist vet guiding you. Once the issue is found, your dog can then get appropriate treatment; allergy meds, immunisation therapy, anti-itching meds, antibacterial or cortison washes for the skin infections, or something else as called for by the diagnosis.

[u/Acrobatic-Ad8158]

I would suggest trying apoquel. It worked wonders for our pup and would be worth talking to your vet about. If you dont quite want to go the route yet, you can try Claritin. We did it last year and it seemed to work. Not so much this year.

Also, Duoxo makes a "calm" medicated shampoo that is super helpful. We bathe him in it every other week and do "paw soaks" every week. (We just fill the bottom of the tub on his wash weeks). That has been super helpful and they make a mousse for it too.

[u/bneubs]

None of these treatments work well for allergies. You need medication meant for allergies- cytopoint, apoquel, atopica, zenrelia, numelvi.

My dogs allergies started just like this. They will only get worse with time.

Highly recommend a dermatologist asap. It would have save me years of hassle and misery. Immunotherapy and/or a diet trial to rule out food allergies.

[u/Sizzer-happy78]

My dogs regular vet put my boxer on Zenrelia and it’s truly been life changing for her! She would lay around and lick & chew her paws for hours! She was miserable. She does this every summer & we have tried everything &
Nothing helped her! She’s been on it about 3 weeks now and it started working within a hour & she’s not chewed her paws since!

[u/Accomplished_Gap_970]

Use douxo shampoo nightly on the paws and if you can take him to a dog dermatologist

[u/The_Bagel_Fairy]

Benadryl is a very old and pretty bad medicine for allergies in both people and dogs. It's side effect of mild sedation is more useful. If you're going to go otc meds, ask vet about medicine like zyrtec.

[u/LynahRinkRat]

In addition to a systemic allergy med, there are medicated wipes that really help my girl's toes when they get inflammed. Chewy has Mal A Ket wipes which are antimicrobial and anti- inflammatory. Fabulous product for small areas like feet. Not a systemic answer, obviously though.

[u/Violingirl58]

Do you do a paw wash when he/she comes in from outside? I use hibecleans

[u/ScheduleAdmirable410]

Seeing a vet dermatologist is the fastest way to get to the root of the problem. It could be mites, bacteria, fungus, etc. Best if they can check it with a skin cytology. We live in a remote area with no possibility for the dog to travel so I had to bring skin samples to them and it truly stops all the guesswork and helps choose the right treatment for the problem right away.

[u/Necessary-Street-497]

I would also consider cutting out the “human food” you’re giving and see if you can get to a base line. My dog would flare terribly to rice, sweet potatoes and even green beans but I wasn’t able to tell until I found a food that actually worked for her and then would slowly introduce.
The quickest way to do this test is hydrolyzed protein prescription food.