Question by jamaicabound123123: Why does my Olde English Bulldogge limp and have infected feet so often?
About once every month or two my dog has one of his front paws get infected or allergic or something. It turns red and he starts limping. I take him to the vet and pretty much all they ever do is give him a shot or give me some cream or spray, about a month or two later it will happen again and they just do the same thing. They havn’t been very helpful at telling me why this happens or how to stop it from happening.

My dog is an Olde English Bulldogge, basically it’s a mix of Old English Bulldog, Pitbull, Mastiff and I think some American Bulldog. I know bulldogs are notorious for allergies and skin problems but is there anything I can do to cut down on this? Not walk in the grass? Not feed him any people food? Any suggestions?

Best answer:

Answer by Julie D.
You could get down to the real *root* of the problem and have her allergy tested. This way you will know *for sure* what to avoid. Some dogs can be allergic to something in their food, such as corn, wheat, soy, or even the meat source. It could also be an allergy to something in your home or a contact allergy from something outdoors…..really, almost anything.

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Question by Randy: How do I get my dog to stop chewing her feet?
Just to start – I don’t need any negative people saying I shouldn’t own a dog or anything like that – I’m not asking your opinion on how good of a pet owner I am. I just want to get my dog to stop chewing her feet.

She chews her feet whenever she isnt right in our line of sight. She is an 18 month old Pit Bull and Dalmation mix. We have taken her to the vet and they said it’s probably behavioral – that we need to run her more. We started taking her to a park near our house that has about 1000 foot steep hill. We use a chuck it and throw the ball up the hill so that she can get the most out of her work out. We do this every day. We also make her do her verbal commands every day: sit, stay, dead, roll over, shake, high five, etc… so that she gets mentally exhausted as well. So she gets plenty of exercise.

The next concern I have heard is that maybe she has an allergy to her food. We were feeding her Beneficial. We changed it up to feeding her Duck and Potato Natural Balance dry food for about 3 months, that didn’t help, then we switched to Evolve, which is a low grain dog food, and that’s not helping anything.

We also tried using Apple Cider Vinegar on her feet every morning and night to kill any yeast bacteria that might be there, and that just seemed to make the problem worse.

Another solution we tried was to use an anti-histamine, which we used benadryl, 2 pills in the morning and 2 pills at night. Nothing.

I dont know what else to do! We have tried absolutely everything, and nothing works. Her feet have scabs on them and are constantly red and missing little patches of fur. I just want my dog to feel better and to not have to feel like she constantly needs to chew her feet.

Positive feedback is all I’m looking for please.
Oh I almost forgot. We also used a colloidal oatmeal bath that you use on babies to soothe their itchy skin, and that didnt work either.

She also recently started to scratch right next to her eyes, and she is starting to lose fur there as well.

Best answer:

Answer by Colleen S
My friend has a dog that chews her feet as well. It is an allergy to Gluten in the food she was eating. Seeing as you are exercising her well and she seems to be well trained it may not be behavioural. I would try to choose a food that is gluten free (maybe just a small bag) and see if that changes anything.

She also may just do it as a vice, people do the same things like nail biting, hair twirling, etc. It’s always hard to help an animal as they can’t tell us what is wrong.

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Question by happy2binsc: What is the best allergy medicine for dogs? My dog bites her feet so much they have turned brown.?
She has gotten this way in the past 4 or 5 months. I give her benedryl and used special shampoos and changed food. I have read about many different kinds of allegy pills for dogs and they all say they are good. Any suggestions on a good one would be helpful.

Best answer:

Answer by Abby_Normal
The absolute best thing for allergies, for people or dogs, is honey made naturally in your area. Honey from your area will have the same thing in it that is causing your allergies but will fight them (fight poison with poison).
There is probably a “bee farmer” somewhere near you. Go buy some and give it a try. Just put a spoonfull in with your dogs food and stir it up.

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Question by Lay: My dog has dark patches of fur on his feet?
It is really agitating because I am trying to get him to stop. I don’t know if it’s behavioral or allergies. He’s a 2 year old bichon mix. He is constantly biting his feet. He has no fleas. He is drinking mineral water, with a 10mg benadryl a day [the vet recommended]. He is on natural foods with no wheat or preservatives in it. He gets bathed about once a month with oatmeal dog shampoo. He is in good health really but he keeps biting his feet. I also got him some chew toys that he does chew on and he loves. He still does it though. Any suggestions? Any suggestions on how to lighten the patches of fur as well without using bleach for human hair? Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by joanplus4dogs
He either has environmental allergies like to grass which is very common for bichons or it might be now obsession where he can’t stop himself. You can’t bleach the hair – once they stop licking/chewing it will grow out while again. Stains in the hair can’t be removed like in clothes. You may need to do allergy patch test to see exactly what he is allergic to & get shots to stop it. Or vet may have to prescribe something to break his obsession. You would do better to stop using oatmeal shampoo & use an antibacterial on the feet instead. Oatmeal helps hold in moisture & the feet need to stay clean & dry. By licking he is already making them moist/damp & will get bacterial infections/yeast. Use a good hypo shampoo for body.

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It is really agitating because I am trying to get him to stop. I don’t know if it’s behavioral or allergies. He’s a 2 year old bichon mix. He is constantly biting his feet. He has no fleas. He is drinking mineral water, with a 10mg benadryl a day [the vet recommended]. He is on natural foods with no wheat or preservatives in it. He gets bathed about once a month with oatmeal dog shampoo. He is in good health really but he keeps biting his feet. I also got him some chew toys that he does chew on and he loves. He still does it though. Any suggestions? Any suggestions on how to lighten the patches of fur as well without using bleach for human hair? Thanks!