Red irritated foot

Question

Irritated foot   QUESTION: For the past week or so, my dog has been licking the top of his foot. It is red and irritated (see the attached image), and when I touch it, my dog pulls away. I suspect he may be biting on it a little bit though I have not witnessed that. There seems to be less fur there than  there was. Thankfully, there are no signs of limping. He is an 8 year old golden retriever cocker spaniel mix who takes Heartgard once a month and visits the vet annually.

I found numerous cases where dogs had an irritated paw and most people said it was probably allergies. I don't know if it's the same for this though. I gave him a warm bath today to get his coat clean. For now I am trying to prevent him from licking it because I know it could worsen from that, but he still occasionally does (when I'm not looking!).


acral lick granuloma   ANSWER: Hi Emily,
It looks like your dog is licking his way right into having an acral lick granuloma.

These are nasty once they are formed and dogs with retriever in them seem to be prone to them. No one really knows why they start licking to the point of damagine tjemselves but they do.

Licking is a result of many conditions with dogs, from allergies to nerves. Pain in a joint or a toe bone even will cause a dog to lick like crazy.

Some vets will shave the foot and apply a salve but of course the dog licks it off. The most common treatment for these is to inject them with a long acting steroid.
Some vets wrap the foot but then you have to contend with the dog chewing off the wrap.

You need to have your vet look at his foot and see if it's a granuloma he is cooking up with his tongue or maybe he has a sticker in there that is starting to come to a head. This time of year that is the most common finding but you won't know until the vet shaves the hair off and looks at it.

Don't let it go too long. Once the granuloma starts- it's hard to get rid of them.

Here is what they look like once they are formed and some articles for you to read up on it.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2085&aid=2304

http://www.thepetcenter.com/article.aspx?id=3385

http://www.petplace.com/article-printer-friendly.aspx?id=4190

I hope you can catch this soon and I hope it is a sticker and not an acral lick granuloma!





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Wow thank you so much.

Before you responded, my dog nibbled at it again and it started bleeding. I ran to the store and bought some Vet's Best Natural Formula Hot Spot Spray with Tea Tree Oil and Aloe Vera. I sprayed it three times so far and have not seen much improvement. Tomorrow when the offices are open I will call to schedule a vet appointment but should I continue spraying in the meantime? Or, I also bought a gauze today. Should I wrap his foot at risk that he will keep licking it?

Thank you so very much

Answer
Well he has broken through the skin for sure. You can try and wrap it, but do not make it tight! You have to be very careful about how snug you make a wrap for a dog's foot.

I don't think the tea tree oil will do anything at all, except make him want to lick it off. Bitter apple would have been a better buy to keep him from licking it.

You might want to smear some neosporin or a cortisone creme on it first then wrap it. That might take some of the sting out of it and stop him from licking it overnight anyway.

Tell the vet office you need to bring him in right away because the longer this goes the more he will mutilate it. I am not using that word lightly, because they will self-mutilate.

Good luck with this and please let me know how it goes with him.