# Scratching/Chewing/Licking



## AgilityHav

Hello all, 

Its been a while since I have posted, but I have a question for you all that has me in a conundrum...

just within the past few days all three of my girls(Hailey, Lizzy, and the now semi-famous Esme) have begun to lick at their pads, chew on their legs, and scratch....This has me puzzled because I have explored every cause that I can think of, so I need your help!

They have not had a change of food within the past few months. They are all on varities of Wellness(Lizzy on Core, Hailey on reduced fat(hehe) and Esme on puppy). They are all on preventative flea medicine, and I have checked thoroughly for fleas just in case. No sign. Nothing enviromental has been changed, no new animals or people have been around them. They have never shown any sign of this before, and for all three of them to be doing it at the same time has me puzzled. I didnt think it would be seasonal allergies because I would have thought that would have started earlier in the year, and have happened in the past. 
I am also using all of the same grooming products and tools(same brushes, shampoos, conditioners) and I just cannot figure it out! 
If it was just one dog I would consider getting blood work done to see if something was going on, but since it is all three dogs, at three differnt ages, at the same time I feel that it is enviromental, Im just not sure what that would be....

Anyway, if anyone has any ideas, let me know! Lizzy is going to the vet in a few weeks for shots, so if it is still happening by then I will talk to the vet about it. I just can't figure it out....It dosnt seem to be drastically affecting them, they still run and play and are compleatly themselves...just itchy...No hair loss, no change in coat at all, so enough of my rambling, ideas would be appreciated!!!


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## ama0722

Natasha- it could very well be something in the environment. When we moved to SC, my allergies have gone nuts and so have Isabelle's. This year I was more prepared and when she started to itch (last week when I started in on my allergy meds) I gave her children's liquid benadryl. It really helped. Last year within days she rubbed almost all the hair off her back. The odd thing is Dash and Dora didn't go through it but to be honest neither did my husband. This year the allergies have about killed me though. I know they say most of dog allergies are environmental.


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## Kathie

Are you using any different cleaners on your floors? Otherwise, I don't have a clue.


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## DanielBMe

Well just a few thoughts.

First off, are they licking chewing the pads of their paws or chewinging on the tops of their paws? Are they scratching on their face/neck or sides/underarms?

Typically food allergy symptoms are chewing/licking the pads, face/neck/muzzle. 
Airborne is typically chewing on top of paws/legs, scratching sides/underarms.

Do you see any redness between the toes? My guys have a discolouration there. 

Not sure where you live but some airborne allergies are seasonal and in some cases can be year round. It could also be dust mites or other molds.

It is odd that all three would develop any allergy all at the same time. Right now the only thing I see in common is the food and shampoo. Food allergies can take months or years to come out. The easiest thing to rule out is food since it's the easiest to change. You'll want to find a single source food other than beef or chicken. If you can find rabbit or kangaroo, you could try that for 3 months and see what happens. Keep in mind that's only if they are food allergy symptoms.

There should be some online site for your area that indicates what pollens/molds are active.


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## HavaneseSoon

I wanted to let you know that Dexter has been going through some ear scratching for a couple of weeks and paw chewing. He does not do this all the time, but just once in a while each day. I have made sure Dexter's ears are very clean with ear cleaner each week and trying to get as much hair out of the ear as possible. 

I have also used Ear powder to dry out the ears. Dexter's ears were pretty moist before I applied the ear powder. 

I did take Dexter to the Vet yesterday to check out the ears and the ears were very clean except a few hairs. I did not want to take a chance that Dexter's ears might get worse this weekend. 

I did remove more tiny hairs in the ears today just in case the ear hair is tickling Dexter's ears. 

I am also going to back off of the extra treats that Dexter gets, just in case it might be a food allergy. 

I have not noticed Dexter scratching on his ears today, so maybe I am doing something right.

I also plan on keeping Dexter's face pretty clean and his feet clean to see if the toe chewing/licking will stop. I haven't notice the foot licking today.


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## DanielBMe

Keep in mind that allergies don't typically stop overnight. It can take 4-6 weeks till the symptoms disappear once the allergen has been removed.


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## Lynn

Casper has just started within the last week or two of ear scratching and licking, chewing on his legs, really only at night before he goes to sleep and during the night, first thing in the morning.

He was tested for food allergies and had some....one was potatoes and I had been feeding him potatoes in home cooked dog food (forgot about the potatoe allergies). 

I stopped the potatoe a couple of days ago, and he is not itching tonight for the first time in a few days.


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## nancyf

Last month I noticed bright red skin between Bella's toes. She would lick her feet, especially at night. I did the usual overview of what could be causing the allergy and I eventually gave her benedryl--but it didn't do a thing to help her. Last night I gave her a dose of Metacam and she hasn't licked or bothered her feet since. 

My question is: Can this reddness be an irritation and not an allergy? Or maybe the allergy causing thing was removed but the skin was irritated and that's why the anti-inflamatory helped?


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## Missy

Natasha, I forget where you guys live...has the heat come on? has it been raining a lot? or exceptionally dry or humid? this could cause itchiness. Especially wet feet and legs never getting fully dried. 

Even though feeding the same and using the same shampoo brands, could you have opened new bags or bottles? could something have changes in formulas? 

I think we need pictures to help us diagnose further !


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## RikiDaisyDixie

*have they been recently vaccinated?*

My havanese mentor had a theory that vaccines cause itching challenges in havanese.

Daisy has "pinkish" feet from her feet itching.

I hope you find a solution, and if you do please share it. I have spent so much money and tried so many things to alleviate this.


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## nancyf

We just got back from our vet. Bella's feet between her toes were bright red and nothing I was doing helped. The vet discovered she had a yeast infection between her toes and some bacteria. He gave Temeril-P which is a prednisone-type RX, Ketoconazole, and a jar of moist pads to wipe down her feet at night. 

He had an interesting idea that might help her feet in the future. He said to use baby wipes to wipe off her feet and underside when she goes outside. That will help remove anything causing an irritation. 

The office visit, slide check, and medications came to $135. This was a "necessary" visit because with what she has, nothing I could have done at home would have improved her. She even had some staph and strep bacteria on her feet. 

Bella at two years old still loves going to the vet. She gets so excited. All other dogs we've had began to shake when we got within a block of the vet. Bella is such a happy dog--well worth the money! Who needs new clothes any way.


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## DanielBMe

You should look at something called Buro-sol solution. Mixed with water has a cooling, soothing and drying effect on wet and weeping dermatoses. Treats acute inflammation, contact dermatitis, poison ivy, insect bites, inflamed Athlete's Foot and otitis externa.

My vet recommended it for Bogart who had itchy paws. I soaked his paws in it at night for 5min. Seemed to work pretty good.


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## nancyf

DanielBMe said:


> You should look at something called Buro-sol solution. Mixed with water has a cooling, soothing and drying effect on wet and weeping dermatoses. Treats acute inflammation, contact dermatitis, poison ivy, insect bites, inflamed Athlete's Foot and otitis externa.
> 
> My vet recommended it for Bogart who had itchy paws. I soaked his paws in it at night for 5min. Seemed to work pretty good.


I'll have to look for that. Bella's poor feet have gotten pretty bad, almost over night. We hate giving her medication but her feet are scarlet color and I know they have to make her miserable.

The rest of her body looks pretty good with no broken skin. I'm wondering if we should dry their feet when we go for a walk or when the grass is wet and they come in with wet feet. Will this keep the problems from setting into the feet? Last week when I took Bella & Dani outside in the backyard, I got bitten by a fireant. There were no hills so I was surprised that our little backyard had fireants. I wondered if Bella was bitten by a fireant and that led to the foot problem--but then its on all four feet, so maybe that's a stretch.


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## DanielBMe

Definitely if the skin between the pads are reddish in colour it's from an allergy. Mostly it comes from the licking. Once they hair turns red, it doesn't change back. It will have to grow out then get cut.


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## DanielBMe

Where on their paws exactly are they licking? On the pads or on the tops of the paws? Licking the bottom of pads is usually indicative of food allergies. Are they scratching their muzzle/neck or just their underarms and ears? It's also possible maybe they stepped in something.

You may want to check http://www.pollen.com/about_allergies.asp to see the allergy forecast for your area.


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## nancyf

Well, my hunch--and hope!-- is that they walked in something. Bella's skin is broken, red, and crusted between the toes and around the side of the pad of the foot. She didn't have it last year but this year it has exploded. There is lots of building going on in our subdivision and lots of fertilizing of lawns. Maybe they were affected by something from our walks. I'm hoping that this works to normalize her feet. She had her first dose of the steroid this morning and by the afternoon, her appetite went through the roof. We have two more weeks of trying to distract her from food! I'm going to take advantage of her appetite and give her only Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato.


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## leena365

Hey Everyone,

I have a question with regards to giving small breeds the rabies vaccine. Is it mandatory. Do alot of Havanese get a reaction from this vaccine? I also noticed that MIYA has started to develop skin like growths on her belly that resemble pimples. Presently, she has only 3. Could this be an allergic reaction to the ziggy puppy treats I started giving her?


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## Kathy

Have you had sudden change in your weather? Could be a lot dryer suddenly and that is causing a change in their skin and coat. Also, if you changed food within the last few months it could just now be showing a negative effect to the food.


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## AgilityHav

Thanks everyone, I didn't think about the weather, but I think that may be it. We live in Ohio and our seasons are kinda crazy :/ we have had a ton of variation the past few weeks, three days of 70's and sunn, three days of pouring non stop rain and 40 degree weather, followed by a warm up and humidity! Seeing as *nothing* else has changed I think that has to be it. 

Thanks everyone!


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