dog licking paws

lulu1

We have a 4 year old bicon and he wouldl lick his feet until they were raw if we didn't stop him. The pet shop have given us a dry skin spray but everytime he sees us coming with the bottle he runs. Some one said bichons are known for doing this. Any suggestions

You will probably eed to go see your vet. It could be cause by a multitude of things such as allergies to ingredients in his food, bacterial/yeast infections etc. Ask to have an allergy test and skin scraping done.

Also I'm sure you know this but make sure his paws aren't matted, lots of dirt/moisture/urine can get clogged up in the bichons delicate coat and lead to irritation. Best luck

DBB

Yes OP, itchy feet are very often caused by a reaction to something in the dog's food... if you let us know what he's currently fed on, perhaps we can suggest some alternatives, which may include changing him over to a non-dry diet for a while to see if it helps. There are also little mites in dry food that can cause itchy skin (storage mites), another reason to change over to a high quality wet food or fresh diet for a while to see what happens

Also, be aware that harvest mites were a big problem the past two summers, they affect dogs during the summer and autumn months up until the first frost and are unbelivably itchy (I speak from experience )

However, because they start of licking at paws, whether the itch is caused by harvest mites, storage mites, or a food allergy, the licking causes perpetual warm dampness, and that in turn sets up bacterial and fungal overgrowths in between the toes and pads, and that causes the itchiness to continue beyond the mites. So, his feet may need to be bathed first of all to get rid of the mites, and then with an anti-fungal, anti-bacterial shampoo to treat a secondary bacterial/fungal infection. I wouldn't be at all surprised if his feet are stained orange? That's the itchy fungus Malasezzia spp.

White dogs are demons, just demons for developing skin problems related to the above, so you may have to go on a multi-stranded offensive to get to the bottom of this

lulu1

We took him to the vet today and she gave us a pink solution to bathe his feet in every night although she didnt give us much indication of the cause just said it could be a combination of things. He is just over a bout of dermatitis where he would scratch his chin to the point where it bled and we couldnt leave him on his own atal but thankfully steroid tablets sorted that out. Unfortunatly you may be right about the white dogs and skin problems

Ps you are right about the feet they are stained orange

DBB

That'd be hibiscrub the vet gave you. It's just a general medicated shampoo and not the most suitable one that I'd have in mind.
Steroids won't really have sorted the problem in the longer term... They suppress the immune system and hence provide temporary relief from itching. But that's all. Whatever your dog is reacting to hasn't gone away.
I think, were I you, I'd be looking for a different vet who doesn't just throw steroids and shampoo at you... A bit more holistic thinking from your vet would be a good thing for your dog.
Trust me... White dogs and skin problems are my specialist subject

andreac

What are you feeding at the moment?

lulu1

I will tell no lie he eats everything

andreac

But what's your main brand of food you use? What other kind of stuff does he eat?

lulu1

Sorry cant think of the name right now but I know the pet shop gave us a dried food which was supposed to be good for dogs with sensitive skin. He would really eat bits and pieces of everything ham sausages bread that would be it

andreac

Well that could be part of the problem. Prob best to try stick to one thing and that way you can start to eliminate things that cause the itching. When you get the name of the food post it here.