Paw swelling with no cause

nala2012

Little background on dog; 12 year old king Charles adopted few years ago. He has heart murmer and is on medication for that.

August last year he developed limp in front leg and the pad swelled. Brought him to vet and they prescribed anti inflamateries and it went down. No problems with it until August this year when same thing happened. Back to vet more tablets and recovered. 4 weeks after that same happened and he ended up bursting the swelling on way to vets. Kept paw clean and vet said to keep an eye on it. 4 weeks later same again. Vet tried to drain it but there was thick blood coming out so we went home and she said to bring him back after the weekend if it didn't go down. It burst on the Monday and he seemed fine after but low and behold it happened 2 weeks later. Paw was swollen for couple days then went down on its own.

When we were at the vets second last time she did full blood panel and it came back that he was anaemic. They were worried about this because he had lost very small amount from paw so we did further blood test, more advanced to find out what type of anemia and what was cause. Amazingly this test came back that he didn't have anaemia and all his organs are very good considering his age.

On a side note he's had issues with his skin. He developed these dry scaly patches. They're not itchy but one has caused the hair to fall out. He also has a very sore muzzle. Red and hair loss in parts. I thought it was an issue with immune system but vet said bloods don't show this. She suggested changing food to vet prescription one. I'm not going to do this as I really don't feel it's a food allergy.

On my last talk with the vet she said she basically hasn't a clue what's going on and though she doesn't feel there's foreign object in the paw the next step would be xray. I'm reluctant to do this because of his heart issue.

I've spent about 500 in vets these last couple months and I've zero answers.

aonb

always the same paw?

Could there be something in the paw that needs investigation, causing a recurring infection?

If your vet is stumped after €500, very frustrating

nala2012

aonb wrote: »

always the same paw?

Could there be something in the paw that needs investigation, causing a recurring infection?

If your vet is stumped after €500, very frustrating

Yes always same paw. She said because it happened to him year previous she doesnt think its something in it. Very frustrated because with his heart meds and anal gland issues he's proving to be a money pit!

DBB

Can you be more specific about the swollen paw? Is it that the whole foot is swollen, or is there a lump/cyst between the pads or toes?

nala2012

DBB wrote: »

Can you be more specific about the swollen paw? Is it that the whole foot is swollen, or is there a lump/cyst between the pads or toes?

It's the pad that's swelling. Largest bit on palm of paw if you know what I mean?

DBB

The whole pad?
Jayney.
I was wondering was it an interdigital cyst... My Westie used to get them reasonably regularly. Whilst they're often caused by a foreign body, they weren't in his case. Apparently they can be a sort of autoimmune, recurring thing. In his case, they turned up between his toes or pads, a hard, hot, pea-sized swelling.
The fact that your fella has other skin-related issues on other parts of his body made me wonder if he has something similar? But if it's the whole pad swelling, I'm not so sure now.

nala2012

Attached photo of swollen paw and his sore muzzle!

DBB

nala2012 wrote: »

Attached photo of swollen paw and his sore muzzle!

Jayney, that's nasty looking
I'm all out of ideas, but inclined to think you need a 2nd opinion, preferably with a dermatologist.

tonytiger81

Both times it happened in August. Was a seasonal allergy discussed at your consult ?

nala2012

DBB wrote: »

Jayney, that's nasty looking
I'm all out of ideas, but inclined to think you need a 2nd opinion, preferably with a dermatologist.

I'm in Galway. Anyone you could recommend please?

nala2012

tonytiger81 wrote: »

Both times it happened in August. Was a seasonal allergy discussed at your consult ?

Yes allergy was discussed but it's happened a couple times since and it's only one paw. He doesn't like or scratch it. He hops around for couple days till it goes down.

tonytiger81

Ah you didn't state that in your original text. Btw just because the doc doesn't lick or scratch doesn't mean it's not an allergic reaction! What other months has it happened ? Have you had the dog all 12 years and if so what is the dog fed including treats?

aonb

Think its very odd that its always the same paw.
Also think its very odd that it 'goes down' after a few days

Add in the sore muzzle... my dog has similar scaly 'scaly' patches, it was a skin allergy, he got a swelling between his toes a couple times.

As DBB was thinking, could be auto-immune maybe, but same paw? If your vet is stumped, and you are spending a lot of cash, and the heart issue, I would definitely seek a second opinion. The 'oldies' need careful tending, having a sympathetic/lknowledgable vet is SOOOO important. Sorry, dont know any vets in West. Let us know how you get on?

p.s. on the anal glands, if its just a case of having to have them 'expressed' - you should definitely try the old reliable raw chicken wing, Ive never had a dog with a problem with glands, and many people on here will tell you how effective it is. (Plus a healthy 'treat' at the same time)

nala2012

Brought Bruce to a different vet today as his limp came back. Turns out it is a cyst that's in his paw. It's bit unusual in that it's more under his pad than between toes. He said it would need to be removed but was happy to wait till after christmas.
While he was there I told the vet about a pea sized lump I'd felt in his neck. He did an asperation and turns out it's something nasty. Cancerous cells were found. He's booked in for surgery tomorrow. Vet is hopeful that it's been caught early enough but there's still a big risk with the anesthetic because of his heart.

tk123

OMG fingers crossed for him!