how concerned should i be?...

[Brewfilek]

I noticed our Brew (7 months old) biting at his feet and nails yesterday on his back feet. it's not a common occurance for him, so i'm wondering how worried i should be about it.

i know there are a ton of Yorkies with allergies on here, and i've done some thread searching to see it it fits in his syptoms.
It seems some of the other reactions i've read have been really severe and constant.

how long does it take for an alergic reaction to set in after eating??

i fed him some Wellness chicken & sweet potato canned food last night, so i'm wondering if that may be it. it seems alot are allergic to chicken.

he does have some mild skin flaking (tiny pieces...and not very much) as well but it's Canada and oh so dry out here.

he is currently eating the taste of the wild (bison & venison) or Fromm (duck and sweet potato) kibbles during the day and i have wellness canned food for his evening meal. they had a bunch of flavors so i pretty much got one of each flavor to give some variety. He didn't seem to have any itching when he ate the wellness puppy blend which has mainly chicken.

i'm just confused because i also read that it can take up to 4 weeks for the foods to take affect in the system, so is it something that i feed him a long time ago that made him itchy??

sorry this is all over the place....any suggestions?

[kjc]

Did he walk in anything like mud or salt put down for ice? Are his nails getting long? Anything stuck to his feet?

[MorkieMomma]

I don't have any suggestions, but I wanted to pop in and say that Brew is ADORABLE! I love his undocked tail too...super cute just the way his maker intended him to be.

I'm sure someone here will have the answer(s) you are seeking.

...in all honesty, if my dog(s) were doing anything other than the ordinary I would take them to the vet to err on the side of caution. Yesterday he picked on me endlessly about how often we're in there. He was like well...last week it was her stomach, then you brought her in because you thought something was wrong with her side, then you brought her in for her eyes...and every time she's been totally fine. Let's just schedule an appointment now, for next Friday..in case something is wrong with her tail.

[Brewfilek]

i kind of thought at first it was his nails. but he'll bite a over the tops of his feet as well.

he got his neuter done on January 6. when he was under they gave his nails a really good trim (shorter then our groomer gets them) so i thought at first he was biting a bit at them because maybe they were too short and it hit a nerve (like when i brake my nails off really low and it hurts like a bugger)

he was digging a bit on the back lawn yesterday as well, but there is no salt out there. i think he was just happy to see some grass after then snowy weather we were having. and it was his front paws that got a bit muddy them.

we haven't been taking him for walks since the snow. we didn't know that the road salt affected their little paws at first but we took him for a walk about during Christmas and he lifted one of his little paws up after a while. i carried him the rest of the way because it clicked that the salt may be buring the poor guy.

[gemy]

Again my thoughts KJC. First check nail length, nails need to be trimmed very regularly specially with pups, and or especially, if you change the walking time and environment from say asphalt concrete to more dirt/grass. Less natural wearing down of nails on firmer surfaces.

Okay I live in Canada too, perhaps a more temperate spot than you. I live in Toronto. I have a boy that loves to lay over the hot air vents when he is home. This will dry out the hair but not the skin.

Yeah back feet not ususally first sign of boredom, that is often the easier to reach front paws.

Mild flaking is where?

Do you trim the hair in between the paw pads? If not have someone hold a flashlight so that you can truly see in there. When were were camping in Manitoulin one summer. We hike swim, etc. Although I check end of day everyday ears/eyes/pads; Razzle began in the later evening to "nibble" at one back paw. After fifteen minutes of peering and searching' hubby and I finally got a flashlight - one shone, the other looked and sure enough, there was a small size sand pebble embedded very close to the skin of one inner paw pad.

Consider adding fish oil supplements or something similar to his diet ; but talk to your vet first. I am very conservative and add only 1/4tsp to the food daily, and take off one wk a month with no additives of any nature to the food.

[kjc]

More often than not, food allergies begin with itching on the face and/or front feet, and sometimes an all over body itch.

With hind feet, a blade of grass can get wrapped around the nail close to the skin and cause irritation, also, with short nails, one could be irritated. If any of the centers of his nails look a bit pink, this could be enough to irritate him.

[Brewfilek]

Thanks so much for the great feedback!!

i checked out his little feet just a moment ago (lunch break) and i didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. i'll try that flashlight technique when i get back home again and see if i can spot anything. i'm also going to ask the grommer about the in between the toes hair cutting. he goes in this Saturday for a spa day.

he hasn't been itching at all today. i've maybe only noticed him doing this 3-4 times in the 5 months we have had him.

i notice the flakes on his body (back) when i give him his brushing (every other day) i have a duel sided brush that has pins on one side and then tight togather bristles on the other. often when i bush him there will some tiny dandriff that comes out with the brushing. after a few brushes it's out and no more shows up on his back or the brush.
I'm very carefull to make sure i get all of his doggy shampoo and conditonor rinsed out of the hair as i've read that can cause itching as well. (we have one of the faucets that pull out so i can really get to every area for a good rinse). he gets a bath about every 10 days.

i do have a pump action omega fish oil that i have been putting on his food. but i don't do it every day. i think i'll have to start putting that into the daily routine...now that we finally have one that is working well for him.

[gracielove]

The road and sidewalk salt is very bad for their feet. Maybe there is still residue left outside that you just don't see? It is best to rinse the feet off after walking in the winter time.
I buy the kind of salt that is not supposed to harm their feet but of course no one else does so I can't walk Gracie very far after it snows here.

[Jezebel Dutches]

When Jezebel's nails get to long she will nibble on her feet until I cut them. Also, Olivia has dry skin that flakes despite how I try and treat the problem. You mentioned Wellness pet food. My girls eat Wellness dry and canned. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with it? Jezebel does not have dry skin, but she has always been really oily. I would hate to change food because of every type I've researched, Wellness seems the best!

[Joyce Adams]

Not sure that it is an allergic reaction, it does take time to tell. I hope that all is well soon.

[Brewfilek]

Thanks everyone!

no itching last night at all. He ate his wellness chicken & sweet potatoe canned for dins with no reaction.

i really checked his feet well last night. (not that he enjoyed it ) i didn't notice anything at all. the tops of his feet look the same pale skin color as the rest of the body. no cracks in the pads or any redness. His nails are looking great as well. The vet did a really good job on him when he was knocked out for his neuter (his nails are the one thing that he gives the groomer trouble on, so the vet was sure to get a good cut on them..those dew claws used to be oh so sharp!!) nothing in between the paws either.

the other day when he was biting his foot; he was just biting the one back paw. the only thing that i could think of to give him a bit of realief was to wrap a cold face cloth around his paw to sooth it a bit. He did then go to his other back foot to bite on that one too. he would vary from chewing at just the hair on his leg, biting the tops, and then putting the end of his foot his mouth and chewing on the toes!?! it was very odd but i think the cool helped a bit. he calmed down after a few minutes and fell asleep with me on the couch.

so do you think that it could have been something that he ate weeks ago? or are these reactions happen quicker? i know when i eat a cherry it takes less then a minute for my mouth to start itching.

when they have those allergic reactions is it like a daily thing???

oh and his poops have all been really healthy looking. i was reading they can also get upset tummys if it's an allergic reaction.