Akita paw issue....

edited November 2009 in Akita (秋田犬)
Musashi has developed a problem with a couple of his feet. In between a couple toes, its very swollen, red and sometimes purplish. They can be squeezed and burst every 1-2 days. They don't stink. The fluid ranges from red to off white/red. He doesn't obsessivly lick his feet. He is walking fine with no visible signs of discomfort. This problem seemed to arise when we switched beaches we were going to, the new beach had a plant with small holly type leaves. The stickers never remained, but I think there was some secretion that caused pain afterwards...I got a few in my feet. At the same time we took our shiba to the same beach. He developed a similar problem, but had since cleared up. We stopped going to that beach about a month ago and the problem persists. It is not spreading. We went to the vet and received a volley of anti-biotics. He said it was a dog type of atopic echzima. I think he wants to sell a lifetime of meds to us. The dog never exhibited signs of this disorder until we changed locations and the shiba never had this problem until our location chaged...his condition also cleared up...which the skin disorder wouldn't.

I just gave them a load of ivermectin, an oral skin and parasite killer.
I'm going to do an anti-histamine and epsom soak today.

Any help?

Comments

  • MnVMnV
    edited November -1
    Hey Paul. Sorry to hear about Musashi's condition.

    I do not have any advice.

    From my experience, our Aki seems to be very pain tolerant. She never even yep once when she was given shots at the Vet and when the vet fished the fecal matter from her anus.

    Hope Musashu gets well soon.
  • edited November -1
    Thanks. I tried a soak today, no salts though...i have yet to find any here. I think I'll soak twice a day for 15 mins and see what happens.

    As to pain...he didn't even flinch when he got an A-B shot.

    He's such a good dog, I don't think I could ask for better.
  • edited November -1
    If you do not feel comfortable with the vet's diagnosis, maybe you could ask to be referred to a dermatologist. Just a thought.
  • edited November -1
    Paul are you in California now? If so I am going to take a stab at this. My guess is doggie Staph dermatitis. The type of sore described sounds familiar to this description:

    [The fist one]
    There are two typical Staph lesions. One type begins as a red area on the skin with a pimple-like pustule in the center. The other type is a circular, reddish area with a crusty edge and hair loss in the center. The latter can easily be confused with ringworm. Finding either of these skin patterns in a dog that is scratching is highly suggestive of Staph.

    On our local beaches (LA area for sure) we do see a lot more cases of Staph on the local surfers. The same might be true in dogs.
  • edited November -1
    Little back story. I live in Japan and Mu is coming up on 11 months.

    I don't think they have dog derms here, and if they did...they'd be 3 arms and two legs....can't afford that.

    The Staph infection sounds believable, the beaches here are hideous....untreated grey water/cesspool runoff is dumped straight into the oceans. We did a week long antibiotic run with what I think was little effect. Think it needed a longer term? Hes forced outside due to our living conditions right now (inlaws are not inside dog friendly), I feel if I convince them to let him in a sectioned area until his feet heal it will be a huge benefit.


    This is also a problem because I want this cleared up before we have to take him to the US...I want the health inspection to go smoothly.
  • edited November -1
    Well, strangely,,,I think its clearing up. Rather than shiny ballooned bulges pocked with follicle pores, they are pink, dry, slightly crusty (dry over-strteched skin), and receding.

    To top it all off....his tactical vest is coming today so I'll show you what he looks like all rigged up.
  • edited November -1
    Thats great news. Keep us posted if anything changes.
  • edited November -1
    Sounds like it's going in the right direction. I hope it clears up soon!
  • edited November -1
    Yeah, he looks much better. Still needs more though. We just got back from an overnight trip so I have to get back on this regime tonight. I'll get some pics of his rig in the morning. He looks pretty cool. It has a heavy duty strap handle in middle...yu can carry him like luggage....although....he didn't seem to prefer that mode of transportation very long.
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