General Question Lola loves her feet

[Jrpoer]

Our Lola is a rescued bully that is presumed to be about 4.5 to 5 years old. She was a breeder and spent most of her time in a crate. She just loves to chew on her feet. We can't decide if it is allergies or boredom. We give her Benadryl or Zyrtec to handle the itching in general. She still will chew on her paws while medicated. We will bathe her using oatmeal shampoo and we put Epsom salts in the bath water and that seems to help some. She's a white bully (plenty of allergies), and her paws turn dark brown from the licking and chewing. She eats grain free food and doesn't do treats except for peanut butter with her pills. But even after all that we do, she still will just lay and lick/chew her paws. She doesn't cause and worn spots or self injuries. We just want to be sure we are making her as comfortable as possible. Any thoughts?

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

hi...Forde use to do that constantly....i did the benedryl etc.....switched to bb grain free ....still licked although not as bad......after grain free went to bb lamb and rice, he improved a little more .....i then read on here about fromm and adding like a teaspoon of yogurt to his food in the morning....what a difference...very rarely do i ever see him licking his paws.....how thrilled am i not saying it will work for all but it worked for him!

 

[Texas Carol]

For very allergic/sensitive bullies, oatmeal even in shampoo is NOT
reccomended so try omitting that and see if it's helpful. Also, I just
read that beef & chicken heighten inflammation when allergies are
active in predisposed dogs and to be avoided during those times. Of
course, certain dogs will always have active allergies ALL the time.

Another great tip was to buy locally produced honey and feed your dog
1 teasp/daily to help aclimate their immune system to the allergens.

GOD bless!

 

[Jrpoer]

Great advice, both of you. Thanks. We will start the yogurt and look at adjusting her food. No more oatmeal shampoo. We will let you know how successful we are. Thanks again.

 

[Jrpoer]

Oh and local honey. I've actual tried that myself for my allergies. Worked for me....

 

[christyjulene]

How about some distraction. This is a fun way to give Lola a treat that is okay for her to have and a distraction from chewing/licking her feet. 2BullyMama came up with this idea.
"Marrow bones which you can get these from you local grocery store or butcher. They are sometimes over 8 or 9 inches long so I just ask for them to be cut into 4 or 5 inches; this way all the marrow is reachable for the pup.

These are frozen and raw (front right), do not cook them. Just give right from the freezer, they last for hours and are also great for teething as the cold help with the pain. You can give it to them for as long as you want.

Once the marrow is done, you can stuff with yogurt, peanut butter (front center) or cream cheese and freeze. I also leave them empty (back left) for a few days after peanut butter and let them just chew on the empty bone.

It keeps them busy for hours and when done... they are exhausted and sleep for the next few hours. Very happy bully!"

 

[Vicaroo1000]

*bump*

 

[Bullyproof]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] hit the nail on the head, of course Your furbaby needs distraction. I give Kiah everything bullymama mentioned, raw is super high value for us though, so its very special. The yogurt will defintely help, I get the chobani greek yogurt, plain and fat free, half a tablespoon once a day. She is getting it twice a day now since I mix her antibiotics in with it. Give her some apple cider vinegar in her water every other day as well. Kiah gets a half a teaspoon with a bottle and a half of water. It helps with the allegies and cleans their system as well as boosting their immunity. My girl was crated most of her life so she developed some OCD like ticks. Just find something more exciting and redirect her when she starts. I wil pick up her bone when she passes out, that way its more special when I give it to her. I cant let her get bored Good luck!!!