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OHitsAshley · #1 July 16th, 2006, 10:45 PM

Hi to all! Today my baby girl, Kuna hurt herself, so as my boyfriend and I were looking up possible cures, we came across this website, and I think its awesome. So anyways, my problem is that my puppy Kuna ran out of the house today and ran around our freshly paved neighbor hood for about 35 minutes. So we finially get her back, and I later notice that shes favoring one of her paws. So I take a look and notice that shes basically burned off the pads. I dont know if I should take her to the vet, or if I should just put a sock around it with some anti-bacterial stuff. Is this something that I can just wait out, and see? or is it going to get infected, hurt her more, or anything bad??

Another thing is that her licking her paws ALL the time, is not unusual. And after reading through some of these posts, I see that shes just allergic to something. I was kinda already aware of that. She eat, and then throws up, eats, then throws up. So we are trying to find a good food for her that doesnt cost 100 bucks a bag. All the stuff that I have heard good things about seem to make her worse. She breaks out in this bad rash around her neck. Sometimes it gets so bad that we have to take her collar off.

She also gets a yeast infection in her ears. lol my poor baby has so many problems, I dont know what to do for her. Right now, I guess my biggest concern is her paws. I know it cant feel good at all. and I just want her to feel better. Any suggustions?? thanks guys!

Prin · #2 July 16th, 2006, 10:53 PM

I'd say go to the vet. If the pads are burned off, I don't think a little OTC ointment is going to help much...

For the rest, it could all be related to ear infections. Honestly, most of the foods below at least $45-50 have similar ingredients and won't help you much if at all. The idea is to find a food without ANY of the ingredients that she has already eaten. On the upside, many people here have done the math and between feeding less (the better foods have more useful nutrients, so you feed anywhere from 1/2 to a 1/3 less) and going to the vet less because your dog is just healthier all around, the cost is usually about the same if not cheaper than the crap grocery store foods.

What breed is she?
(btw, welcome to the board!)

LavenderRott · #3 July 16th, 2006, 10:59 PM

Well, the paw problem and the ear problem can be dealt with in the same vet visit. And yes, she does need to go to the vet. Whenever you aren't sure if a vet visit is in order - ask yourself the following question..."If this was a child's (insert injuried body part here) would I take it to the doctor right away or wait until tomorrow?"

As for allergies - what kind of dog is she and where did you get her? Some breeds are more prone to certain allergies then others.

OHitsAshley · #4 July 16th, 2006, 11:01 PM

the pads arent quite off yet. Shes tryin to get them off though. So I think we will probably end up taking her just to see if theres anything we can do. She is a pitt mix. We think shes part Kangaroo becuase she has no problem what so ever jumping our 6 and 1/2 foot wall in the back yard.

I didnt know that they would actually ate less with that food. thats a good thing! we have 2 dogs, and one of them, Suki (the non-injured one) is a cow. She eats anything thats not nailed down. So we go through a lot of food.

Thanks for the welcome!!

OHitsAshley · #5 July 16th, 2006, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

Well, the paw problem and the ear problem can be dealt with in the same vet visit. And yes, she does need to go to the vet. Whenever you aren't sure if a vet visit is in order - ask yourself the following question..."If this was a child's (insert injuried body part here) would I take it to the doctor right away or wait until tomorrow?"

As for allergies - what kind of dog is she and where did you get her? Some breeds are more prone to certain allergies then others.

She just kinda showed up at our house a few years ago. lol It was weird because my boyfriend had Suki, who is brown and white and is a Pitt Mix. Well I went outside and saw what is now Kuna running around and I thought it was Suki. They look almost exactly alike. So I pulled this poor dog up to the house, and then I realized it wasnt Suki. but Kuna wouldnt leave us. She was laying on the porch the next morning, and then she just made us her new family. (just a random little story for you) But yeah, shes is allergic to SOMETHING for sure, we just gonna find out if its just the food, or if its the stuff thats growing out side. I've noticed whenever my allergies are bothering me, she also usually has a rash or is scraching.. So i just gotta narrow it down a little big

Prin · #6 July 16th, 2006, 11:17 PM

My post (#5) here: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=18592 has links to great dog food websites (the thread was for a dog with arthritis on meds, but this links are all there).

Usually vets will suggest an elimination diet before anything else, but then they go and give you the medi-cal hypoallergenic food that is loaded with corn and fillers that dogs are allergic to most of the time...

OHitsAshley · #7 July 16th, 2006, 11:42 PM

We actually think our older dog Suki has arthritis too. lol so I will look at that page too! and I should have worded my last posts better. Her pad is still there, it just looks like on one of her paws, the top layer is coming off. So just to get her to leave it alone, first we sprayed some stuff on it to clean it out, and then we put a sock on her. (we will see how long it lasts) She cried when we cleaned it out, as we expected her to, but now she seems to be leaving it alone. The vet we had been going doesnt know what hes talking about. Last time I took her, he gave her a "physical exam" and said that she seems healthy. looked in her ears and at her skin, and said she was looking "great" and then charged us 20 bucks. We knew it was BS because she has skin allergies and at that time had an ear infection. So we are now in the process of looking for a new vet. We just moved to Colorado Springs, so its kinda an ordeal. Thanks for you guys advice, and I will be visting those websites!! However I have to work in the morning, so I am going to bed. Night!!

OHitsAshley · #8 July 18th, 2006, 06:28 PM

We took Kuna to the vet today. She said that Kunas paw all got burned, and we need to walk her more now to harden them up. They told us to keep her paws clean and dry. So my baby is ok now!

thank you all for the help! We are also trying a new dog food, and got some "swim ear" for her ear infections. So, we are hoping that the puppy problems kinda die down.