detox process on raw diet - ever heard of this?

[TitoandBaxter]

I have had my 2 dachshunds on a raw food diet since October. Everything was going quite well until a month or so ago, when one of them started having swelling of the pads of one of his feet. He continually licked the foot and made it worse, and the irritation spread to his mouth.

I took him to the vet, who seemed to think this was not an allergic reaction, and he was puzzled. He gave him cortisone and over a couple of days the foot improved. Since then, it has recurred twice, each time getting worse. He has been tested for auto-immune diseases and that was negative.

The place where I buy their raw food has been very helpful, and she says this is part of the purging process for him. Apparently I should not have let the vet give him the cortisone (twice now) because that just slows everything down.

This morning his foot is absolutely raw and bleeding and twice it's normal size. My vet does not know what else to do, except give him antibiotics.

I love the raw food diet, but I am beginning to wonder if this uclerated foot (and mouth) could really be caused by the purging of toxins. Any ideas?

Thank you!

[want4rain]

the foot reacted first?? i would think if thats the case it was something he stepped in and then licked. ive never heard of these reactions on a raw food diet specifically although my dog did have allergies to his kibble that caused him to 'mouth' his feet though he never actually chewed them.

i would seriously look into his routine and see what he may be stepping in that causes this. i highly doubt its detox, which is typically considered a myth in raw feeding. there is a period of adjustment with ANY food change, raw being no different but there (by my opinion) no such thing as detox.

try booties with your doxie when you take walks outside and see if that doesnt help. why did your vet think it was not a contact allergy??

and welcome to pets.ca!!!! i really hope we can help and chat about your raw diet!! we have several members who feed raw and love hearing about how others do it and their results.

-ashley

[TitoandBaxter]

My vet did not think it was an allergic reaction because it is very localized. He did not rule it out completely, though.

I also thought about maybe something he stepped in outside, but recurring in the same foot 3 times? I don't know. Now I have his foot bandaged up and he is doing pretty well hopping around on 3 paws.

I love the raw diet but if this is purging (and I know that's questionable) it's a really bad case. I guess we'll have to just wait and see. He was also having some skin problems on Life's Abundance, which I was feeding him before we started the raw diet, so he does seem somewhat prone.

Thanks again for your input.

[SARAH]

Raw food/ purge isn't something I know a lot about when it comes to animals, but I do know that a raw juice/ cleanse in humans can give ulcerations in the mouth for a few days.

Why the foot would get a reaction ... doesn't make sense that it would be related to the raw diet. The reason it recurred in the same foot each time could simply be that it wasn't totally cured after each treatment. Sometimes the symptoms go away, but the underlying cause may still be there.

If your dog stepped on something that somehow got lodged inside the paw ...

Did your vet do an X-Ray to check?

[pitgrrl]

Originally Posted by want4rain

i highly doubt its detox, which is typically considered a myth in raw feeding. there is a period of adjustment with ANY food change, raw being no different but there (by my opinion) no such thing as detox.

I actually disagree, I think there can be a period of detox, as I've seen it a few times in my own dogs, first when I switched from kibble to home cooked food, then when we switched to raw.

That said, what you might typically see is mucous in the dog's stool, eye boogers, darker urine, increased "dog smell", blowing coat, etc. all of which would go away in time. A swollen foot, to me, would indicate something else happening and if it's recurring, I would be extremely hesitant to continue giving cortisone without an actual diagnosis, even if that meant getting a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th opinion.

[want4rain]

sorry, i didnt mean to imply there wasnt a temporary change your pet could go through when switching foods, especially from one as processed as kibble to a much less refined homemade/raw diet. i always took 'detox' as purging toxins from the body in the sense that something built up and thus needed to be removed through a bodys natural process such as sweating, urinating, etc.

did your vet check for diabetes?

-ash

[TitoandBaxter]

Thanks for all of the responses. We have not checked him for diabetes. Maybe we should. He is only 3 years old but I guess that does not matter.

I agree about the cortisone. I am not going to let him have any more of that until we figure out exactly what's going on. I don't think this is a purging of toxins either. It seems too severe for that. I guess my next step will be the diabetes test and maybe a vet who specializes in dermatology.

[luckypenny]

Originally Posted by TitoandBaxter

I love the raw food diet, but I am beginning to wonder if this uclerated foot (and mouth) could really be caused by the purging of toxins. Any ideas?

I've read about "detox process on raw diet" but the only changes we noted in our three dogs when we first switched them to raw were mucous-covered stools that lasted about a week.

Just as your vet ruled out allergies because it's very localized, I'd say the same about a possible detox effect: too localized to be associated with raw feeding, or any feeding for that matter. If your vet, after several visits, is at a loss, I would suggest seeking a second opinion.

When you say "the irritation spread to his mouth," what exactly do you see in his mouth?

[TitoandBaxter]

When you say "the irritation spread to his mouth," what exactly do you see in his mouth?

After a day or so of constantly licking the foot, he starts "itching" all around his mouth and snout. If a dog had lips, picture wherever the lips would be is all irritated and red because he also rubs his mouth on the pavement, doormat, or anything else he can. The foot is much worse, which is why I am more concerned, but the problem is also around his mouth.

[luckypenny]

Sounds like it may be related to a fungal infection. Had your vet mentioned anything related to this? Did he happen to take a sample to analyze?

[growler~GateKeeper]

Sounds like it's not the food....He didn't step in road salt did he? That would cause a burning sensation of the foot & possible mouth if he injests any of it. Did the vet take a skin scraping? Yeast infection perhaps? Fungal? Bacterial infection?


When I switched my cat to raw she only had 2 days of slightly mucous-y poop...no other symptoms.

[MerlinsHope]

Hello everyone

I'd like to answer too if I may.
We run a rescue here in Montreal and all of our rescues are fed exclusively raw, and when I say raw, I mean 'real" raw, not commercially prepared raw foods.

Our adoption candidates have come from every conceivable backround including mills, surrenders of course, and other types of rescue situation.

We have never seen "detox", and we've been doing, what we have been doing for some 3 years now. Myself personally I've been raw feeding for more than 14 years now. All we notice is "wellness", so I have to debute the 'detox' theory. I don't think it occurs at all.

It's very possible that your dog stepped in something on the road, and transferred it to his mouth from licking. If you live in Canada, it's very likely in the Winter months. It could easily be salt. That would cause a reaction. It's quite strong (the salt used on roads)., or let's face it, when our dogs walk on public roads, they are subject to picking up everything and anything. Hope it's nothing too serious, but I seriously doubt it's the food.