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Old September 7th, 2012, 10:22 AM
vksage vksage is offline
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Swollen Paws

I have an 8 year old pug/jack russell mix in generally good health. We have taken her to the vet and will probably go again in the next day or so, but I'm trying to educate myself since the vet isn't sure what is wrong and this is costing us a small fortune.

About 4 weeks ago, after going to the beach Mila's right hind paw became swollen and red. She wasn't in pain or limping. The vet said there was no sign of a cut or infection. He wasn't sure what it could be. He gave us Chloridrine and Hibitane to put on 2x daily and we gave her epsom salt baths regularly. Nothing seemed to get better, but it didn't get worse either. Then about a week ago her other paws all got slightly swollen at the same time. Still no pain or limping. I read online that it could be allergies and we have given her the appropriate amount of benadryl before so I tried it and boom, all 4 paws were back to normal. After 2 days I stopped giving her benadryl and now 16 hrs later the swelling is returning.

If anyone has had similar experiences I'd love some advice so we can go to the vet with as much info as possible. Thank you!
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  #2  
Old September 7th, 2012, 10:25 AM
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Marty11 Marty11 is offline
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Could be allergies for sure, that is a long process to figure out. Seasonal, enviromental and food. What do u feed?
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Old September 7th, 2012, 11:27 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vksage View Post
I have an 8 year old pug/jack russell mix in generally good health. We have taken her to the vet and will probably go again in the next day or so, but I'm trying to educate myself since the vet isn't sure what is wrong and this is costing us a small fortune.

About 4 weeks ago, after going to the beach Mila's right hind paw became swollen and red. She wasn't in pain or limping. The vet said there was no sign of a cut or infection. He wasn't sure what it could be. He gave us Chloridrine and Hibitane to put on 2x daily and we gave her epsom salt baths regularly. Nothing seemed to get better, but it didn't get worse either. Then about a week ago her other paws all got slightly swollen at the same time. Still no pain or limping. I read online that it could be allergies and we have given her the appropriate amount of benadryl before so I tried it and boom, all 4 paws were back to normal. After 2 days I stopped giving her benadryl and now 16 hrs later the swelling is returning.

If anyone has had similar experiences I'd love some advice so we can go to the vet with as much info as possible. Thank you!
what about some kind of parasites or bacteria ? Or maybe there is some
chemical that got washed on on the beach from a storm. I do not know where you live but the last hurricane has washed up some of BP oil spill and tar balls on to some beaches.
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Old September 7th, 2012, 01:42 PM
vksage vksage is offline
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Originally Posted by Marty11 View Post
Could be allergies for sure, that is a long process to figure out. Seasonal, enviromental and food. What do u feed?
She's been on the same diet for 5 months now, with no other side effects. Natural Balance Veg formula. I'm thinking environmental or seasonal. We use all natural cleaning products at home. Maybe I'll try taking her to different places on our walks for awhile and see if it's something in the grass at the park we go to.
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Old September 7th, 2012, 04:49 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by vksage View Post
She's been on the same diet for 5 months now, with no other side effects. Natural Balance Veg formula. I'm thinking environmental or seasonal. We use all natural cleaning products at home. Maybe I'll try taking her to different places on our walks for awhile and see if it's something in the grass at the park we go to.
Have you cleaned your rugs recently ? I cleaned my W/W rug and then realize my cats could get sick . I had to wash their paws off and keep them off the rug until it was dry.
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Old September 7th, 2012, 09:27 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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If I'm looking at unexplained paw swelling, I would want to rule out anything that might cause vasculitis. For example, were you in an area that has ticks? Are there other insect type things that can transmit? Was your dog exposed to the water and are there strange organisms that your dog might have been exposed to? For example, knew a dog with a systemic E. coli infection whose symptom was paw swelling.

I would run a blood panel if it hasn't been run, and an xray if nothing shows up on the blood paanel, just trying to rule out infection, or something like bone infection. Some things won't show up on a blood panel, but I would want to look at blood counts, monocytes, platelets on the cbc. Maybe run an idexx 4dx snap test to test for some of the tick diseases.

Eta: rereading, since it's all paws, I think bone infection is unlikely, but look more towards a systemic problem. Would also wonder if you are in an area where there are fungal infections.

I would get a consult at a referral center with a good internal medicine doctor maybe. Sounds like your vet is out of good ideas.
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Old September 7th, 2012, 09:34 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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Originally Posted by vksage View Post
She's been on the same diet for 5 months now, with no other side effects. Natural Balance Veg formula.
Dogs need protein, and older dogs need high quality protein. There may be a nutritional deficiency here.

Get a blood test run - full chemistry with cbc, and go from there.
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