[RockGoddess]

Hi everyone, my dog Buddy (10yr old labrador) has horrible granulomas on his two front paws. I've tried the E-collar, wrapping his feet, putting antibiotic ointment on, etc. NOTHING has worked. I can't afford to take him to the vet, and I have no idea how I can help him. His paws are really bad. They are bleeding and he will not stop licking/chewing them. The few times his bandages stayed on, he tried to get at his back leg. I really don't know what to do and I'm so worried about him. Any help at all is greatly appreciated.

 

[LynneMarie]

Welcome to the forum.

What are you feeding him?
Do you give him any treats?

You can try cleaning the spots with wintergreen alcohol and then applying Gold bond medicated powder. You want to dry them out not keep them moist.

 

[Rain]

Could be allergy related, food or environmental.

Let us know what food you are feeding him and we can suggest a different one.

If it's environmental washing his paws off after he's been outside may help..

 

[RockGoddess]

It's because he has separation anxiety. He started doing it in June, when I started moving for college. He's living with my grandparents (whom I lived with) and then he'll be moving up with me in about a month. I know he isn't on the best food, he's had food allergies his entire life, but he hasn't had a problem with Beneful ever. I don't know if I can afford the better options..

 

[LynneMarie]

Any thing with red dye in it a dog can become allergic to it over time. You better off feeding a cheap non colored food.

 

[RockGoddess]

What would you suggest?

 

[LynneMarie]

Since money is an option you could try Natural Balance Lamb. I think IAMS also has a lamb food. Compare prices though, Blue Buffalo is a great food as is Solid Gold and Blue Basics. If the first two are just a little less you will actually save in the long run with one of the others.

 

[marbear]

Get off beneful !!! It is one of the worst.do you have a feed store near you ? They have better food for more reasonable prices than pet stores

 

[RockGoddess]

I think I'll look into Iams, it seems to be the cheapest. I checked all the prices for the other brands, and everything is so expensive. I cleaned his sores with witch hazel and put some GoldBond on them. I have a friend who swears by coconut oil, as long as the dog doesn't have the ability to lick at them. The biggest problem now is that because I'm moving, when I'm out of town, my grandparents don't do more than the basics of food and water, and Buddy is forced to always be outside. They don't think his paws are a problem, and there's no way they will get down on their hands and knees to clean his paws everyday.

 

[marbear]

When my dog had the paw licking like that it was food allergy. You could do a daily paw rinse if you think it's pollen. Change the food though anyway ANd avoid chicken if that is possible...that's in the beneful so it could be a chicken allergy.

 

[RockGoddess]

I'm not sure how to keep the granulomas dry.. The goldbond powder didn't seem to help. At least not on the worse paw. I keep patting the worse one dry because it's wet and I don't know what else would work

 

[LynneMarie]

Just continue to clean with the witch hazel then apply the gold bond. They will start to dry out if he does not lick them.

 

[cac2109]

Yes - if you can keep the cone on him that would be best. I know what you mean when you say it's not staying dry - but the most important thing for you to do is keep him from licking it. As LynneMarie said, the treatment will heal it eventually if he doesn't bother it.

If they are bad like you say then it may take some.

Additionally, I just wanted to say that Canidae ALS sells a 40lb bag for about $54 which is less than $1.25/lb. From the site I where I buy my dog food, the Beneful they sell is actually the same price per lb..

This is one of the lowest prices on decent pet food I have been able to find. It does contain chicken, though, but if your dog isn't allergic to chicken it could be a very good option.

Good luck! I hope he starts feeling better soon.