My Bully is always licking her feet!

[Red931]

My six year old English Bulldoig "Bella" is constantly licking her paws until they are raw or have yeast build up. She has doen this since she was 8 weeks old. This is common with English Bulldogs but I was wondering if anyone with a bulldog has tried anything that I have not.tried.

I tried the spray they have in the pet stores. (Rip Off)

The Vet has put here on steroids which does work but I don't want her on them for an extended amount of time because they are hard on the liver.

I give her baths in Epsom Salts which is a temporary fix.

I also give her Benadryl that also seems to be a temporary fix because it is allergy related. It gets worse at different times of the year.

If anyone has a bulldog with this problem please let me know of something you may have tried that I haven't.

[Red931]

I am going to get some of that. It is raining here today so she has been at it since 7:00 am when to she went outside. I have been having to stop her every 10 minutes. Once I stop her enough times she will go on the floor or out on the hallway stairs and come back with all four paws soaking wet.

[Jaybay]

I've haed varying results with the bitter apple and variton sprays.  Sometimes it works like a charm, and others it's like it's an appetizer.  Chica paid no attention to those sprays and kept right on licking.  I did discover that the Dermachlor did a good job preventing licking, so that might be the one thing that will help turn things around.  It's very cheap, so it's worth a try anyway.

[Red931]

She is on the food with no wheat. The spray was "Bitter Apple" that I bought at the pet store. That didn't slow her down at all. It isn't bitter enough for Bella. The Vet gave me another medicated spray that works better but doesn't stop it. She doesn't get treats because of the wheat in them.

She does get boiled chicken though. The Vet suggested it. I don't think that chicken is the problem because I started giving her it long after the problem had begun.

I use the anti-fungal shampoo also. It is a prescription shampoo. She is allergic to something outside. She will start licking soon after coming in from a walk. It is a problem with all English Bulldogs I have come to find out. It seems that we have all tried everything.

As I stated earlier and alot of other bulldog owners agree, the steriods work well but you don't want to keep them on them for an extended amount of time. If I put her on them for two weeks in the begining of Spring it helps alot. But she just turned 6 in February and I don't want to have her on them anymore.

We will just have to give her weekly Epsom soaks and a bath every two weeks with the medicated shampoo I guess. That seems to be what all other bulldog owners I have talked to are doing.

Thanks for the reply.

[Shara21]

If this is related to allergies, what food in she on?
Food can help alot with allergies.
I would avoid chicken like the plague, unless you've done allergy tests. Also maybe try a holistic, grain free food with limited ingredients. This also means modifying treats and cookies.

As for the spray, which one did you use? "Bitter Apple" works miracles, I have never had any negative feed back on it. Although, she's probably extremly itchy, so i dont know if it would be fair to put that on her. Also she may suck up the taste in exchange for relief.

In my experience with allergies, the best things are the right food and anti-fungal shampoos. I used to bath one of my dogs with one of these shampoos every week and it was honestly the only way to keep him comfortable.

[Red931]

I will check that out. Thanks for the advice. Bella never has a problem with foot odor though. It may be because I put her in the Epsom Bath not long after it starts. The Epsom Salts suck the yeast out. She actually likes the bath which in unusual for English Bulldogs. They don't like water much. I have a hard time with her getting out to go to the bathroom when it is raining, yet she likes the snow. Go figure!

Other than her feet being irritated the biggest problem is that she goes down on the bedroom carpet and gets it loaded with spit if you don't catch her in time and that causes an odor later if you don't shampoo it. I had to buy my own machine. The carpet has been cleaned so often it has changed color.

I have a cast on my leg right now and two bad shoulders so I am looking for another solution that I haven't tried because I can't keep up with it right now. My wife gives her the soaks also but like I said it is only a temporary fix.

[Jaybay]

We had a dog who periodically had the same problem - usually in the summer months.  The more she licked, the worse it got.  Her foot odor could drive you out of a room.  We used a liquid called Dermachlor Flush Plus for a few days and the problem was gone.  It's a gentle antibacterial and antifungal liquid.  Another great benefit was that it immediately got rid of the terrible foot odor.  

Dermachlor comes in a bottle, so you can apply it directly to the feet with the nozzle, or suck some up into a smaller syringe if it's easier to handle that way.  Chica never liked having her feet messed with, so I let her stand up for the treatment.  If you have ever been around horses, I picked up each foot the same way you would when working on a horse's hoof.  I just slightly pushed her weight onto the supporting legs and off the leg I wanted to treat, and she willingly gave me the foot.  It's important to get it in between the toes since that's where the moisture and fungus tend to accumulate.

I've got a 24 oz bottle of Dermachlor and for the one dog it lasted almost 2 years.  One whiff of foot odor and she got a couple days' treatment.  No more problem.