Hi All

My westie robbie who is just over 1 yr old has currently got some problems with having itchy skin, i got him an appt yesterday at the vets because he has been licking his feet over the past 4 weeks and i noticed he has been biting up his front legs making his skin sore and had a few scabs appear over the past few days, the vet checked his feet and said that they were very sore and that he could see where he had been biting up his legs and licking in the armpit area, on checking his glands he said that they were very blocked so he cleared them, he has put him on 2 weeks of antibiotics as he said he has got a bacterial infection due to the skin being so sore and has told us to bath him in malaseb twice a week, and to go back and see him in 2 weeks time.
I am a little concerned as my last westie had skin problems and the scabs he has got are looking the same as what he had his fur seems very greasy and smelly at the moment and under his armpits have turned a little bit black like my other dog was but he had severe skin problems so i am keeping my fingers crossed that robbie is not going the same way.

He said blocked glands can cause dogs to excessively lick their feet and also get bacterial infections but i have looked up on the internet and it says that it causes them to lick their feet but not that they end up with bacterial infections so i am not sure whether he is right here or not, he has told me to add bran to his diet as i feed him on a raw diet anyway but i just wanted to see other peoples thoughts on this.

Helen

My wire-haired fox terrier had itchy, sore, scabby skin when she first started having allergy problems. Her coat was greasy and smelly, and the vet prescribed Malaseb and antibiotics. The two together sorted it, and it has never been as bad since. I have often wondered if it was worse when she was younger in the same way that children get juvenile eczema, which they often grow out of to some extent. Bracken was about a year old when her allergy problems started, and it was the greasy smelly, scabby skin that I noticed first.

Now I make sure to bath her regularly in Malaseb (and let the lathered up shampoo stand in her coat for 10 mins before rinsing re. vet's advice). I also keep some Fuciderm gel on hand to put on any wet eczema (such as between toes), but it would soon be licked off, so Bracken has some nice cotton twill booties to go over her feet when they itch. I have found that breaking the cycle is the key thing, and you can't break the foot licking cycle without a buster collar or covering the feet. The booties come off when she goes outside. The other key thing is to keep the feet as dry as possible, which is really hard at this time of year, and doubly hard when toes are sore. We have to be very vigilant to stop foot licking and remember to put the booties on.

I have heard (from vet) that blocked anal glands can cause foot licking, but he never said anything about infections or all over itching. If Robbie is getting raw bones then I don't see why bran would be needed as whenever my Bracken has raw bones (once a week) her poos are very solid indeed and pretty bulky, and I have always assumed that this is what empties the anal glands.

Claire

Im having problems with Whistler (Cocker) he has had his glands emptied twice now he keeps biting around his tail area, Im thinking its third empty coming up plus Jake (BC) has cut his foot and on three legs. I think its an expensive time for dog owners.

I agree with wireyfox in that if he is being fed raw bones I can't see the need for bran. Your vet may be correct with the licking and getting bacterial infections. Robbie has probably created a bacterial infection by constantly licking, so they are linked.

Have you tried any of the neem-based shampoos which are very good for itchy skin?

bones are good for this and bran

altho neither work with my bully who needs her glands empting once a month or more

I feed robbie the prize choice freeflow mince and haven't as yet given him raw bones, where do you get your bones from?

Helen

I get lamb rib bones from my local butcher. It's well worth forming a good relationship with your butcher, I get mine for free! But they must do their own butchering rather than buying in meat already done.

I don't feed chicken wings or bones through choice, although many do, but they are easily obtainable from supermarkets. I don't get recreational marrow bones etc as they can break teeth. I find the lamb ribs ideal and all the bone is consumed.

Raw chicken wings will give bone and roughageif you don't want to give bigger bones.

Hi

You say feed him raw bones, are you meaning chicken bones? Where would i get these from at a butchers and what would i ask for as somebody told me to stay clear of marrowbone as that gives them the runs, would you feed these bones every day mixed with his meat meal as i currently feed him natural choice wholebake mixer biscuit with prizechoice freeflow mince raw.
He had his glands emptied last Friday and yesterday he started scooting again so looks like they are blocking again, i cannot believe its so quickly as his motion isn't runny, i cannot understand it.

Helen

How raw feeders usually feed is to give their dog a meal of just chicken wings. I would think 1 or 2 would be sufficient for a Westie depending on the size of the wings. I don't feed chicken bones, but many do. Wings are readily available at supermarkets or your local butcher as are drumsticks, breasts (on the bone) etc.

Have a look at these photo's to give you some idea (http://www.ukrmb.co.uk/showcontent.toy?contentnid=13123).

My dogs are generally fed raw minced meat (lamb, chicken, beef, turkey, tripe etc) with a small handful of Orijen for their meals. Probably 3-4 meals a week are replaced with lamb ribs and on a Sunday they get some liver and kidney. Once a week I add a tin of pilchards to a minced meat meal. Sometimes I will add veg/fruit and a raw egg.

I hope that helps.
Karen

Hi Karen

thanks for your reply, the chicken wings that you suggest would these be fed every day as 1 of the meals, i always thought dogs would choke on chicken bones as some of them are very small?
I feed the raw prizechoice freeflow mince either the beef, lamb, chicken and tripe, he loves this and always licks the bowl clean.

Helen

Hi Helen

As I mentioned in my previous post, I replace 3-4 meals a week with a "raw meaty bone" meal (lamb ribs). So out of 14 meals (my dogs are fed twice a day) 3 or 4 are lamb ribs. You really need to monitor the poo to gauge how many meals should be RMBs. Very hard, cream/white and crumbly probably means too much bone is being fed.

Regarding chicken bones, as long as they are raw NOT cooked, he shouldn't choke on them. I don't feed them to mine because they don't seem to be able to digest them fully (I can see remnants in the poo) and find lamb ribs suit them better. They still get chicken bones in the minced meats though for variety.

By feeding the RMBs you will have the added benefit of teeth cleaning!

Karen

My 2 small terriers love chicken wings, never any trouble with digestion, or chewing.
Karen