Fleas and ticks will sometimes bite them and cause terrible itching – even if you don’t see fleas and ticks on your dog. Something gets in their bloodstream and they will itch and sometimes even begin to lose large amounts of hair, which I sometimes misdiagnosed as shedding. A good flea and tick bath along with a flea and tick medicine that you can apply between the shoulder blades will usually do the trick.

Hi,

This sounds like an allergy. When I adopted my weim at the age of 5 she had terribly itchy feet, and would lick and nibble them raw. She didn’t have any hair on her paws or her belly. After seeking the assistance of a canine dermatologist and performing testing we discovered she was allergic to grass, trees, and weeds – among other things. Her allergies are seasonal. She has been receiving antigen treatment (a squirt of glycerin with extracts of her allergens) for three years now, which combined with baths using medicated shampoo and conditioner, and managing season flare ups with medication, has resulted in great success. Her fur is back and during the summer months we only have to manage her flare ups. The protocol won’t work if you aren’t diligent, but it is capable of providing your pooch great relief.

Another thing you may want to start doing is a foot soak with Chlorhexadine solution. It also helps to have the solution in a spray bottle for after visits outside.

Best of luck to you!

Well this is not good! Never fun to see our Weims in discomfort!

Have you been to your local Vet about this? If so perhaps you might want to ask if there is a Vet that specializes in Dermatology near you.

My parents have a German Shorthaired Pointer. We started to notice issues with her nails, the local vet originally thought it might be a fungus of some sort. It basically caused the toe nails to fall apart and bleed. The dog was constantly licking at her paws and you could tell she was in pain from it. But when the anti-fungal medications failed he admitted that we likely needed to see a Vet who specialized in Dermatology.

We had to drive nearly 4 hours to have the dog seen by the specialist. She diagnosed it accurately in one visit. It turned out to be some auto-immune disorder. It was truly amazing she gave us a treatment plan and communicated with our Local Vet so we would not have to drive 4+ hours for continued treatment. We saw an immediate improvement in the dogs toes with in a week or two and with a month she was slowly becoming her self again.