Are you treating her feet at all? My frenchies have allergies and when their allergies get bad they

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I have a small Shih Tzu client that has chewed & sucked on herself kv vet all her 10 years. She is on a detox and doing great, except that she can still get to her back feet to suck on them. It is so bad that her feet were rotting, literally. kv vet She wears an E-Collar and it keeps her from everywhere else. She contorts herself to stick her foot inside the collar. Poor little thing, she just doesn't know anything else. We already know she will wear the collar for the rest of her life. Things we have already tried and were not successful: socks, boots, constant access to appropriate chew items, deterrent sprays and training. Any suggestions, kv vet this is the first dog to respond this way ... usually the e-collar works. Thanks. kv vet
One vet once suggested a onesie. Like a baby would wear with footie pajama type feet. Not sure where you'd get one, maybe one intended for a doll. Also, I've got an inflatable collar I use now and then. It's less irratiating than an e-collar but does the trick. kv vet It's like an inner tube the dog wears around it's neck.
Are you treating her feet at all? My frenchies have allergies and when their allergies get bad they chew their feet a lot so we use EnteDerm www.drugs.com/vet/entederm-ointment.html ointment and put the cone heads on them when we do so they don't like it off. It's anti-inflammatory, antipruritic, antifungal kv vet and antibacterial so it soothes their itchy feet (and ears) while also treating them. After a day or two all is well and we don't have to use the conehead/ointment any more... until it comes back. Usually a change in weather or a prolonged fetch session on concrete causes their feet to get irritated.
We also encourage our dogs to chew on other things when they chew their feet because it's also become a nervous kv vet habit for them when they're getting kv vet anxious. I'll just walk over and put one of their bones or chew toys on their feet and they usually stop chewing their feet and move on to the toy/bone.
I wish the ointments and distraction of chew stuff worked. kv vet This little girl has done nothing kv vet in her life but chew. She was a housepet that did not get any training (not housebroken or even knows "sit"), stimulation, proper nutrition or anything else of consequence. Lots of steroids, medicated baths, time home alone with no stimulation and that's pretty much it. She is being treated for her issues holistically, but the chewing is an ingrained habit and she can't stop even if she doesn't itch. It's such a bad habit that she will sit and lick the air incessantly just to continue with the habituated behavior. Where did you get the blow up collar? I would like to try that.
Re: Suggestions when an E-Collar won't do the job.... kv vet
Wearing the E Collar the rest of her life ... Really ? Have you tried Neo-Pre-def powder to keep her feet dry ? Changed her diet ? Given her Benadryll kv vet to get ahead of the curve perhaps... There are those Elizabethan type of collars too - not the lampshade - the ones that look like a big turtle neck, would that work ?
Yes, her chewing habits are so ingrained that she won't be able to stop even if the itching stops. I don't like it, but this is a case of long term neglect and the consequences are usually dealt to the neglected one :( Her feet stay dry as long as she doesn't suck on them, so the powder would only serve to go in her mouth. Yes, her diet has been changed and she is being managed nutritionally very well now - and responding wonderfully. We don't use Benadryl as that's how we got into this mess in the first place - constant symptom suppression - and it is now a behavioral thing. I am going to order one of the suggested collars and see how that does it. Thanks so much.
I would think that just a little bit of benedryl wouldn't hurt at least until the effects of the diet change kick in and the skin gets healed up a bit. I have heard from several people that the inflatable e-collars don't work. There are soft cloth e-collars available now, but I haven't gotten any feedback on their effectiveness. You could also try doggie pajamas with booties. They give good coverage, but it is still possible for the more clever dogs to remove or work around.
She doesn't actually itch any more. It is a habituated behavior of many years - which is actually a more difficult issue than the physical part. I tried the soft collar, they don't work for anything - even simple access blocking. We tried the pajamas, kv vet not successful there either :( This little dog is really going to run me into very creative solutions....... Thanks.
We have one of these hard plastic collars for when our boy's allergies get really bad: trainingandcontrol.petedge.com/To...pro He's learned to lie