Hi Joanna. I suspect that a large part of the problem is now due to the licking. A lot of these cases respond to disinfectants or antibiotics and creams, as long as they can be prevented from causing more damage. Only your vet can say what might have caused it.

Hi Jesse. It sounds like you’re doing everything right so I’m sorry it’s not working for your dog. It’s a long shot but make sure he’s had a skin scraping for demodex mites, and I would suggest using a cone so that creams on his feet can work better without being licked off. Other than that, all I can suggest is to keep trying different combinations until you get it right.

Hi Topher. A collar is never a bad idea when a dog is excessively licking the feet, and then ointments won’t get licked off either. Wrapping on the other hand will make it worse. The bumps on your dog’s underside are almost certainly caused by a bacterial infection of the hair follicles called superficial pyoderma. It makes me wonder if that’s also affecting the feet – this only responds properly to systemic antibiotics. The trick with these dogs is to deal with secondary infections and then deal with underlying allergies, parasites or any other causes. I’m sorry there’s no easy solution.

Please help!

Hi Pamela. It’s never a good idea to give cat food to dogs as it’s generally too rich for them. As far as whether the food is causing the skin problem, click the link to learn more.