Question:
This began happening on a regular basis about 6 months ago...I have an American Eskimo (AKA Eskie) male pup (named Lynch) that is 4yrs old...one day he couldn't wait to go out, he immediately ran out in the yard and began eating grass. Normally when he did this we would cook him some rice and he would be back to himself. This time the rice didn't help, he began vomitting the rice/grass combo while at the same time yelp and constantly licking his paws...I took him to the emergency vet and they kept him over the weekend but they couldn't find the cause but the puppy seemed to be ok...maybe it was just a single incident...not the case...every once in a while he demonstrates the same symptoms just not as bad as the first time.

We haven't changed his diet or added any plants to the yard.

This is odd behavior that our normal vet and the emergency vet couldn't give a diagnosis for what is casuing the behavior. The main things are that he act's as if his skin is on fire and constantly licks all four of his paws...we think it's an alergy and give him benadryl, as directed by both vets, and phenobarbital for his siezures...last check-up was about 4 months ago and he came back clean.

Symptoms:
anxious
licks paws
cry's/moans or occasional yelp
upset stomach/eats grass

Can anyone help with this?????

Answer:
What do you feed?
Did they check for yeast infections? It should have been one of the first things checked with symptoms like that.

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Oh and are they red at all???

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Feed him Pedigree Dry nuggets, lamb and rice....don't know if Vets checked for yeast infection, wouldn't that be more for a female puppy? mine is a male.

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no red food is given to Lynch, he has been eating the same Pedigree food since he was old enough to eat dry food.

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No yeast infections in dogs is nothing like that for humans, Corn is notorious for "feeding" yeast infections.
Google it up and read up, i would love to go into more info about it but I have to leave someone will definately chime up and offer some good advice.

Iwould reccomend looking around in the food forums for some info about foods as it could very well be food related.

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I was going to PM you some info before I left but your not set up for it...

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I'm new to the community so my PM won't be available for a few days...I also looked up the yeast infection and not all of the symptoms are listed,also with a yeast infection the dog would be fatigued and he is the opposite.

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With a yeast infection shouldn't there be noticeble skin irretations? Lynch doesn't have any skin conditions or "smelly" areas...he just constantly licks his paws.

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Yeast can do many different things to different parts of the body.. There's an article about it on page 12 of this: http://www.villagepawsandclaws.com/WDJ_Feb2007.pdf

IMO, you definitely need a food change asap. A good food change would eliminate allergies as a source of the chewing. Since he's had lamb and rice his whole life, a chicken food might work for him. but you have to also make sure the grains don't overlap. An example of a food that probably doesn't have any overlap with the pedigree lamb and rice is Evo.

Evo Chicken

You could also go with a fishy food, like California natural sweet potato and herring, but you have to be careful with the grains. Barley has gluten and if your dog's problem is gluten, you'll have to avoid it.

That's how we start. You find a food without any common ingredients, switch over gradually and see if the itchiness gets better or worse, and then re-evaluate.

Answer:
Originally Posted by the1fan
With a yeast infection shouldn't there be noticeble skin irretations? Lynch doesn't have any skin conditions or "smelly" areas...he just constantly licks his paws.

No not neccisarily, my one dog got many yeast infections in her time and the paw irritations ( which are exactly as you describe your situation) wouldnt smell or show anything noticable. It was always between her toes as far up in there as possible.
With a food change since... oh... September 2006 ish, she has not had one since. where as before it was a monthly battle.

Answer:
Lucy used to have horrible food allergies. Her symptoms were:
obsessive licking of her legs and feet
warm paws
warm, puffy ears
chronic ear infections

Sounds to me like a food change would be a great start. Like advised, select a protein source you haven't used and preferably a grain free or a low gluten product.

I would also add Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue to the list of good foods to try.

These foods are all more expensive but the animals generally eat less, poop less and are much healthier so have fewer vet visits.

Answer:
I agree with the food change. Another good option is Orijen (www.championpetfoods.com).

Answer:
Thanks all for the comment and the research material was great too...I have found that cooking for the dogs (3 Eskies), two meals a day made of white rice, boiled chicken, and flack seed oil would be the best so I'm going to try that and see how it goes...I'll give updates...today he was much better, to soon to tell but for now he's better.

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You may need more than just rice, chicken and flax to keep your dogs healthy though. Dogs need balance.

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