Question:
I have a 8 month old Cane Corso (aka Italian Mastiff). Yesterday I noticed she was limping and was slightly licking her rear paws. When I took a closer look, it appeared that in between the paws it was pink and sore. She wouldn't walk on them as they hurt too much. I ruled out any cut or lesion as there were no apparent signs of direct injury. It looked more as if it was from excessive running or some allergy.
I took her into the vet and he didn't find any abrasions or cuts either. he thought it was odd that they hurt so much since there was no major damage. He thought it might be an allergic reaction so he administered a Dexamethasone injection, put her on Cephalexin and Predisone tablets as well as Panolog ointment.
Over the evening she managed to get up and go to the bathroom, but upon returning, her rear left paw was bleeding from one of her centre toes (on the side by her nail, not in between the paw). I don't believe she hit her toe, but perhaps it was the pressure of walking on it... i'm not sure what could cause it to bleed though...
The next day she was looking better, and tried to walk a bit, but couldn't get far. Then I noticed on the other rear paw (right) it began to bleed as well... the bleeding isn't pure blood but liquidy (may be the ointment, not too sure).
Anyways, I am getting extremely worried as I don't know what is causing this injury/pain and it seems to be getting worse. If anyone can share any ideas or similar experiences, please let me know.

Thanks,
sore paws

Answer:
What are you feeding her?

Answer:
Actually, it's funny you mention that... I just changed her puppy food to one that the vet prescribed (5 days ago) it's Medi-Cal K9 Adolescent 4kg. The vet said it could be a possibility that it is the food, and to change back to her old food once this pack is done.
I have been thinking about any change in enviroment that may be a cause, and remembered about a day before this all happened I cleaned a stain on the carpet with a tiny amount of Tide w/Bleach laundry detergent... I'm worried this might be part of the problem. Should I clean the area again with water to neutralize the area?

Answer:
Could be food or environment.

Try not to use any toxins in areas your dog sleeps/walks on. Bleach can do it, as can many other products. Rewash the area with warm water and blot it dry. But you may be looking at another reaction, say with the food as LR and your vet suggest.

You can put vitamin e from capsuls on the feet to sooth or use aloe from an aloe vera plant or you can get pure aloe gel.

Answer:
Thanks Luba. I don't use any toxins in her sleeping area, but i do use detergent on the carpet... I will stop that now.

As for the food, I'm wondering if I should even wait for the bag to finish like the vet said... I don't want her to suffer anymore and was thinking of changing the food immediately.

But i'm wondering, can allergic reactions cause bleeding in the paws?

Answer:
What is her skin like? Are there any spots on the skin that look odd to you.
I'm sure an allergic reaction can cause any number of horrible things.

I've suggested to people in the past, if they want to find out if it is a food allergy, to put their dog on a special meal program for about 10 days.

Simply boiled chicken with potato and maybe some broccoli or carrots.
The veggies should be steamed/cooked as well.

If by the end of the 10 days the problem is getting better then u know its food related. It could be certain grains/fillers or even byproducts/preservatives.

I home cook for my dog .... started to do it after she was very ill. I just never stopped and she's never been sick since...happy healthy and shiny coat..great weight, bright eyes!!

It's worth the try for 10 days. You may wanna add some vitamin e to the diet as well.

At first I'd start off with the bland diet to see if it works. If you want to continue you'll have to supplement to make sure your dog gets all the nutrition needed.

Best of luck and let us know.

You can buy non toxic detergents you know.
Fragrance free as well

Answer:
She doesn't have any other irritations, no skin problems or other visible signs of disfunction. We went to the vet a week ago for her wellness exam and the vet said she was in perfect condition, healthy and happy. We left with a new bag of food and some multivitamins, 3 days later she appeared with the sore paws.
Do you think that a multivitamin could be a problem too?
I will change her food and see what happens from there. I just hope the bleeding stops. Poor thing wants to go out and play and can't even walk :(

Answer:
I would be worried about infection. Wasn't the vet concerned about the bleeding?

Are yu sure she's not just licking it a lot?

Stop the food and vitamins (IMHO) but I'm not a vet...just know what I would do myself.

If you don't have...go buy some pure vitamin E
and some Pure aloe vera gel (Lily of the desert is great brand and cheap)

I would clean the area carefully with a clean damp cloth, don't rub just pat it gently..then I would put aloe gel on it with a qtip gently. When the aloe absorbs put the vitamin e on it.

Really hope she feels better soon!

Is there a chance of anything outside that may have caused this?
Has anyone sprayed chemicals on their yard?

Answer:
Strange, my kitten STripes seems to have same prob.? Paws close to fur & inbetween get raw, pink and seems to have a little puss. They also smell funny. I think they are infected. The vet doesn't know what the prob. is. They even took a culture with no conclusive results other than its not bacterial. They've cleaned them up twice, given him antibiotics & pain killers, $$$$$, but it keeps coming back. Just curious, to see what cleaning products you use to see if anything is similar? Sometimes I use diluted ammonia on the floors, or diluted Mr. Clean (is this bad?) If so..what is better to use? What are you using? I'm so frustrated and feel terrible for Stripes that I can't seem to solve this dilemma. :( Is it okay to use Polysporin on kittens & pups paws?

Answer:
If the paws are swollen, the pressure on the nails could cause bleeding.......ouch! Definately stop the detergent on the carpet. Very irritating to all animals. carpet deodorants (powders) are a huge cause of allergies. :(

Good luck, hope you all find out whats wrong. Just remember to post it if you do to help others

Answer: