She’s going to chew her paws off

I decided to update my blog theme and it portrays me wonderfully. Black and white. My thought process is black and white, no gray; all or nothing. It’s a very plain theme and I myself, am a Plain Jane. I may revise it (maybe change colors?) down the road but for now I am in love. 🙂 I enjoyed my last one but it felt as though I’ve had that theme for a while now…

Storm’s paw chewing has gotten worse. Not only does she constantly chew her back paws but now I see her with her front paws in her mouth. And they are turning out to be the same as the back ones, raw and bloody. They have never been this horrible during winter months. I know this last summer/fall season was a bitch for allergies, so I don’t know if it is the reason. Or do I blame El Nino? What about global warming? Whatever the reason, it leaves me frustrated knowing I can’t do much to help her. My vet and I have decided it is mostly due to the environment and not her food.

I would like to buy her some boots or socks so she can’t chew off her legs but I am not sure which brands are worth the money. A few years ago I bought some at a local pet store and I am not impressed. Do any of your dogs have boots/slippers that work really well?

Voice in other room: “Storm! C’mere (come here)!”

 

‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m getting there; hold your horses lady.’

Halo’s Dream Coat

It’s commonly known that bulldogs are likely to have allergies and my American Bulldog, Storm, is no exception. Her allergies seemed to mostly to show up during the warm, summer months so I assumed it wasn’t the food. She would sit and chew on her paws until they were pink and covered with her drool.

 
This last spring her allergies seemed to be getting worse; she would chew until her paws were raw and bloody. I would find brown-reddish spots on my bed sheets from where her raw paws rested and then tried to lick the sheet to clean it. The smell was horrid.
Someone I know had mentioned their dog also had horrible allergies, so they put boots/little socks on her year round. I decided to give it a try and bought some little red boots that had a felt covering and a hard bottom. It was hilarious to watch her walk in them and she hated them with a passion. They seemed to work outside however I wasn’t entirely happy with the idea. In the summer with the hot, humid temperatures, her paws would roast in the boots which seemed to make things worse for her.

Storm not too happy about the boots

 

I decided to finally ask my vet if there was anything else I could do and he suggested a steroid shot that would last one month. The shot worked great yet toward the end of the month the medication was mostly out of her system and she would have raw paws again. So I took Storm in to get another shot to help give her relief. This went on for a good amount of time and I knew being on steroids long term wasn’t the healthiest for her.

 
One month money became very tight and I couldn’t pay for a shot so I had to watch her very carefully to try and stop her from chewing her paws. At times she would lock on a specific paw and then I would have to peel her mouth away from her paw. American Bulldogs are very powerful, so it wasn’t always an easy task.

 
After the two months of not having any medication or relief Storm was miserable. She had horrible acne all over her underside and her hair had begun to turn thin and fall out due from her scratching so much. In some places you could easily see her skin. I felt like a horrible mother.

 
My dad has his own pet grooming shop in California (Happy Dog) and has worked with animals for a couple decades. I decided to get his opinion on what supplement could help Storm. Without even taking time to think of an answer he said, “Halo’s Dream Coat.”
Halo is a holistic pet food company co-owned by comedian and talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres. Their website address is http://www.halopets.com It was nice to read there were not many ingredients that make up the product. The ingredients listed on the product are: Soybean Oil, Safflower Oil, Sunflower Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Cod Liver Oil, Anise Oil, Garlic Oil, and Vitamin E Supplement.

 
I decided to order the product to give it a try and my shipment was soon delivered. I was (and still am) so impressed with the product! Storm’s hair started to grow back on the patches where you could start to see her skin, her coat overall became fuller and softer, she started to chew her paws less, and her acne went away.

 
I ran out of the product a few weeks ago and am already noticing a negative difference in Storm’s skin. Storm has been attacking her feet again, and her soft coat is coarse again with dandruff. And it seems all of a sudden she is SHEDDING. While on the product, I occasionally saw a few hairs. But now when I pet her, I get mini clumps of her hair in my hands.

 
As I stated earlier, I am very impressed with this product and highly suggest you try it for your pet with skin problems. For now, I am impatiently waiting for a new bottle to be delivered.