CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Puppies => Topic started by: jonnytrabant on November 06, 2012, 01:27:48 PM
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Harry is a 5 month WCS. He's an absolute joy. Went out today for our usual walk. I normally walk him bout 30 mins off The lead then about the same off, I know it's more than the '5 minute per month rule' but I have made it known about my feelings about that previously. This morning however I took Harry on a new route off the lead and where there were loads of shrubs, bushes etc you know the sort Cockers love and boy did he love it, scurrying about, sniffing widely and that tail of his, I thought he was going to take off. Also had a paddle in a lake which has been formed due to the recent weather. A good time was had by us both........ Till we got home. Harry suddenly turned into this demonic monster, running around the house, and generally going wild. When I went near him he had a go at me and was biting frantically at all of his paws, first thoughts were he had something in them a thorn say, but all four?? Hardly. Anyhow I gave him a biscuit and hoped he'd settle. No way, he just got worse in fact I thought he was going to injure himself after hurling himself full throttle into the French doors and the crying, so loud. After about 30 mins, time for the vets, luckily I live 2 mins from the vets and got him to see Neil the vet straight away. Neil checked him throughrally nothing in his paws, no broken bones all the time Harry was crying so hard. And the diagnosis? Sore paws, they were all inflamed and very pink and the poor soul was in such pain. Neil gave him an anti inflamitry and a seditive to help him sleep which he is as I write this.
In conclusion Harry from now on will be not out as long and deffinately staying away from really thick bushes shrubs at least till he's older. I feel a bit crap, for ignoring all the warnings posted on here about walking young pups. Thankfully his bones are fine, he's just got sore feet.
If I have learned one thing, is our pups are so fragile at times and like children they don't know what's good for them at times.
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Oh my.....Poor Harry and poor you too. I hope that he is OK and that his paws are settling down.
Keep us informed
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Hope he feels better soon
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Could his sore inflamed paws be a reaction from pesticide/something in/on the bushes?
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How scary for you both! Hope he feels better when he wakes, poor chap
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sounds like you both need a :bigarmhug: hope Harry's feet are back to normal after his snooze x
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Hope Harry feels better soon. Sending gentle squishes for him when he wakes up. :luv:
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Yikes does sound like a scary
time but he's ok now, chalk
it up to experience!
Cocker snogs to Harry from Ellie :-*
(She likes a toyboy :005:)
steffxxx
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Thanks folks your replies mean a lot.
That's an interesting point Dipsy, about pesticides, though I doubt it as he was mainly in thick under growth, not farm land. I just think it was an error of judgement on my behalf and not appreciating how delicate his little paws are.
I have always said, that they are tougher than we give them credit for, maybe it's because my dog has super confidence but it just goes to show they can be very vulnerable while they're young or any age for that matter.
He did wake a bit before and had a bit clean, but was crying while he did it, and now he's back asleep. I'll keep posting on his progress
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Also having the vet, 2 mins walk from my door, was a godsend and of course seeing him straight away.
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Please do keep us posted, do you really think it's just too much walking? It sounds to me like there must have been something that affected his paws
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Just one point - do you do any pavement walking with Harry? Pavement walking toughens up their pads quite quickly, as long as it's not for too long while he's little. Ozzy's pads were very soft and delicate until recently because his walks were always straight onto the grass in the park behind our house, and we have a gate straight into it at the bottom of the garden. It's not very well drained, however, and becomes a quagmire during wet weather, so last week he had several days of 20 min pavement walks - he was fine afterwards (no sore paws) and his pads are already feeling a little tougher. I'm going to continue one pavement walk every day from now on to continue the process.
Modified to add - It's just occurred to me that we had something similar happen years ago to our collie/lab cross - it turned out that she had disturbed an ant's nest and been bitten by the ants on all 4 feet.
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Interesting, similar thing to what you described happened to Bingley after we took him for a walk along the canal for the first time.
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Cupar displayed the same behaviour after nettle stings !!!! Running around ,up and down stairs, biting and scraping his paws and generally going mad. This has happened on 2 occassions but the old Piriton settled him. :blink:
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I hope Harry is feeling better soon.
I agree with the others and that ants, pesticide or nettles could have been the cause rather than over walking (I am with you on that one). I now nettle stings in spring can be very distressing and in some cases very serious to animals.
Jinley had a sore paw a couple of weeks ago and I remembered the day before stopping to chat with somebody who then informed me they had put some granules on their drive to kill the weeds! Although I washed her feet, I must have missed part and she started to lick her foot between her toe. After bathing in hibiscrub for the week and applying some steroid cream it was fine but it was a lesson learned!
It will be interesting to see how quickly he recovers, presuming if it is a reaction to something, he will be fine later today whereas paws sore due to overwalking will take longer to heal??
Let us know how he goes.
Pat
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Cupar displayed the same behaviour after nettle stings !!!! Running around ,up and down stairs, biting and scraping his paws and generally going mad. This has happened on 2 occassions but the old Piriton settled him. :blink:
I was going to suggest this too, piriton and a footwash with a mild bicarb solution :D
Poor Harry :luv:
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Can you give dogs Piriton? I didn't realise that. Great to know!
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Yes you can!
Always Piriton not Piriteze,
also don't tell the Pharmacist
it's for your dog as they won't sell
it to you :blink:
steffxxx
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Toby displayed the same symptoms last spring (about 12 months old and plenty of road walking too). He had been running in a patch of waste land when suddenly started biting his paws and going mad. I had read about nettle stings on here and thought it must be that, even though his paws looked fine. Rang the vet who advised one Piriton but if he was no better after two hours to bring him to the surgery. Less than an hour later, he was fine but it was so distressing to see him like that.
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Piriton. Never heard of it, but a quick search shows its for humans? He's awake after a further sleep, but still crying a bit and generally looks worse for wear. He's had a couple of his little sausage which he loves but is ignoring his Pizzle stick, which he adores.
I never thought of where he was walking, he gets a lot of pavement walking and I personally think/thought his paws were toughening up nicely. Like I say, we went our normal route on the pavement, then onto a gravel/cinder track which he's been on loads, daily even. Then we went along a country path which is just hard mud, if you can call it, then he had a bit rummage through some bushes and generally through the thicket, I followed and everything was fine. There was absolutely nothing I thought I should have been aware of. We then walked across a farmers field because we couldn't get round because of a lake caused by the recent rainfall. I wonder if there was any pesticides on it??? It's got me thinking now.
Any advice on bathing his paws? Warm soapy water? Detol? Or just see how he goes?
Saying that he's just jumped off the sofa and is eating his previously mention Pizzle, nowt like a good chew for Cockers eh?
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I would imagine the field had been sprayed Piriton is fine for dogs, excellent for allergic reactions to things like wasp stings etc
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Well he's had his lunch, scoffed the lot which I am certainly glad and he seems to be walking fine, though I use the term loosely as he's still crying a lot, not 'iam in agony' crying just a very high pitched 'discomfort' cry. He's not gnawing at his paws as much but still is occasionally. It's like he can't settle. Took him into the garden for a wee, which he duly obliged, so no problems there. so I think the best course of action is to just wait and see.
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It really does sound like nettle stings, all my dogs have had this at some time. They tend to build up immunity as the shooting season progresses and their pads get harder after a summer lay off.
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Definitely sounds like something he has walked through.
Jinley had a wasp sting when she was about 4 months old and the vet told me to give her a piriton.
You could try putting a drop of vinegar into the water if you soak his feet.
Pat
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Does sound like something he has walked on to me - maybe nettles, thistles or some sort of pesticide >:( I would def give his paws a wash in some warm soapy water - you could put a bit of bicarb or salt in it too. I doubt it is due to overwalking - doesn't sound the right sort of reaction :dunno:
Piriton is OK for dogs (it is used in humans for allergies, hay fever etc) - you can give a child's dose ;)
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Well, they say, times a great healer and even though it's only been about 4 hours since he had his injection, the difference is amazing. He's stopped crying and is happily chewing on his Pizzle. Importantly he's not gnawing on his paws, whether or not this lasts. My vet said ' he would be fine this afternoon' and true to his word, fingers and paws crossed Harry looks ok. So whether it was nettles, pesticides, stings, ant bites or like the vet said swollen paws, i guess ill never know one things certain hes not going anywhere near that field or shrubs any time soon. OH gets in soon, obviously I've kept her informed, I am sure she's not gonna believe the afternoon I've had :doh:
Thanks for all the concerns folks, it does help to bounce some thoughts off.
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So pleased to hear that Harry has perked up - great news!
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Poor little Harry! Glad to hear he's on the mend. We had a similar experience with Jess a couple of years ago and concluded it must be nettles. It's awful when you can't help them, isn't it?
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It really does sound like nettle stings, all my dogs have had this at some time. They tend to build up immunity as the shooting season progresses and their pads get harder after a summer lay off.
I agree, it sounds like a reaction to nettle stings, nettly paws will drive a lot of dogs mad and they do the frantic flinging themselves randomly around, rubbing on the floor, biting at their paws thing. Rodaidh went through a lot of nettles on the first shoot we went to this season and was going absolutely crazy with his feet and face afterwards the poor boy, he was face surfing along the gravel drive when we got back to the gamekeeper's house because he'd been stung around his eyes and nose. I'd given him piriton in advance and gave him another dose when we got back but it took a few hours for him to settle down, the first shoot is always like that then he toughens up again and the frost kills off the worst of the nettles. It can be quite alarming the first time you see them do it as it can be an extreme reaction.
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It really does sound like nettle stings, all my dogs have had this at some time. They tend to build up immunity as the shooting season progresses and their pads get harder after a summer lay off.
I agree, it sounds like a reaction to nettle stings, nettly paws will drive a lot of dogs mad and they do the frantic flinging themselves randomly around, rubbing on the floor, biting at their paws thing. Rodaidh went through a lot of nettles on the first shoot we went to this season and was going absolutely crazy with his feet and face afterwards the poor boy, he was face surfing along the gravel drive when we got back to the gamekeeper's house because he'd been stung around his eyes and nose. I'd given him piriton in advance and gave him another dose when we got back but it took a few hours for him to settle down, the first shoot is always like that then he toughens up again and the frost kills off the worst of the nettles. It can be quite alarming the first time you see them do it as it can be an extreme reaction.
Totally agree :blink: First time Cupar got stung it was so distressing to watch him...Phoned the vet who said yep nettle stings, give him Piriton and.... Miricle Cure within a coupe of hours :blink: The second time it happened and he started the running around surfing the carpet etc we knew exactly what it was. Now I always keep Piriton in the house and if we go away its first to go in his box. Id always use it firstline for symptoms like that and might just save an expensive visit to the vet for injections etc.
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Im another who got told to give piriton by the vet - Enzo woke up one morning with a swollen snout :o
A frantic call to the on duty vet (true to Enzos form it was bank holiday!) and I was told it was probably a bite or sting and 1 small dose would clear it up. 2 hours later he was fine! So I also always have it to hand!
They are such a worry at times! Glad he is feeling better.
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Just caught up with this. Glad that Harry is feeling better now :D
With regard to Piriton, it has to be the normal stuff not the non-drowsy, although I don't know why. Hopefully somebody else on here does and can explain :D
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Just caught up with this. Glad that Harry is feeling better now :D
With regard to Piriton, it has to be the normal stuff not the non-drowsy, although I don't know why. Hopefully somebody else on here does and can explain :D
I was going ask if it was the non-drowsy as that's all I keep in the house. I can't use the normal stuff as it knocks me out.
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Also if he went in the bushes could have trodden on fallen prickly leaves this time of year. We have walked down a footpath for 2 years and one both dogs stopped and started to turn back walking gingerly. We had noticed that the holly hedge had shed loads of leaves which were prickly of course we had our shoes on and hadn't noticed also the thistles tend to have fallen over by this time of year. :D
Hope he feels better tomorrow.
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really glad to hear Harry is a bit brighter this afternoon/evening :D
I keep piriton in a dog first aid kit in the boot of the car, of course, I made the mistake of asking the pharmacist for some for a dog....and ended up at the vets to purchase a number of items ph34r from memory they were not expensive and are the correct product/dose for cocker spaniels ;)
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OH reporting that Harry, although very clingy seems fine, he has been wanting to go out, so it hasn't dented his confidence.
Looks like its a trip to the chemist for me tomorrow for some Piriton, incidentally is it in tablet form and what exactly is it used for?
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I use 4mg tablets...
for stings etc. as I said
don't tell the Pharmacist it's for
the dog(or for somebody else)
You have to make up something you
are allergic to, eg "my sister is coming
to stay with her dog which I am allergic
to" normally I don't like lying but in
this case I make an exception ;)
Pleased to read Harry :luv: is ok!
steffxxx
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24 hours on, and it's like nothing ever happened. I feel relieved and confused that something can seemingly give him so much pain and yet now he's fine. We went out this morning after I came in from nightshift for 40 mins and he was ruining around like a good'un. Obviously I kept well away from where we were yesterday but he's sitting beside me chewing on his stag bar, totally oblivious to what happened yesterday.
Again many thanks of support and advice from all.
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Great to hear he's back to normal again!