(Question)
My Lab has a sore between the toes on his right foot. The vet gave me some Entederm to treat it. I have put a head cone on him to stop the licking but he still is able to get at it. The vet also advised me that I could use athlete’s foot medication to treat it. I’m looking for some kind of boot to put on him to stop the licking. What do you advise? --JK

(Answer)
Sores between the toes are usually caused by either penetrating foreign bodies that result in interdigital cysts or foreign bodies lodged in the web between the toes that cause an ulcerated, infected wound. Both conditions benefit from antibiotic therapy and hot packing with deep cleansing.

Antibiotics commonly used are those that do well against staphs and other gram positive organisms. Cephalexin and Clavamox are common first choices. For hot packing add a tablespoon of Epsom salts to a quart of warm water and soak the foot for 15 minutes twice a day.

As you have mentioned, boots may be needed to protect the foot if you intend to continue running the dog, but be careful. Boots can collect foreign material and result in continued irritation of the wounds. If you use boots stop every hour or so and remove the boot and clean out any accumulated stuff. Some times just laying the dog up for two or three days will allow the lesion to heal.

(Question)
I have been having an ongoing problem with my nine-year-old female Chesapeake Bay retriever for almost a year now. She weighs 80-82 pounds, and I feed her three cups of a lamb and rice mixture food per day. I supplement with Canine Plus Senior vitamins (two per day), Glyco-Flex 600 (two per day) and Missing Link for dogs (one coffee scoop per day). She hunts upland birds and waterfowl and runs in hunt tests so she is not a couch potato.

It seems that after she eats, she is very uncomfortable for anywhere from 15 minutes up to an hour, with gas (belching, not flatulence). If she lies down, within minutes she is either sitting or standing. She will commonly hang her head down as though she is sulking and also be licking at her mouth almost as though there is something stuck in it. During this time, you can sometimes hear her stomach rumbling and she will let out with quite a few belches.

I do not know medical terms so bear with me. My vet suggested I take her to a specialist, which I did. She had blood work done, her mouth was examined, she had a sonogram done and she had a scope put down her just into the beginning of her stomach.

Some samplings of the entrance to the stomach showed some bacteria and she was given Sucralfate, one tablet by mouth three times per day. She was on this medication on two different occasions. The first time, she had two days left of the meds and she vomited up the pill. The second time, she had one day’s supply left and did the same thing. It seemed to help a little while she was on the medication, but once off, the problem came right back.