Our vet gave Lilly a steroid shot and told us to come back for another one if she started getting worse. Our vet also recommended that we start her on a Benaryl regimen. We've stuck to the grain-free diet and the Benadryl and we've started doing a paw soak with her every night. There are so many different paw soaks to help dogs with allergies. I was a little overwhelmed when reading all the different articles. I found "7 Soothing Foot Bath Recipes for Your Dog's Itchy Paws" , "Natural Remedies for Healthy Pet Paws", and "Thirty Second to Relieve Your Pet's Itchy Paws" to be extremely informative and helpful. In the end I came up with my own paw soak for Lilly and we are seeing great results so far!
Lilly's Paw Soak
Items needed:
- A bathtub or other appropriate area
-hot, warm, cold water
-2 tea bags of decaffeinated green tea
-Iodine or Betadine
-cold pressed, virgin coconut oil
Directions:
-plug the drain of the bathtub
-brew the tea bags in the tub by running hot water over them
-once the water is slightly yellow remove the tea bags and throw them away
-fill the tub with warm/cool water until desired depth is reached.
-make sure the temperature of the water is safe for your fur baby
-add two tablespoons of either iodine or betadine to the water/green tea in the bathtub and stir until it is completely mixed. The water should darken when the iodine or betadine is added
-have your fur baby stand in tub for at least 30 seconds and no more than minutes
-once your fur baby is out of the tub draw their paws
-gently rub coconut oil into their paws. A tablespoon will usually allow me to do one application to each of Lilly's paws. Rub the coconut oil into the tops of the paws, the pads of the paws, and between the toes
-Coconut oil is safe for dogs to eat and has health benefits so don't worry if your fur baby licks some of the coconut oil off
-drain tub and give your fur baby a treat!