These are Walty's front paws with his sock on. Since Walter is camera shy, I had to hold him in place to keep him from fleeing and this is the best shot I could get. Poor Walty. He has dealt with allergies since he was a baby pup. We have had the Vet do extensive allergy tests because we have noticed ear infections and itchy skin. Turns out, he is allergic to a lot of things.
Some are easy to fix. We only buy him organic, all natural food with very few ingredients because he is allergic to things like corn and eggs and barley which is abundant in many dog food brands. He is allergic to aspen trees (who knew!) and so many different plants and weeds that even the Vet didn’t know what half of them were. He is allergic to fleas (while in Colorado, he was not exposed to fleas) and last but not least, he is allergic to cats. And who likes to climb on Walter’s back and give him a daily massage but Mac, his feline brother. Oh, well, some things in life are hard to avoid and we have to make the best of it.
Walter will get an itchy patch on his front paw or the side of his head and he becomes obsessed with it. We have learned that these itchy patches are known as “Hot Spots”. He will scratch and chew and lick the Hot Spot until it gets raw and begins to ooze pus and bleed. It is like self-mutilation and is quite disturbing. So, from time to time if he gets one on his head, he has to wear the comfy cone to keep him from scratching and most recently, because he started chewing and licking his left front paw, he has to wear a sock.
He does okay with the sock on in the very beginning when he’s just hanging out and most likely to lick and chew but the sock eventually becomes a game to him. Eventually I find the sock on the front step, in his bed or out in the yard. Even though I tape it on, Walty figures out how to take it off. I feel bad for him because I am sure the hot spots are extremely irritating and I am sure he is not jazzed about wearing the sock. But I think he looks pretty cute in his sock.
Almost makes me want to put one on the other foot.