[Nubwagon]

So my foster has a habit of constantly licking her paws. Any ideas as to what might be causing that and what I can do to help?

 

[Kenaii]

It's probably just a weird dog thing, but I'd check for sores just to be safe.

How long has she been doing this?

 

[jttar]

Nubwagon,

The most common cause of a dog constantly licking it's paws is allergies. Often it is something in your yard or where the dog hangs out. This can be from a minor annoyance to the dog licking it's paws bloody. The paws are itching and they lick them in attempts to stop the itch.

If you do an internet search you can read about it and different things to try to alleviate the allergy.
An easy way to start is to wash the dogs paws off when ever it goes outside and then comes in the house. Another thing that I have had work is soaking the dogs paws in a mixture of providone iodine. This can be found at any pharmacy and is inexpensive. Mix some in a small bowl of water till you get the color of a strong tea. One at a time soak the dogs paws in the mixture for several minute each and then let it dry by itself. If the licking continues or seems to severe you can bring the dog to the vet. Many have had good response from an allergy shot.

Hope this helps,
Joe

 

[Ste11aeres]

Nubwagon,

The most common cause of a dog constantly licking it's paws is allergies.

Agreed. My dog used to have this problem. Sometimes it can be connected to something they walked in, but not necessarily. In my boy's case, it seems it was a reaction to a food allergy. I heard about another dog who did this as a reaction to a urinary tract infection.

 

[Nubwagon]

Thanks all. She's been doing this since I got her which is about 3 weeks ago. I took her to the vet just to get her a checkup. Turns out she has a mild case of heartworm which is being controlled. The vet says she also has a mild skin allergy which is apparent by the area at her tail being dry & flaky. So I'm thinking this might be an extension of that.

The vet suggested to bathe her in Dawn dish soap and also give her some Benadryl. Has anyone else ever done that? If so, what were the results?

Thanks again!

 

[Nubwagon]

Hey I wanted to dig up this zombie thread because now my boy is constantly licking & scratching his paws. They are all red & sore and one is starting to bleed.

A couple of things I've learned since then. Bathing in Dawn dish soap - no good. Over time, this will dry out the skin so I am now working on reversing that with some medicated moisturizing shampoo. I also read the paw biting could be caused by an internal yeast infection.

In any event, we're headed to the vet this weekend to get their feedback. Any other suggestions are always welcomed.

Thanks again!

 

[ames]

So sorry! Hope the vet gets you an answer. A good change helped my boy stir licking his paws. Hope you find an easy solution to help ease the discomfort