Paw Licking

[Henrys Mom]

Mason has been licking his paws lately and I have no idea why? He had a very small hot spot on his leg that he chewed but seems to be leaving alone since I have put gold bond powder on it. The spot was never weepy or yucky he just pulled the hair off on this one little spot. But the paw licking is driving me crazy!!! He also seems to have a bit of a weepy eye. Again nothing bad but a little weepy. Could it be allergies? And if so could it be allergies to food? I am feeding him Pro Plan Shredded Lamb and rice. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[janices]

Yes, either allergies or a sign of boredom.

 

[Sound Bay Newfs]

It definitely could be allergies. Is this a new food?

 

[lmfoltyn]

So funny, Jake just started licking his one paw too. Drives me crazy also. It seems like he is trying to devour it...I don't see anything wrong with it.

 

[Pam G]

If this is a new thing, it may be seasonal allergies. This is the worst time of year for that.

 

[DAWNMERIE]

If this is a new thing, it may be seasonal allergies. This is the worst time of year for that.

You can say that again, Pam

 

[Henrys Mom]

It is a new thing and the food is not new. Maybe seasonal allergies. He is too hyper to be bored!! LOL! He runs and goes for walks and plays and never sits still! Thanks!

 

[chumleysma]

Mason has been licking his paws lately and I have no idea why? He had a very small hot spot on his leg that he chewed but seems to be leaving alone since I have put gold bond powder on it. The spot was never weepy or yucky he just pulled the hair off on this one little spot. But the paw licking is driving me crazy!!! He also seems to have a bit of a weepy eye. Again nothing bad but a little weepy. Could it be allergies? And if so could it be allergies to food? I am feeding him Pro Plan Shredded Lamb and rice. Any advice? Thanks!

How old is Mason? I ask because I just had a second vet confirm that allergies in the younger dogs can evolve as they mature. That is, new ones can appear later on. Because of the price of testing for food and environment, they want to save me the cost of testing twice (younger at age 2.5 yr. then older I suppose around 4yr..) I get that, but meanwhile I have no clue what's causing it. I do know the fall and spring are worse. My dog, at his worst, has chewed between the pads so bad the swelling extended beyond the plane of the pads causing him to limp. He too has the eye goopers, but always both eyes equally, not just one(this may be a different issue?). I do see obvious allergic reaction after he swims in the local creek even if I shampoo/shower afterward. He'll belly scratch with the back legs, get eye goopers, bite in between the pads of the feet, and bite at the back of his front legs often tearing out the feathers seemingly on purpose. I just give him Benadryl, shower and blow dry to remove pollen, and break out the Gold Bond. I have used Gold Bond myself on poison ivy and it's soooo soothing albeit temporary. IMHO figuring out the cause of the allergies without testing is like trying to win at Rubik's Cube...I never could do those stupid things.

 

[Thehallk]

Gilly has environmental allergies mainly to grass (and all year round, not just spring fall, but it was definitely worse in the spring) and her feet do sometimes get a bit itchy, but it's mostly around her rump and face. Someone suggested to me putting boots on her when she goes outside (which we dont do, but it seems like a good idea) or wiping her feet/face after she goes outside, and/or doing a quick blow out of her coat to get rid of the allergens. I don't actually do any of them to know if they help, because she's in and out of the house so much all day long (and I dont have a blowdryer) but that might help you if you can do any of them, especially wiping or rinsing the paws if his paws seem really itchy.

 

[Thehallk]

Also, she sometimes gets a weepy/wet eye after scratching at her face, and I attribute that to actually scratching/irritating her eye, because it's not an infection. She does get ear infections that we attribute to the allergies, though. Is the eye constantly weepy, and is it more like wet from tears or more like goop?

 

[mulenag]

I'd say allergies. Phoebe is a paw licker. We keep the paw fur trimmed short, do occasional soaks in either diluted vinegar or diluted povidone iodine, and keep her on zyrtec. When she has a bad flare up she wears boots until things settle down a bit. She can get incredibly obsessed with her front paws. I've always been able to keep her from licking herself to an infection, but when her allergies flare up she instantly starts attacking her paws.

 

[MamaSu]

Hi, I'm new. Have you considered OCD? My last Newf licked her foreleg/paw, usually her right one, and I went thru the book trying to diagnose the cause. It tended to get annoying sometimes, poor thing. When I asked my Vet he said OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) was actually much more common than people thought, seen frequently in Labs. She did it off and on for years and no other problem arose so I believe he was pretty accurate. Good luck with it!