Dog constantly licking paws

[cjones15]

Our dog has started constantly licking at her paws/legs, all of them! She does it obsessively. If we say something to her she will stop. She is going to the vet next week to have them check her over and for her shots. Does anyone know what could be causing it. She started doing it several weeks ago but is really bad now. The fur on her paws/legs always looks wet and it matted feeling from her constant licking. She's an inside dog and only goes out to use the restroom so I don't think it could be something outside bothering her. Any help is really appreciated.

[ejs]

What part of her paw is she licking? The bottom on her pads? If she's licking the top, is she trying to get between her toes? Is she chewing her skin and fur at all or just licking?

One of our dogs has allergies and licks the bottom of his feet and between his toes. Then we have a vicious cycle. He licks and gets yeast infections from the moisture and allergies. So we are constantly putting medicine on his feet and stopping him from licking.

He does have some food allergies, but we think he also has environmental allergies.

[lorbo]

it's usually environmental allergies with footlickers. you'll see a pinkish color to the fur appear...if your dog isn't black. sometimes it's mild and it doesn't need to be treated...but obsessive licking does need antihistamines or steroids.

[cjones15]

Thanks for the fast replies! She is licking the tops of her paws and up her legs and it is all of her legs but the front ones are the worst. It seems like it's just her fur that she is licking/chewing at. I know you can give dogs benadryl for allergies and thought about trying that but I had no idea how much to give her. She weighs around 7 pounds and is 3 years old.

[Smiley124]

Mine do this too! Our vet says its allergies and suggested tavist. It seems to be helping with the licking but their little paws are still red. Any other suggestions?

[lorbo]

i'd wait to see your vet before giving anything. benadryl is short acting and there are better things to give longterm.

[meganth]

Growing up our Sheltie used to do this. It started out as a mild allergy but then developed into a nervous condition.

[cjones15]

We also have a new baby, 4 weeks old, and I'm wondering how much of it is her being upset over the new baby. The licking started before DS was born but is much worse now.

[jesvet]

Try this link:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=597&S=0&EVetID=0 about inhalant allergies; there is also an article about food allergies and flea allergies.

Without going into a lot of detail, allergies are complicated to get to the root of so there are a LOT of possible causes, and a lot of approaches. Your vet will have some suggestions for helping you fin the root of the cause, but it is unlikely to be solved in one visit! Good luck!

[mkvh]

Just wanted to bump and add my story:

My 18 month old lab suddenly had two sores pop up on his right foreleg, one last week and one this weekend. We took him to the vet yesterday, and she said he is licking/chewing out of boredom. We've never seen him licking, but she says he must do it at night in his crate. She recommended more play/exercise and prescribed a topical treatment, antibiotics and an ANTIDEPRESSANT!

[Chimichanga]

Our lab was/is also licking his paws/legs a lot. His is allergies (had them last year but this year is worse). We gave him 2 Bendryl twice a day and an antibiotic.

I thought it might be depression over the baby, but the vet assured us it wasn't.

[mkvh]

Chimichanga--Thanks for the info. Rudy has allergies, too...which the vet didn't even address. :rolleyes: She did assure us, though, that the "self-mutilation" wasn't a stress reaction to the baby, although how she knew that, I don't know.

[mjfish]

What food are you feeding? That might be an easy place to start...

I give my dogs 1 Benedryl at night during the really bad parts of the summer, and they have gotten 1 shot of Vetalog (a cortizone) in the middle of summer when it seems to be the worst. The Vetalog helped a lot last year, but this year they are still scratching (and it's not from fleas). I have given 1 Benedryl during in the morning a couple of times this year too, but I really didn't want to give them too much (like every 4-6 hrs). (BTW, my dogs weigh 55 & 105, so it's not like I give a high dosage for their weight anyway.)