Comments on: Should I Worry About My Dog Licking His Paws?

By: Spike

Spike — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:00:47 +0000

First, give those paws a good looking over. Inside the pads and all through the fur. If there is some hair growing from between the pads, get it trimmed up. If you are too uncomfortable with scissors so close to your dog, treat him to a day at the groomers.
Take your pup to the vet. Excessive licking usually involves both medical and behavior issues. So rule out the medical first.
This behavior is quite common in large breeds such as Golden Retrievers and Labs as well as Dobermans.
Next, you must try to identify the reason why your dog exhibits this behavior. Some common causes could be the introduction of a new animal or person into the home. Many times dogs cope with anxiety by licking.
Sometimes licking may be a carryover from a previous injury. For instance, your dog could have suffered a trauma and received a lot of attention from you. Now that the injury has healed, the dog may still be trying to elicit attention. Many years ago, my Mom cut her Pomeranians nail too close and caused it to bleed. She was devastated by this and doted over the dog for weeks. When Mom was home, the dog walked around as if his leg was broken. One day, Mom got home early and was very surprised to see the dog walking through the house just fine. However, when he realized that Mom was home he began to limp on that leg. He was suddenly healed!
In some cases of excessive licking, being in a crate to long or neglect may be the cause.
Unfortunately, once the behavior is established, it is rare that the disorder is completely cured.

By: wendy

wendy — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:25:55 +0000

I have a dog that is chewing on his paw’s what can I give him.
Please help me.

By: tara

tara — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:39:24 +0000

my dog diesel is a pug that licks his paws constantly. He licks them raw and then yelps. This has been going on as long as i can remember and he’s almost five! I tried the vinegar waiting to se the outcome,i think its more OCD than anything else. He also will rub his paw on his face alot and i have to clean his rolls out regularly, i get a bunch of nasty gunk out. Thanks for the advise caint wait for the results im keeping my fingers crossed!!! Thanks again!!! Tara and Diesel

By: What Are "Hot Spots"? | Ask Spike Online

What Are "Hot Spots"? | Ask Spike Online — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:53:21 +0000

[...] my RSS feed to get the latest updates to Ask Spike Online. Thanks for visiting!Last week, I wrote an article for a paw-pal about his paw licking. Today, I have something to add to it, but it is a little too detailed to be tacked on as an [...]

By: Zed

Zed — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:25:14 +0000

Zoie chews her paws sometimes. We think she is just board. She is one that chews everything she can find if she is board.

Tomarra used to chew her paws also but, she had been abused & we think it was a nervous habit.

We will keep an eye on Zoie to make sure we don’t see any type of infection, rash, or fungusie stuff. Good to know that sometimes it’s just what dogs do.

By: June Sockol

June Sockol — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:48:22 +0000

I was curious about the paw licking. My labs only do it once in awhile. My lab/border collie mix actually bites her nails. They have lots of toys to play with and if we are gone for a long day, we make sure to put plenty of toys in the crate.

Thanks for the advice. Lots of great information.