WHY DO DOGS LICK AND CHEW THEIR PAWS? | Veterinarian Explains
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WHY THEY DO THIS:
Dogs lick their feet, but it only becomes a problem when they do it way too much!
Foot licking and chewing is something you should ask your veterinarian about, especially if it comes on suddenly, persists for long periods of time or is accompanied by redness, swelling, odor, bleeding limping or other signs of pain or infection.
Dogs might lick and chew their feet for several reasons, so its good to know if it’s a behavior they’ve always done or something they just started doing.
Most dogs who lick and chew their feet are either bored or cleaning off their feet for an unknown reason, but when they lick or chew their feet a lot, that’s a different story.
A few reasons your dog may acutely start chewing at their feet is if there is a puncture wound or burned paw pad from a hot street, fractures of his nails or toes, ingrown nails, foreign bodies such as ticks, glass-ons, burs or insect bites.
If your dog is licking their paws very persistently you want to consider skin or nailbed cancers and autoimmune diseases, but the most common cause for dog paw licking and chewing is allergic skin diseases.
A diagnosis of an Allergic skin disease is ruled out when all the other causes are not the reason for your dog’s constant paw licking behavior. Environmental allergies that trigger paw licking can be from grass, pesticides, insect bites, cleaning supplies or even food, which stimulates their immune system to overreact. Dogs with overly yeasty skin or hormone diseases are also prone to having itchy paws.
Allergic skin disease can be alleviated with doggie allergy shots or pills prescribed by your veterinarian. If their paws are really red and irritated your dog will need antibiotics to help clean up the infection they caused by licking.
Dogs that don’t seek veterinary care can really harm themselves by licking their paws. Theyre paws can become so red and inflamed and swollen and then infected to a point where their paw infections become a systemic illness. These dogs may develop a fever and stop eating and need emergency veterinary care. I most commonly see this in bulldogs.
Dogs also have a different perception of pain and can lick their paws so raw they can burst open exposing their bones. I’ve had some nasty cases like this and they are very difficult to recover from. And this dog was an older German shepherd I treated.
Regardless of the cause, if you notice your dog is constantly licking their paws you should always seek veterinary advice especially since these cases are highly treatable.
Okay guys, comment below if you have any advice for other pet owners with their dogs licking their paws!
Like always subscribe to my channel and I’ll see you guys next time.
~ Dr. Lindsay Butzer
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