Dog Question

[Amina516]

My doggie is having an issue lately where shes licking her paws until theyre raw.

This just started a few weeks ago. We noticed when she started to limp and when we looked her right front paw, it had a raw spot in the center. We took her to the vet, who just told us to put her foot in a sock, and it worked. THEN she started on the left one. Weve been socking that paw now, and spraying the paw with antiseptic and putting that bitter stuff on the sock so she wont lick at it.

I googled it and found it could be due to allergies (which I dont think it is..but I could be wrong) or it could be anxiety/boredom (which is what Im leaning towards.)

We are home alot but she misses us no matter how long we're gone. Shes a VERY social dog and likes to try and curl up in your lap when you sit down.

Do you think getting another little puppy so she could have some company would do some good? IDK what else to do. I did try giving her benadryl (after talking to the Vet) and it didnt seem to help, so thats why I dont think its allergies.

I dont know what else to do....

This is her pic attached. Her name is Charli.

[KiaKat]

Adorable doggie! *noms doggie ears*

Benadryl doesn't work for my mom's dog. All it does is make her sleepy.

Try changing her food. Food allergies are *extremely* common in dogs, especially if she's purebreed. Switch to unusual meats, like venison, and keep pushing with your vet. If it is an allergy, she should be tested immediately and put on meds to control it.

Frankly, it's incredibly stupid for your vet to suggest putting a sock on the foot without running tests. All that does is, well, exactly what happened. They switch to another foot. Or their belly. Or a back paw. Or some other part of the body.

Is there anything she sleeps on that is wool? Try switching it out. One of my cats is allergic to wool and will sneeze her fool head off if she sleeps on my wool blanket or on the wool Persian rug. She's fine if she's on synthetics or cotton, though.

[ferebee]

One of our dogs had this problem - with him it was probably anxiety - he was a stray we took in after watching him wandering around our neighborhood, shaking his head so hard he could barely walk straight, his ears were so badly infected. The tips of his ears had split and were bleeding the headshaking was so bad. He had lifelong yeast infection problems with his ears, plus probable hearing loss.

The paw problems only started after we were starting to get his ears under control and get him settled into household routine.

As far as we could tell, he was probably dumped from a car in our area as it's rural; he was probably abused too. (He was terrified of people's feet and brooms - he'd actually screech if you swept too close to him at first) He remined really highly strung throughout his life, and the foot-licking usually got worse if his ear infections flared up, or there was anything causing him stress.

Our vet gave us bitter apple to try - so his paws wouldn't taste good, and we always tried to distract him with play and toys if he got started on a licking binge, and as he got older and more settled it decreased, but it was never something that ever completly went away.

[Evil Queen]

Sounds like Charli has a booboo. Check her paws for any cuts or sores. That's the only reason my old dog did it.

[crazyofficeclerk]

Not exactly the same, but I had something similar with one of my cats a few years ago. I bought a plant home from the store because we were marking them down. A few days later, I noticed that Cosmo had licked a spot on his stomach totally raw. I took him to the vet, who gave him a steroid shot and asked me if I had changed anything like food or laundry detergent. He aslo asked if I had brought anything new into the house. As soon as I got rid of the plant, he stopped licking.

[crashhelmet]

I used to have a cat that had a similar issue. She would lick and scratch herself raw. Turned out she was allergic to her own fleas. We had to bathe her regularly and keep the areas that she liked to sleep clean to try and reduce the problems for her.

CH

[Buglady]

If it's anxiety - could very well be - Rescue Remedy works well on doggehs just as it does for hoomins You can also get a room diffuser type thing that dispenses "calm happy dog" pheromones. That works for lots of people.

Edited to add - food allergy is also a possibility. Look for a food with limited ingredients (single protein, single or few carbs) and a protein source that your dog hasn't had before. Lamb is usually a good place to start; venison or duck are good too but quite pricey. Wellness and Natural Balance make "Limited Ingredient" kibbles and canned foods; both are good quality foods. It can take a LONG time to sort out a food allergy, so be patient.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Meeko is a chronic paw-licker as well, but he's been doing it for a while. If it gets really bad, we've noticed that de-worming him sometimes curbs it. I also try to keep the hair on the pads of his feet and between his toes trimmed short, otherwise he pulls it out with his teeth. Could just be a funny quirk he's got, but who knows?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Sounds like he only did it to one paw until you put a sock on it, and then he switched to the other paw? That sorta sounds like it might be more of a boredom/anxiety thing. Seems strange that allergies would only affect one foot at a time.... And if it was an injury to the one foot, why would he switch to the other? I could be wrong...I am not a vet, after all.

If it is boredom/loneliness, a little friend for him might be helpful, if you can handle/afford another pet. Has he spent much time around other animals? You might want to see if you can arrange some doggy "playdates" or take him to a dog park and see how he interacts before you commit to bringing another animal into the house. In the meantime, try leaving the radio on when you're not home. We used to leave the radio on for Pablo when we had to leave him alone, to keep him company. Not quite the same but I think it's better than silence all day. (Then again, in Ex's old apartment he used to listen to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity...I imagine he was rather conservative, politically, as a result. As a Chihuahua, I always wondered what his opinion on immigration from Mexico was...)

[strawbabies]

We used to leave the radio on for Pablo when we had to leave him alone, to keep him company. Not quite the same but I think it's better than silence all day. (Then again, in Ex's old apartment he used to listen to Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity...I imagine he was rather conservative, politically, as a result. As a Chihuahua, I always wondered what his opinion on immigration from Mexico was...)

Now I don't feel like such a nut job for leaving on my tv (Animal Planet, of course) for when my dog Matty used to be home alone.

OP, I think your dog might be licking his paws from boredom, since he'll only work on a particular one if it's available.

I'm getting ready to make my cockapoo an appointment with a veterinary dematologist to get his licking problem under control. The regular vet keeps telling me to give him Benadryl. If I take 1 of those, it'll knock me out for the next 12 hours. My dog, who weighs a quarter of what I do, can take 3 in a day, and nothing happens.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Now I don't feel like such a nut job for leaving on my tv (Animal Planet, of course) for when my dog Matty used to be home alone.

Hehe. I've seen it recommended in actual dog books and stuff, so it's not totally crazy. When he was living at my parents' house they put an old radio in his room for when they left him in there (yes, he had his "own" room). If they weren't going to be gone more than an hour or two, and if he was all settled in the armchair, they'd leave him in the living room and let him sleep there. Then they'd turn on the stereo. Sometimes they'd leave on the TV but the radio uses less electricity.


Does the dog have lots of toys and/or chewies when he is alone? If he has something else to chew on maybe he'll leave his feet alone?